Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective

2018 Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario leadership election

Election in Ontario, Canada From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

2018 Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario leadership election
Remove ads

The 2018 Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario leadership election was held on March 10, 2018,[1][2] due to the resignation of party leader Patrick Brown on January 25, 2018, following allegations of sexual misconduct.[3] Winner Doug Ford narrowly defeated runner-up Christine Elliott on the third ballot with 50.6% of allocated points.

Quick Facts Candidate, Final ballot points ...

The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario leadership election was scheduled for 3 months before the 2018 provincial election scheduled for June 7. It came after a turbulent year of disputed and allegedly fraudulent nominations contests across the province for local PC candidates.[4] In two of these contests; Ottawa West—Nepean and Scarborough Centre the nominations were overturned after Brown's resignation and Brown's own nomination in Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte was cancelled.[5] At the time of the leadership election Newmarket—Aurora and five others remained under active investigation by the party[6] and Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas remained under police investigation.[7]

According to Article 23.1 of the PC party constitution, when there is a vacancy in the position of leader, the party caucus chooses an interim leader to serve until a new leader is elected in a leadership election, which must be held within 18 months of the vacancy occurring, and in which all party members can vote.[8] Party president Rick Dykstra told the media on January 25 that "a leadership election will take place at such time as the PC party shall determine in its discretion".[9] The party executive met on January 26, 2018, following the caucus election, to determine whether to have a leadership election before the provincial election, and if so, how it would proceed, or whether to have the interim leader lead the party into the election,[10] and called the leadership election for March 2018.[2]

Remove ads

Rules and procedures

Summarize
Perspective
Quick Facts Date, Convention ...

All party members are eligible to cast votes by preferential ballot using electronic balloting, provided that they are members in good standing by February 16, 2018. To be eligible, one must be at least 14 years of age, a resident of Ontario, and pay a $10 membership fee with personal funds (i.e. no corporation or union funds may be used).

The vote was weighted in such a way as to suppress power of larger groups of Conservative voters. Each of the province's ridings that had more than 100 votes cast were allocated 100 electoral votes; ridings in which fewer than 100 party members vote were not given a weight, but instead had the votes counted as individual votes.[11] The first candidate to get 50 per cent of the votes was declared the new leader.[11] If no one got a majority on first count (or in subsequent rounds), the lowest-ranked candidate were dropped before the next round as ballots were counted, according to instant-runoff voting rules.

Candidates had to be nominated by at least 100 party members, had to agree to abide by the party's existing platform for the next election, and had to be approved by the party's nominations committee as a PC candidate for the 2018 provincial election.[12]

Method and Electronic Security

The voting method is solely electronic voting with no other access methods. To cast a ballot, a three-part validation-vote was employed. First each eligible member had to register to vote with a code sent via regular mail. Second, each member who had registered had to validate their identity with one piece of government issued identification by uploading an image. Third, each qualifying member was provided a second access code to use during the voting period via the internet. The system was criticized by all candidates as overly complicated and difficult for elderly members and those with difficulties using or accessing computers.[citation needed]

Doug Ford and Tanya Granic Allen raised concerns over the security and legitimacy of the vote. Ford stated he believed "party elites" and "the establishment" would try to steal the election and said "there should be security cameras on the servers".[13] Past leadership candidate Frank Klees said he had grave concerns about the integrity of the vote.[14]

Remove ads

Timeline

  • January 24, 2018: Leader Patrick Brown holds an emergency press conference at 9:45 pm to deny allegations of sexual misconduct, 15 minutes before CTV News planned to break a story detailing allegations made by two women. The PC Caucus meets in a telephone conference call and demands Brown's resignation.[9]
  • January 25, 2018: Just before 1:30 am, Brown issues a statement announcing his resignation as party leader but maintaining his innocence. Brown states his intention to remain an MPP.[9]
  • January 26, 2018:
    • PC caucus unanimously elects Vic Fedeli as interim leader and Fedeli announces he intends to run for the permanent leadership
    • The PC Party executive decides to hold a full-scale leadership election before the next provincial election and sets the date of the leadership election.[10][2]
  • January 28, 2018: Party president Rick Dykstra resigns shortly before Maclean's magazine publishes a story about him allegedly sexually assaulting an employee during his time as a federal MP.[15]
  • January 29, 2018: Doug Ford announces he intends to run.[16][17]
  • January 30, 2018: Fedeli withdraws from the contest.[18]
  • January 31, 2018: The party's executive decides on the timeline and rules for the leadership election.[19]
  • February 1, 2018: Christine Elliott officially declares her candidacy.[20]
  • February 3, 2018: Ford officially declares his candidacy.[21]
  • February 4, 2018: Caroline Mulroney officially declares her candidacy.[22]
  • February 8, 2018: Tanya Granic Allen announces she intends to run.[23]
  • February 14, 2018: Granic Allen officially declares her candidacy.[24]
  • February 15, 2018: All-candidates televised debate held in Toronto, moderated by Steve Paikin and aired on TVOntario.[25]
  • February 16, 2018:
    • Former leader Patrick Brown is expelled from the PC caucus,[26] and then declares his candidacy.[27]
    • Last day of the nomination period (as of 5:00 pm) and to become a member of the party eligible to vote (as of 11:59 pm)[11]
  • February 20, 2018: PC Party Provincial Nominations Committee meets to interview Elliott, Ford, Granic Allen and Brown as part of the vetting process. (As the only nominated riding candidate, Mulroney has already been vetted).[28]
  • February 21, 2018: Provincial Nominations Committee approves the candidacies of Brown, Elliott, Ford, and Granic Allen in addition to Mulroney, whose candidacy had previously been approved.[29]
  • February 23, 2018: Last day for candidates to withdraw their names from the ballot (candidates who withdraw after this date may still appear on the ballot).[11]
  • February 26, 2018: Patrick Brown withdraws from leadership race.[30]
  • February 28, 2018, 6:30 pm: All-candidates debate held at the Shaw Centre in Ottawa, moderated by Althia Raj of HuffPost Canada.[31]
  • March 1, 2018, 1:30–3:00 pm: Debate held in London, Ontario, between Christine Elliott, Doug Ford, and Tanya Granic Allen; moderated by Andrew Lawton of CFPL and broadcast live on Global News Radio stations and over Facebook.[32] Caroline Mulroney declined an invitation to attend the debate.[33]
  • March 2–9, 2018: Voting period. Online balloting used. Voting ended at noon on the last day of the voting period.[11][1][34] An application for a court injunction to extend the voting period by a week was denied by Ontario Superior Court of Justice judge Todd Archibald[35]
  • March 10, 2018: Leadership votes counted and results were scheduled to be announced at a convention in Markham, Ontario at 3 pm. However, results were not made available at that time and at 7:30 pm the party's Chief Electoral Officer announced a review of some ballots was required and the results were not announced until after 10 pm.[36][1][37]
  • March 11, 2018: Elliott initially issues a statement refusing to concede, citing "serious irregularities with respect to this leadership race" and asserting that "thousands of members have been assigned to incorrect ridings" resulting in electoral points being misallocated.[38][39] However, Elliott releases a statement later that evening conceding to Ford and pledging her support for him as leader.[40]
  • June 7, 2018: Fixed-date of the 2018 Ontario provincial election.
Remove ads

Debates

More information No., Date ...

Interim leadership

Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli was elected as interim leader by the PC parliamentary caucus in a unanimous vote on January 26, 2018. Caucus had favoured having the interim leader lead the party in the election campaign but the party executive opted to hold a leadership election prior to the general election.[9]

Candidates

Summarize
Perspective

Christine Elliott

Thumb
Christine Elliott

Christine Elliott, 70, is the former non-partisan Patient Ombudsman for Ontario (2016–2018), a past PC leadership candidate (2009 and 2015) and former MPP (Whitby—Ajax 2006–07, Whitby—Oshawa 2007–15).[9][41] She is a lawyer by training, and is the widow of former federal Minister of Finance, and 2002 and 2004 Ontario PC leadership candidate Jim Flaherty. Elliott is also a co-founder and director of the Abilities Centre, a facility for those with special needs.[42]

Elliott opposed a carbon tax,[43] and supported building a high-speed rail line between Toronto to Windsor.[44]

  • Date candidacy declared: February 1, 2018[20][45]
  • Date candidacy registered with Elections Ontario: February 7, 2018[46]
  • Contributions received: $769,871.00[47]
  • Campaign expenditures: $864,683.00[47]

Endorsements

Doug Ford

Thumb
Doug Ford

Doug Ford, 60, is a businessman and politician who is currently seeking the PC nomination in Etobicoke North for the upcoming June 2018 provincial election.[106] Ford is the brother of former Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, and son of former Etobicoke-Humber MPP Doug Ford Sr. He was a member of Toronto City Council during his brother's term as mayor (2010–2014) and the runner-up in the 2014 Toronto mayoral election.[107][108] Ford announced on February 1, 2018, that he would devote his energy to the leadership race and was no longer intending to run in the 2018 Toronto mayoral election.[109]

Ford promised to "present Ontarians with a compassionate and responsible vision".[110] He wanted to keep taxes low and eliminate a carbon tax.[111] He stated he would not support policies that make Ontario less competitive.[111] He has promised to fund election promises by finding efficiencies in government. Ford is in favour of expanding public transit in the GTA.[110] He promised to revisit the sex-education curriculum.[110]

  • Date candidacy announced: January 29, 2018[16][17]
  • Date candidacy declared: February 3, 2018[21]
  • Date candidacy registered with Elections Ontario: February 2, 2018[46]
  • Contributions received: $848,391.72[112]
  • Campaign expenditures: $848,391.72[112]

Endorsements

Tanya Granic Allen

Thumb
Tanya Granic Allen

Tanya Granic Allen, 37, is a social conservative parental rights activist and the president of Parents As First Educators (PAFE), a group that opposes the province's new sex education curriculum.[23][124] She also sits on the board of the Catholic Civil Rights League, a conservative Catholic lobby and advocacy group.[125] She previously worked as a political staffer at Toronto City Hall for then Toronto City Councillor John Parker, and as a spokesperson for the Campaign Life Coalition.[126][127]

Granic Allen opposes abortion and also supported repealing and replacing the Liberal government's new sex education curriculum.[128] She promised to rerun contested riding nominations completed under Patrick Brown.

  • Date candidacy announced: February 8, 2018[23]
  • Date candidacy declared: February 14, 2018[24]
  • Date candidacy registered with Elections Ontario: February 13, 2018[24]
  • Date candidacy revoked: May 5, 2018
  • Contributions received: $364,768.77[129]
  • Campaign expenditures: $334,791.85[129]

Endorsements

Caroline Mulroney

Thumb
Caroline Mulroney

Caroline Mulroney, 51, is a businesswoman, lawyer and the daughter of former Prime Minister of Canada Brian Mulroney and his wife, Mila. Mulroney is the PC candidate in York—Simcoe for the upcoming election.[133]

Mulroney wanted to use the "People's Guarantee" as a "starting point".[134] She supported childcare rebates as well as cuts to hydro rates.[134] Mulroney had been in favour of a carbon tax,[135] but shifted against one.[135][136] Mulroney remained committed to spending $1 billion to build Hamilton's light rail transit system.[137] Her platform would have had a small deficit to pay for her promises.[138]

  • Date candidacy declared: February 4, 2018[22]
  • Date candidacy registered with Elections Ontario: February 5, 2018[46]
  • Contributions received: $943,858.00[139]
  • Campaign expenditures: $1,068,676.00[139]

Endorsements

Remove ads

Withdrawn candidates

Summarize
Perspective

Patrick Brown

Thumb
Patrick Brown

Patrick Brown, 47, is the MPP for Simcoe North (2015–2018 as a Progressive Conservative and 2018–present as an independent) and a former Conservative MP for Barrie (2006–2015). He was the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario from 2015 until his 2018 resignation triggered this leadership election. Brown was expelled from the PC caucus hours before registering his candidacy on February 16, 2018.[26] On February 21, 2018, the party's nominations committee approved Brown to seek the leadership in a 3 to 2 vote.[176][177]

Brown planned to run on the full "People's Guarantee" platform, including a carbon tax which would fund the platform, and which had been the intended 2018 election platform prior to Brown's resignation.[178]

Brown withdrew ten days after announcing his candidacy, claiming that he and his family had been subjected to threats for entering the contest. His withdrawal occurred hours after reports surfaced that as leader he had directed top party officials: "get me the result I want", in a riding nomination that has subsequently become the focus of a Hamilton Police Service investigation for alleged fraud and also the same day that the Integrity Commissioner announced an investigation of Brown's travel expenses and other alleged financial improprieties.[179][180][181]

  • Date candidacy declared: February 16, 2018[27]
  • Date candidacy registered with Elections Ontario: February 16, 2018[46]
  • Date withdrew: February 26, 2018[30]
  • Contributions received: $18,574.00[182]
  • Campaign expenditures: $19,326.00[182]

Endorsements

Vic Fedeli

Thumb
Vic Fedeli

Vic Fedeli, 68, was the Interim Leader (2018), Finance Critic and MPP for Nippissing (2011–present), past leadership candidate (2015) and former mayor of North Bay, Ontario (2003–2010). Fedeli told reporters that he will "let my name stand for leader of our party".[9] After the party executive announced its decision to schedule a leadership election in March, Fedeli reiterated his intention to run for the permanent leadership.[193] On January 30, 2018, however, he announced that he would not be running for the permanent leadership after all in order to focus on his duties as interim leader and correcting organizational problems within the party in the run up to the general election.[18]

  • Date candidacy announced: January 26, 2018
  • Date withdrew: January 30, 2018[18]

Endorsements

Remove ads

Declined

Remove ads

Opinion polling

Thumb
2018 Ontario PC leadership polling of PC members by Mainstreet Research.

Progressive Conservative members only

More information Poll source, Date ...

Progressive Conservative supporters only

More information Poll source, Date ...

All Ontarians

More information Poll source, Date ...
Remove ads

Results

By round

  = Eliminated from next round
  = Winner
More information Candidate, Ballot 1 ...

By riding

Toronto

More information Toronto, Riding ...

905

More information Riding, Ballot 1 ...

Eastern Ontario

More information Eastern Ontario, Riding ...

Southwestern Ontario

More information Southwestern Ontario, Riding ...

Northern Ontario

More information Northern Ontario, Riding ...
Remove ads

Notes

  1. previously endorsed Brown
  2. Also served as MPP for Niagara Falls from 1995 to 2003
  3. Also seeking the PC nomination in London West, for the upcoming Provincial election
  4. Also served as Mayor of Whitby, Ontario, from 2006 to 2014
  5. Also served as MP for Oak Ridges—Markham from 2008 to 2015; previously endorsed Mulroney
  6. previously endorsed Brown
  7. Also serving as Waterloo Catholic District School Board Trustee for Kitchener/Wilmot
  8. previously endorsed Brown
  9. previously endorsed Mulroney
  10. Also served as MP for Brampton—Springdale from 2011 to 2015
  11. Also served as Ottawa City Councillor for Mooney's Bay Ward from 1994 to 1999
  12. previously endorsed Brown
  13. Also serving as Markham City Councillor for Ward 7
  14. previously endorsed Brown
  15. previously endorsed Brown
  16. previously endorsed Brown
  17. previously endorsed Brown and Mulroney
  18. Also serving as Russell Township Councillor
  19. Also serving as Hamilton City Councillor for Ward 7
  20. previously endorsed Brown
  21. Also seeking the PC nomination in Markham—Unionville for the upcoming Provincial election
  22. Also served as MPP for Brampton West—Mississauga from 1995 to 2003
  23. Previously endorsed Brown
  24. Also served as MPP for Dufferin—Peel—Wellington—Grey from 1990 to 2002
  25. former president of the PCPO
  26. Also served as MPP for Halton Centre from 1995 to 1999
  27. Also served as MPP for Leeds—Grenville from 1981 to 2010
  28. Also serving as Brant County councillor for Ward 1
  29. Also serving as Lac Seul First Nation Band Chief
  30. Also served as MP for Prince Edward—Hastings from 2004 to 2015
  31. Also served as MPP for Burlington from 2011 to 2014
  32. Also serving as Deputy Mayor of Toronto and City Councillor for Ward 34 (Don Valley East)
  33. Also served as MP for Kenora from 2008 to 2015
  34. Also served as MP for London North Centre from 2011 to 2015
  35. previously endorsed Ford
  36. previously endorsed Mulroney
  37. Also served as MPP for Nipissing from 2002 and 2003
Remove ads

References

Loading related searches...

Wikiwand - on

Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.

Remove ads