About 675K signed up to vote in Conservative leadership
Posted June 30, 2022 6:11 pm.
Last Updated June 30, 2022 6:32 pm.
About 675,000 members have signed up to vote for a new leader of the federal Conservatives – a staggering number that the Tories believe sets an all-time record for any federal political party.
The party released the list to each individual campaign on Thursday and candidates have until midnight Monday to challenge the validity of any of those sign-ups. There is also an opportunity to request to have a name added if they believe someone has been missed.
However, the party says some 6,500 non-compliant sales have already been cut – for example, those who signed up more than once or who used prepaid cards.
Ian Brodie, chair of the leadership election organizing committee, said Thursday there are now more members of the Conservative party than people in the city of Hamilton.
The party is not releasing how many members each individual candidate signed up, after Pierre Poilievre claimed he sold nearly 312,000 memberships through his website. Five other candidates are vying for the top job: Conservative MPs Scott Aitchison and Leslyn Lewis, both from Ontario, former Quebec premier Jean Charest, Patrick Brown, the mayor of Brampton, Ont., and Roman Baber, a former Independent member of the Ontario legislature.
The party says ballot packages will be mailed out over the next several weeks which must be returned by Sept. 6.
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Attention will now turn to getting out the vote and attempting to persuade their opponents’ supporters to switch allegiances – or at least put their name second on the ballot.
Because of the ranked ballot system, voters’ second choice could play a major role in determining the next leader.
Between the ranked ballots and the points system used on voting day, it can be difficult to get a sense of who is pulling ahead in the race.
The new leader will be named in Ottawa on Sept. 10.
