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Reuters
Erin O’Toole also ran for party leader in 2017
The Conservatives of Canada have chosen Erin O’Toole to become their new leader after a long night of re-counting ballots sparked by a machine function.
Mr O’Toole will be the main candidate to challenge Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the next election, possibly in the coming months.
The 47-year-old former minister beat three other participants by promising to unite the party and expand its base.
An automatic envelope opening scanned thousands of ballots, delaying results.
Representatives of all campaigns saw polls reappear as comments, and agreed on the results of each damaged vote, to avoid a contested election.
The party had to make changes to the race due to the coronavirus pandemic, including the use of mail-in balloting instead of holding a leadership convention for the party faithfully. In total, about 175,000 votes were cast, out of a total of about 270,000 members – the highest number of votes in the party’s history.
Eventually, Mr O’Toole defeated his main opponent, former Defense Secretary Peter MacKay, 54, who had strong support in his home province of Nova Scotia but failed to capture the more socially conservative base in the western provinces.
The match comes after the dismissal of Andrew Scheer in December, following the party’s defeat in last year’s election.
Speaking Sunday, Mr O’Toole made a point for Canadians who are not part of the party’s base to welcome them into the Conservative tent.
“To the millions of Canadians who are still meeting me for the first time, good morning, I’m Erin O’Toole,” he said.
“I believe that whether you are black, white, brown, or of any race or religion, whether you are LGBT or straight, whether you are a native Canadian, or who joined the Canadian family three weeks ago or three generations ago, or “If you worship on Friday, Saturday or Sunday or not at all, you are an important part of Canada and you have a home in the Conservative Party of Canada.”
The race also included Leslyn Lewis, 49, a Toronto-area lawyer and political newcomer, the first black woman to run for the center-right political party. She enjoyed a strong show and finished as third.
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The fourth candidate, MP Derek Sloan, 35, campaigned for the party’s more socially conservative membership.
Who’s Erin O’Toole?
Mr. O’Toole is a former Royal Canadian Air Force and corporate lawyer who joined Parliament in 2012 for the Durham constituency in Ontario.
In 2015, he joined the cabinet of then-Minister Stephen Harper as Minister of Veterans Affairs.
He also ran for the lead in 2017 and finished third.
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The next chance for Canada to go to the polls will be in late September, when Mr Trudeau seeks Parliament’s support for his social and environmental spending plan to help restore Canada’s pandemic – abused economy.
Mr Trudeau’s government is currently embroiled in a conflict-of-interest controversy related to a student volunteer licensing program.
