More Than Half Of Conservative Members Voted For A New Leader A Week Before The Deadline

OTTAWA – More than half of Conservative party members have voted for their next leader, leaving one week for the rest of the party to do the same.
As of Tuesday, the party says more than 350,000 mail-in ballots have been returned out of the 678,000 they sent out to people eligible to vote in the contest.
That means voter turnout is currently around 52 percent so far.  About 65 percent of members voted in the 2020 party leadership contest, which was won by Ontario MP Erin O’Toole.
Leadership candidates and their teams have spent the final weeks of this race with their heads down, poring over the membership list, working to ensure their supporters vote — and trying to reach out to those who haven’t.
Front-runner Pierre Poilievre, who has hosted nearly 80 large rallies across the country throughout the campaign, held his latest meet-and-greet on Monday in Vancouver.  His team says more than 1,000 people participated.
His efforts to get out the vote were aided by many of the 62 members of Parliament who supported him, many of whom spent the latter part of the summer hosting events where supporters can vote in person by mail.
Saskatchewan MP Corey Tochor, who is co-chairing Poilievre’s campaign in that province with former leader Andrew Scheer, said he has seen two to three times more people drop out of these events compared to leadership races in the past.
“The excitement level is through the roof.”
In addition to collecting ballots to send to Ottawa, he said the events also serve as an opportunity to hear from the party’s grassroots.
“It’s really rewarding to meet the grassroots, whether new members or existing members, who are like, teary-eyed thinking about the possibility of change.”
The events also provide supporters with a place to photocopy an ID, which must be sent with the ballot to confirm its validity.  This requirement can be a logistical hurdle.
Many in the party expect Poilievre to win, and potentially win big, after his campaign reported selling more than 300,000 registrations.  He also entered the race extremely popular with the party’s existing base.
His campaign said many of the members were bought by people who have never belonged to a political party – meaning the voting process for them is also new.
Despite the momentum behind Poilievre, Jean Charest’s campaign said it believes the former Quebec premier has the points needed to win a narrow victory.
Candidates are ranked based on the share of the vote they receive in each of their ridings.  The winner must get more than 50 percent of the available points.
For the final week of voting, Charest’s campaign is focusing resources on Ontario and British Columbia, what he sees as two of the battlegrounds of the race.  It is based on a strong showing in Atlantic Canada and Quebec.
He also hopes to pick up support that would otherwise have gone to Patrick Brown, who was disqualified from the race last month on charges of violating the country’s election law.
Brown focused on attracting supporters from immigrant and racialized communities.  Some in the party believe those supporters will choose not to vote now that he is not a candidate.
But after his ouster, Charest reached out to Brown’s organizers.  Mukarram Ali Zaidi of Calgary said he was one of them.
“Whatever Patrick Brown did, he agreed that he would continue this project,” he said in a recent interview, adding that it includes fighting Quebec’s controversial Bill 21.
“When politicians want your support and your vote, they say whatever you want.”
Zaidi, who is Muslim, said he also asked Charest to commit to investigating Brown’s removal from the race, which he said shocked many of Brown’s supporters.
Charest’s campaign spokeswoman, Michelle Coates Mather, confirmed in a statement that he is committed to an investigation.
The next Conservative leader will be announced at a conference in Ottawa on September 10.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on August 30, 2022.

title: “More Than Half Of Conservative Members Voted For A New Leader A Week Before The Deadline Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-19” author: “Kevin Odell”

OTTAWA – More than half of Conservative party members have voted for their next leader, leaving one week for the rest of the party to do the same.
As of Tuesday, the party says more than 350,000 mail-in ballots have been returned out of the 678,000 they sent out to people eligible to vote in the contest.
That means voter turnout is currently around 52 percent so far.  About 65 percent of members voted in the 2020 party leadership contest, which was won by Ontario MP Erin O’Toole.
Leadership candidates and their teams have spent the final weeks of this race with their heads down, poring over the membership list, working to ensure their supporters vote — and trying to reach out to those who haven’t.
Front-runner Pierre Poilievre, who has hosted nearly 80 large rallies across the country throughout the campaign, held his latest meet-and-greet on Monday in Vancouver.  His team says more than 1,000 people participated.
His efforts to get out the vote were aided by many of the 62 members of Parliament who supported him, many of whom spent the latter part of the summer hosting events where supporters can vote in person by mail.
Saskatchewan MP Corey Tochor, who is co-chairing Poilievre’s campaign in that province with former leader Andrew Scheer, said he has seen two to three times more people drop out of these events compared to leadership races in the past.
“The excitement level is through the roof.”
In addition to collecting ballots to send to Ottawa, he said the events also serve as an opportunity to hear from the party’s grassroots.
“It’s really rewarding to meet the grassroots, whether new members or existing members, who are like, teary-eyed thinking about the possibility of change.”
The events also provide supporters with a place to photocopy an ID, which must be sent with the ballot to confirm its validity.  This requirement can be a logistical hurdle.
Many in the party expect Poilievre to win, and potentially win big, after his campaign reported selling more than 300,000 registrations.  He also entered the race extremely popular with the party’s existing base.
His campaign said many of the members were bought by people who have never belonged to a political party – meaning the voting process for them is also new.
Despite the momentum behind Poilievre, Jean Charest’s campaign said it believes the former Quebec premier has the points needed to win a narrow victory.
Candidates are ranked based on the share of the vote they receive in each of their ridings.  The winner must get more than 50 percent of the available points.
For the final week of voting, Charest’s campaign is focusing resources on Ontario and British Columbia, what he sees as two of the battlegrounds of the race.  It is based on a strong showing in Atlantic Canada and Quebec.
He also hopes to pick up support that would otherwise have gone to Patrick Brown, who was disqualified from the race last month on charges of violating the country’s election law.
Brown focused on attracting supporters from immigrant and racialized communities.  Some in the party believe those supporters will choose not to vote now that he is not a candidate.
But after his ouster, Charest reached out to Brown’s organizers.  Mukarram Ali Zaidi of Calgary said he was one of them.
“Whatever Patrick Brown did, he agreed that he would continue this project,” he said in a recent interview, adding that it includes fighting Quebec’s controversial Bill 21.
“When politicians want your support and your vote, they say whatever you want.”
Zaidi, who is Muslim, said he also asked Charest to commit to investigating Brown’s removal from the race, which he said shocked many of Brown’s supporters.
Charest’s campaign spokeswoman, Michelle Coates Mather, confirmed in a statement that he is committed to an investigation.
The next Conservative leader will be announced at a conference in Ottawa on September 10.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on August 30, 2022.

title: “More Than Half Of Conservative Members Voted For A New Leader A Week Before The Deadline Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-30” author: “Annie Coggan”

OTTAWA – More than half of Conservative party members have voted for their next leader, leaving one week for the rest of the party to do the same.
As of Tuesday, the party says more than 350,000 mail-in ballots have been returned out of the 678,000 they sent out to people eligible to vote in the contest.
That means voter turnout is currently around 52 percent so far.  About 65 percent of members voted in the 2020 party leadership contest, which was won by Ontario MP Erin O’Toole.
Leadership candidates and their teams have spent the final weeks of this race with their heads down, poring over the membership list, working to ensure their supporters vote — and trying to reach out to those who haven’t.
Front-runner Pierre Poilievre, who has hosted nearly 80 large rallies across the country throughout the campaign, held his latest meet-and-greet on Monday in Vancouver.  His team says more than 1,000 people participated.
His efforts to get out the vote were aided by many of the 62 members of Parliament who supported him, many of whom spent the latter part of the summer hosting events where supporters can vote in person by mail.
Saskatchewan MP Corey Tochor, who is co-chairing Poilievre’s campaign in that province with former leader Andrew Scheer, said he has seen two to three times more people drop out of these events compared to leadership races in the past.
“The excitement level is through the roof.”
In addition to collecting ballots to send to Ottawa, he said the events also serve as an opportunity to hear from the party’s grassroots.
“It’s really rewarding to meet the grassroots, whether new members or existing members, who are like, teary-eyed thinking about the possibility of change.”
The events also provide supporters with a place to photocopy an ID, which must be sent with the ballot to confirm its validity.  This requirement can be a logistical hurdle.
Many in the party expect Poilievre to win, and potentially win big, after his campaign reported selling more than 300,000 registrations.  He also entered the race extremely popular with the party’s existing base.
His campaign said many of the members were bought by people who have never belonged to a political party – meaning the voting process for them is also new.
Despite the momentum behind Poilievre, Jean Charest’s campaign said it believes the former Quebec premier has the points needed to win a narrow victory.
Candidates are ranked based on the share of the vote they receive in each of their ridings.  The winner must get more than 50 percent of the available points.
For the final week of voting, Charest’s campaign is focusing resources on Ontario and British Columbia, what he sees as two of the battlegrounds of the race.  It is based on a strong showing in Atlantic Canada and Quebec.
He also hopes to pick up support that would otherwise have gone to Patrick Brown, who was disqualified from the race last month on charges of violating the country’s election law.
Brown focused on attracting supporters from immigrant and racialized communities.  Some in the party believe those supporters will choose not to vote now that he is not a candidate.
But after his ouster, Charest reached out to Brown’s organizers.  Mukarram Ali Zaidi of Calgary said he was one of them.
“Whatever Patrick Brown did, he agreed that he would continue this project,” he said in a recent interview, adding that it includes fighting Quebec’s controversial Bill 21.
“When politicians want your support and your vote, they say whatever you want.”
Zaidi, who is Muslim, said he also asked Charest to commit to investigating Brown’s removal from the race, which he said shocked many of Brown’s supporters.
Charest’s campaign spokeswoman, Michelle Coates Mather, confirmed in a statement that he is committed to an investigation.
The next Conservative leader will be announced at a conference in Ottawa on September 10.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on August 30, 2022.

title: “More Than Half Of Conservative Members Voted For A New Leader A Week Before The Deadline Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-14” author: “Steven Saxon”

OTTAWA – More than half of Conservative party members have voted for their next leader, leaving one week for the rest of the party to do the same.
As of Tuesday, the party says more than 350,000 mail-in ballots have been returned out of the 678,000 they sent out to people eligible to vote in the contest.
That means voter turnout is currently around 52 percent so far.  About 65 percent of members voted in the 2020 party leadership contest, which was won by Ontario MP Erin O’Toole.
Leadership candidates and their teams have spent the final weeks of this race with their heads down, poring over the membership list, working to ensure their supporters vote — and trying to reach out to those who haven’t.
Front-runner Pierre Poilievre, who has hosted nearly 80 large rallies across the country throughout the campaign, held his latest meet-and-greet on Monday in Vancouver.  His team says more than 1,000 people participated.
His efforts to get out the vote were aided by many of the 62 members of Parliament who supported him, many of whom spent the latter part of the summer hosting events where supporters can vote in person by mail.
Saskatchewan MP Corey Tochor, who is co-chairing Poilievre’s campaign in that province with former leader Andrew Scheer, said he has seen two to three times more people drop out of these events compared to leadership races in the past.
“The excitement level is through the roof.”
In addition to collecting ballots to send to Ottawa, he said the events also serve as an opportunity to hear from the party’s grassroots.
“It’s really rewarding to meet the grassroots, whether new members or existing members, who are like, teary-eyed thinking about the possibility of change.”
The events also provide supporters with a place to photocopy an ID, which must be sent with the ballot to confirm its validity.  This requirement can be a logistical hurdle.
Many in the party expect Poilievre to win, and potentially win big, after his campaign reported selling more than 300,000 registrations.  He also entered the race extremely popular with the party’s existing base.
His campaign said many of the members were bought by people who have never belonged to a political party – meaning the voting process for them is also new.
Despite the momentum behind Poilievre, Jean Charest’s campaign said it believes the former Quebec premier has the points needed to win a narrow victory.
Candidates are ranked based on the share of the vote they receive in each of their ridings.  The winner must get more than 50 percent of the available points.
For the final week of voting, Charest’s campaign is focusing resources on Ontario and British Columbia, what he sees as two of the battlegrounds of the race.  It is based on a strong showing in Atlantic Canada and Quebec.
He also hopes to pick up support that would otherwise have gone to Patrick Brown, who was disqualified from the race last month on charges of violating the country’s election law.
Brown focused on attracting supporters from immigrant and racialized communities.  Some in the party believe those supporters will choose not to vote now that he is not a candidate.
But after his ouster, Charest reached out to Brown’s organizers.  Mukarram Ali Zaidi of Calgary said he was one of them.
“Whatever Patrick Brown did, he agreed that he would continue this project,” he said in a recent interview, adding that it includes fighting Quebec’s controversial Bill 21.
“When politicians want your support and your vote, they say whatever you want.”
Zaidi, who is Muslim, said he also asked Charest to commit to investigating Brown’s removal from the race, which he said shocked many of Brown’s supporters.
Charest’s campaign spokeswoman, Michelle Coates Mather, confirmed in a statement that he is committed to an investigation.
The next Conservative leader will be announced at a conference in Ottawa on September 10.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on August 30, 2022.