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    • Meet the five candidates vying to be the next Conservative leader

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    Conservative Party members will be electing their new leader in September. While six candidates had originally secured their place in the race after meeting all of the party鈥檚 eligibility requirements, on July 5 the leadership organizing committee announced Patrick Brown had been disqualified. Chair Ian Brodie announced the move, stating that the Brown campaign appears to have violated financing rules. Brown鈥檚 campaign is disputing the claims, accusing the party of undergoing a 鈥渇ishing expedition.鈥

    That leaves five candidates still currently in the running. Here鈥檚 a snapshot of who each contender is, their political histories, and what kind of campaign they鈥檙e running.

    For more on where each stands on key issues, read our primer.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    SCOTT AITCHISON

    Ontario MP Scott Aitchison is seen in an undated handout photo. The Conservative Party of Canada is now up to six contenders who are officially in the running for Erin O'Toole's former job. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Scott Aitchison

    , while a relatively new face on the federal scene, has decades of experience in public office. The 49-year-old has represented the Ontario riding of Parry Sound-Muskoka since 2019. Between 2014 and 2019, Aitchison was the mayor of Huntsville, Ont. where he grew up. Raised in the Jehovah鈥檚 Witness faith, Aitchison left home at age 15 to seek 鈥渁 different path,鈥 and was taken in by neighbours.

    He was first elected at 21 to the Huntsville town council and then after spending time in the private sector 鈥 including working in sales with Coldwell Banker Thompson Real Estate and Fowler Construction Company 鈥 Aitchison returned to municipal politics as in 2010. Since entering the Conservative leadership race in March, he鈥檚 centred his campaign on the idea that 鈥渢here is nothing wrong about Canada that cannot be fixed with everything that is right about it.鈥

    ROMAN BABER

    Conservative Party of Canada leadership candidate Roman Baber talks to 愛污传媒 Channel's Power Play host Evan Solomon in an interview that aired Monday, March 14, 2022.

    is lesser known within the federal political scene but has been a member of Ontario鈥檚 provincial Parliament as the representative for York Centre since 2018. He was kicked out of Premier Doug Ford鈥檚 caucus in early January 2021, after penning a two-page letter stating pandemic lockdowns were 鈥渄eadlier than COVID.鈥 On top of booting him from the Progressive Conservative party, Ford said he would not be permitted to seek re-election under the party banner. Baber鈥檚 campaign website notes, since then, he鈥檚 been a 鈥渟taunch advocate in favour of balanced covid response,鈥 specifically as it relates to lockdown measures.

    Barber was born and raised in the Soviet Union, moved to Israel at the age of nine, and immigrated to Canada at age 15. He obtained a law degree from the University of Western Ontario and practised civil and commercial litigation until entering provincial politics. He says he is running for the leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada because he will not 鈥渟it back while Canadians are losing faith in Canada鈥檚 democracy and Canadian opportunity.鈥 Baber resides in Toronto with his partner Nancy Marchese.

    JEAN CHAREST

    Former Quebec Premier Jean Charest formally launches his campaign for the Conservative leadership campaign at an event in Calgary, Alberta on Thursday, March 10, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Dave Chidley

    first entered into the federal political ring during the 1984 election. The then-28-year-old lawyer won the Sherbrooke riding seat under the Progressive Conservative (PC) banner. He went on to serve as the Minister of State for Youth, Minister of Environment, Minister of Industry, and Deputy Prime Minister of Canada. He was subsequently named interim PC leader and then permanent leader in 1995. Charest left federal politics three years later to lead the Quebec Liberal Party to victory in three consecutive elections starting in 2003.

    After losing the 2012 election to the Parti Qu茅b茅cois under then-leader Pauline Marois, Charest exited politics and became a consultant at McCarthy T茅trault. He has drawn criticism from his fellow leadership rivals for his past work advising Huawei in Canada鈥檚 5G rollout. Charest is viewed as a more moderate candidate, advocating for strong child care and climate change policies. He is running on the tagline 鈥渂uilt to win鈥 touting his experience 鈥渦nited and governing鈥 a diverse Canada. The 63-year-old father of three, and grandfather of two, lives in Montreal with his partner Mich猫le Dionne.

    LESLYN LEWIS

    FILE - Conservative member of Parliament Leslyn Lewis rises during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

    leapt on to the federal Conservative scene during the 2020 Conservative leadership race, in which she came in third and made history as the first ever Black woman to be in the running to lead the Conservative party. The 51-year old mother of two lives in Dunnville, Ont. with her family. Lewis was elected as the MP for the southwestern Ontario riding of Haldimand-Norfolk in the 2021 federal election. In 2015, she ran unsuccessfully, after being put into a race at the last moment when the previous candidate was dropped after a video surfaced of him urinating in a cup while working in someone's home.

    Prior to politics, Lewis had a career on Bay Street in Toronto, and ran a business while completing her PhD in international law and teaching law at Osgoode Hall Law School, where she鈥檚 also received a Juris Doctorate and PhD in law. She also has a master鈥檚 degree in environmental studies from the Schulich School of Business. Her campaign is focused on the idea that 鈥淐anada is in desperate need of hope, unity, and compassion.鈥

    PIERRE POILIEVRE

    Federal Conservative leadership candidate Pierre Poilievre speaks at an anti-carbon tax rally in Ottawa on Thursday, March 31, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Patrick Doyle

    has been the MP for an Ottawa-area riding since 2004. The 42-year-old long-time politician is married to his wife Anaida and together they have two children Valentina and Cruz. They currently live in the Eastern Ontario village of Greely. Poilievre, who was adopted by schoolteachers at a young age, grew up in Calgary and graduated from the University of Calgary with a degree in International Relations. He鈥檚 been connected to conservative politics from a young age, before entering federal politics nearly two decades ago.

    Once Stephen Harper鈥檚 Conservative government came to power in 2006, Poilievre held a series of parliamentary secretary and junior minister roles. He then became a key critic of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau鈥檚 government, from his seat in the Official Opposition benches. One of the first candidates out of the gate, Poilievre has been attracting large crowds across the country with his affordability-focused and populist message of 鈥榯aking back control鈥 from 鈥榞atekeepers.鈥 He had contemplated running in the party鈥檚 last leadership race, but ended up not throwing his hat into the ring citing family considerations. This time, he鈥檚 framing his race as a run for prime minister, one that would champion 鈥減ersonal freedom.鈥

    IN DEPTH

    Opinion

    opinion

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    When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.

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    N.L.

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