2018 Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario leadership election


The 2018 Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario leadership election was held on March 10, 2018, due to the resignation of party leader Patrick Brown on January 25, 2018, following allegations of sexual misconduct. Winner Doug Ford narrowly defeated runner-up Christine Elliott on the third ballot with 50.6% of allocated 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. 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. At the time of the leadership election Newmarket—Aurora and five others remained under active investigation by the party and Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas remained under police investigation.
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. 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". 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, and called the leadership election for March 2018.

Rules and procedures

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 Canadian Citizen who is a resident of Ontario, and pay a $10 membership fee with personal funds.
The vote was weighted so that each of the province's ridings that has more than 100 votes cast are allocated 100 electoral votes; ridings in which fewer than 100 party members vote were weighted, but instead had the votes counted as individual votes. The lowest-ranked candidate were dropped from the next round as ballots are counted, and the first candidate to get 50 per cent of the votes was declared the new leader.
Candidates must be nominated by at least 100 party members, must agree to abide by the party's existing platform for the next election, and must be approved by the party's nominations committee as a PC candidate for the 2018 provincial election.

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.
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". Past leadership candidate Frank Klees said he had grave concerns about the integrity of the vote.

Timeline

Interim leadership

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.

Candidates

[Christine Elliott]

Christine Elliott,, is the former non-partisan Patient Ombudsman for Ontario, a past PC leadership candidate and former MPP. 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.
Elliott opposed a carbon tax, and supported building a high-speed rail line between Toronto to Windsor.
Endorsements
Doug Ford,, is a businessman and politician who is currently seeking the PC nomination in Etobicoke North for the upcoming June 2018 provincial election. 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 and the runner-up in the 2014 Toronto mayoral election. 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.
Ford promised to "present Ontarians with a compassionate and responsible vision". He wanted to keep taxes low and eliminate a carbon tax. He stated he would not support policies that make Ontario less competitive. He has promised to fund election promises by finding efficiencies in government. Ford is in favour of expanding public transit in the GTA. He promised to revisit the sex-education curriculum.
Endorsements
Tanya Granic Allen, 37, is a social conservative parental rights activist and the president of Parents As First Educators, a group that opposes the province's new sex education curriculum. She also sits on the board of the Catholic Civil Rights League, a conservative Catholic lobby and advocacy group. 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.
Granic Allen opposes abortion and also supported repealing and replacing the Liberal government's new sex education curriculum. She promised to rerun contested riding nominations completed under Patrick Brown.
Endorsements
Caroline Mulroney,, 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.
Mulroney wanted to use the "People's Guarantee" as a "starting point". She supported childcare rebates as well as cuts to hydro rates. Mulroney had been in favour of a carbon tax, but shifted against one. Mulroney remained committed to spending $1 billion to build Hamilton's light rail transit system. Her platform would have had a small deficit to pay for her promises.
Endorsements

Patrick Brown">Patrick Brown (politician)">Patrick Brown

Patrick Brown,, is the MPP for Simcoe North and a former Conservative MP for Barrie. 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. On February 21, 2018 the party's nominations committee approved Brown to seek the leadership in a 3 to 2 vote.
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.
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.
Endorsements
Vic Fedeli,, was the Interim Leader, Finance Critic and MPP for Nippissing, past leadership candidate and former mayor of North Bay, Ontario . Fedeli told reporters that he will "let my name stand for leader of our party". After the party executive announced its decision to schedule a leadership election in March, Fedeli reiterated his intention to run for the permanent leadership. 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.
Endorsements

All Ontarians

Progressive Conservative supporters only

Progressive Conservative members only

Results

By round

By riding

Toronto

905

Eastern Ontario

Southwestern Ontario

Northern Ontario