Tories sticking to race deadlines

JUNE 27 VOTE

OTTAWA • Despite pleas from some leadership candidates, the Conservative Party is not planning to change any of the race's deadlines in response to the massive disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

That means March 25 remains a hard deadline to qualify for the final ballot, and April 17 is the cutoff for selling a party membership to a voter.

The deadlines are being kept so the race can stay on track for a June 27 vote. The party has planned for a leadership convention in Toronto that day, but the voting could be done entirely by mail-in vote if necessary.

The decisions were made at a Sunday meeting of the party's leadership election organizing committee (LEOC). In a statement, the party said it is monitoring the situation closely but so far doesn't see the need for big changes.

“To date, the LEOC and the Party are confident that all requirements, key dates, and milestones can be met to continue the race,” it said. “We do, however, recognize the need to adapt to the realities of the COVID-19 virus.”

The party will provide candidates with a list of vendors who specialize in virtual town halls, and it will advertise such town halls to its whole membership. It will also provide an online portal for collecting party member signatures.

The candidates who have called for deadlines to be extended or the race suspended are Rudy Husny, Marilyn Gladu and Rick Peterson. All three are still in the first stage of qualifying, meaning they've submitted $25,000 and 1,000 party member signatures. To get through all three stages, candidates need a total of $300,000 and 3,000 signatures.

Husny sent a letter to LEOC on Sunday saying he'd had to cancel a 10-day, three-province tour to fundraise and collect signatures due to COVID-19 precautions.

“I don't believe that soliciting our members at this time is the right thing to do and will only make us look out of touch and frankly disconnected,” his letter said.

Peterson said Monday he's calling off his individual fundraising activities, but would continue trying to reach the March 25 deadline. “We'll not be asking individuals to send money to a political campaign at a time when every dollar counts,” he said.

Two candidates have made it through all three qualifying stages: Peter MacKay and Erin O'Toole. Two more are in the second stage, and both are backed by the pro-life movement: Derek Sloan and Leslyn Lewis.

Four are still in the first stage, including Husny, Gladu and Peterson. The fourth candidate, Jim Karahalios, says he's submitted everything required for the second stage. However, his application has been delayed and it appears likely the party is investigating him over personal attacks on a senior official on O'Toole's campaign who is Muslim.