Leaders debate in disarray after MacKay withdraws

OTTAWA — A new media organization’s plan to host all four Conservative leadership candidates for a debate Wednesday was thrown into disarray when two of the contenders dropped out.

Leslyn Lewis announced hours before the event her doctor had ordered her to stay away because she is battling an ear infection and has a fever, though she has tested negative for COVID-19.

Shortly after, Peter MacKay declared he wouldn’t go either, saying it wouldn’t be fair if only three of the four candidates were onstage, and called for the event to be rescheduled.

The event was organized by the newly formed Independent Press Gallery of Canada, run by Candice Malcolm, a conservative columnist and analyst.

Organizers decided to go forward with back-to-back “fireside chats” with the two remaining candidates, Erin O’Toole and Derek Sloan.

The “show must go on,” Malcolm said in her opening remarks as she took a direct swipe at MacKay.

Lewis is ill and organizers wish her well, Malcolm said, but MacKay, who lives in Toronto made a choice.

“Leadership is about resiliency, courage and trust and voters can judge for themselves what they think of Peter MacKay’s last minute decision to reneg on his commitment and abandon this event,” she said.

The Conservative party did host two official leadership debates in June and all four candidates appeared at those.

The moderator for Wednesday’s event was Andrew Lawton, who along with Malcolm and several others, is part of the True North Centre for Public Policy.

The centre, a registered charity, describes itself as a non-governmental, non-partisan organization conducting research and investigative journalism.

In mid-May, True North published a piece attacking MacKay for refusing to sit down with its reporters for an interview, saying he was the only one of the four candidates who had yet to grant their request.

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