Scheer favourite
P.E.I. Conservatives celebrate Andrew Scheer’s narrow victory in party’s leadership race
P.E.I. Conservatives got their wish on Saturday night.
Saskatchewan MP Andrew Scheer was elected as the new leader of the Conservative Party of Canada after narrowly beating front-runner Maxime Bernier with 50.95 per cent of the final vote.
Scheer had been in second place though most of the night as the 14 candidates dwindled down in 13 ballots.
The nail-biting race saw more than a dozen Conservative Party members watching anxiously at the Rodd Charlottetown and erupting into applause when Scheer’s win was announced on the final ballot.
“He was my guy from the start. He’s going to be good for Canada and he’s certainly going to be good for the Maritimes,” said Charlottetown party member Maurice McCabe, who said he was surprised at how close the race was.
“P.E.I. came out strong for him and that’s great.”
Although Scheer just narrowly beat Bernier, he was the clear favourite with P.E.I. Conservatives.
The party’s website showed Scheer earned 70.80 per cent of P.E.I.’s support in the final ballot compared to Bernier’s 29.20.
Scheer was also P.E.I.’s favourite from the start. The first ballot, which included all 14 candidates still saw Scheer as P.E.I.’s front-runner with 29.42 per cent compared to Bernier’s 15.13 per cent.
McCabe said he felt Scheer’s messaging resonated with Islanders.
“Bernier was more of a small government candidate. Scheer is an all-encompassing guy. You’re going to get your way with Scheer, he’s going to have an ear to the Maritimes,” said McCabe.
Martha Ellis, president of the Charlottetown Conservative Association, assisted the 11 leadership candidates who visited P.E.I. during the race.
Although Ellis did not publicly support any of the candidates, she said Scheer’s win was exciting for the party.
“I think it was an absolute fantastic choice,” said Ellis.
“Scheer is such a gentle, kind man. He’s a family man and he’s got five children, so we felt he would really fit in with Islanders and P.E.I.”
Mike Driscoll said he and his wife Angela Driscoll both supported Scheer.
He wasn’t surprised at the new leader’s popularity amongst Islanders.
“I think he gained traction with the local voters, he certainly got our attention,” said Driscoll.
“I’m very encouraged. The membership was able to come together and make a reasonable choice and that will help the party serve Canada better.”
Ron MacMillan, Charlottetown’s Conservative candidate in the last federal election, was also encouraged by Scheer’s win and said it was good for P.E.I. Conservatives and the party as a whole.
“He brings a lot to the party and I think he’ll work very hard to bring the party together and develop the policies for the next election in 2019.”