Scheer wins Tory race in upset squeaker
Saskatchewan MP defeats perceived front-runner Maxime Bernier with 51 per cent of vote on 13th ballot
Andrew Scheer, the apple-cheeked Saskatchewan MP and former Speaker of the House of Commons, survived a 13-ballot battle with presumed leadership front-runner Maxime Bernier on Saturday and eked out the narrowest of wins in the fight for the helm of the federal Conservatives.
The nail-biting process of winnowing the 13-candidate field went the full distance before Scheer, 38, was declared the winner with 50.95 per cent of the available points, barely besting longtime front-runner Maxime Bernier.
Bernier had led throughout the previous 12 ballots, but finished a close second with 49.05 per cent.
“What a campaign this has been,” Scheer told the crowd as he acknowledged and thanked Bernier — who appeared to be fighting back tears of disappointment — and his other leadership rivals for their efforts and hard work.
“Time away from your families and your everyday lives — what a sacrifice this has been for all of you,” he said.
“We have all grown because of your hard work ... you have each brought your passion and what you believe in to the centre stage, and I plan to ensure the very best of those ideas are brought forward ... to help us win in 2019.”
Bernier is a longtime Quebec member of Parliament, but support in his home province wasn’t a sure thing, given his profuse opposition to the supply management system that regulates some of the province’s most lucrative agricultural industries.
After the first ballot, he had captured just 48 per cent of support from his own riding of Beauce, with rival Scheer nabbing a surprisingly high 47 per cent.
Bernier said he remained committed to his own principles — and to the party. He said he sees a place for himself in a party led by Scheer, even though the victor’s stay-the-course approach differed so wildly from his own big policy ambitions.
“I like competition, it was a great competition,” said Bernier, visibly crushed. “I’m ready to work with Andrew; he did a great campaign, and that’s democracy, you know.”
But the narrow margin of victory is indicative of a unity issue that’s likely to be a challenge for the party going forward — especially since Scheer takes his place as leader in the Commons on Monday.
“Every single kind of Conservative is welcome in this party and this party belongs to all of you,” he told the crowd. “We all know what it looks like when Conservatives are divided; we will not let that happen again. We win when we are united.”
The ranks of the party are as large as they’ve ever been, he noted, and it appears to have renewed fundraising power.
“I’m here to tell you there is renewed hope for Canada, starting today. I’m here to tell you that the pain and hardship the Trudeau Liberals are causing Canadians is just temporary,” Scheer said.
“Trudeau’s Liberals are so focused on photo ops and selfies that they don’t care if their policies hurt and not help the middle class. Sunny ways don’t pay the bills.”
Deepak Obhrai, Andrew Saxton, Rick Peterson, Kevin O’Leary, Chris Alexander, Steven Blaney and Lisa Raitt were some of the earliest casualties as early-ballot results were announced, while Kellie Leitch, Pierre Lemieux and Michael Chong fell off in subsequent rounds.
Gone in the 9th ballot was controversial MP Kellie Leitch, the former cabinet minister and orthopedic surgeon whose key campaign pledge to screen newcomers for Canadian values saw her dominate early media coverage of the race, only to fade from prominence as the vote grew nearer.
Pierre Lemieux, a former MP from Ontario who ran championing socially conservative policies, dropped off in the 8th ballot, while Brad Trost hung in longer than many expected, dropping off on the 11th ballot.
O’Leary dropped out of the race last month but was too late to have his name removed from the ballot. Andrew Scheer’s wife Jill and children, Mary, 1, Thomas, 12, Henry, 6, Grace, 10, and Madeline, 8, celebrate their father’s victory Saturday.
The lengthy ranked-ballot system and the size of the field meant several rounds of balloting were necessary to crown a winner. Officials say 132,000 ballots — the party has some 259,000 eligible members — had been received by the Friday deadline for mail-in ballots.
“I’m here to tell you there is renewed hope for Canada, starting today” — ANDREW SCHEER NEW CONSERVATIVE PARTY LEADER