Change at centre of PC leadership race

The purpose of political leadership campaigns is to test candidates and ideas, to subject potential leaders to the fire of party scrutiny before the real thing.

Leadership campaigns aren’t about who the public likes best.

Ontario’s current premier, Kathleen Wynne, and her predecessor, Dalton McGuinty, were not the front- runners in their respective leadership races.

In both cases the Liberal party establishment and a fair number of caucus members rallied around other potential leaders.

McGuinty won because he did the legwork necessary to become candidate’s second choice and Wynne by dint of her strong ground team, performance and ability to convince delegates she was ready to govern.

Ontario’s Progressive Conservative party elects a new leader March 10 to replace Patrick Brown, felled in spectacularly public fashion months before the June 7 provincial election by allegations of sexual misconduct, allegations he’s denied.

Conservative party members now have three strong candidates to consider, each with compelling strengths, arguable weaknesses and a story to tell Ontario voters.

Christine Elliott is smart, experienced and tested, having spent years at Queen’s Park as an MPP and deputy leader. She ran for party leadership twice previously, which some argue as a negative but on the other hand provides valuable familiarity with what’s needed to win.

Doug Ford is a rock star among his “Ford Nation” base, a former Toronto councillor and populist who won broad support across the city but narrowly lost the last mayoral race to John Tory. Ford connects with average people, but is arguably the most polarizing candidate.

Caroline Mulroney brings impressive private sector accomplishments and, as the daughter of Canada’s former prime minister, instant name recognition. While Mulroney lacks direct political experience, she also offers the potential to take a party struggling with image challenges in a new, positive direction.

Grassroots conservatives, meanwhile, now have the task of deciding who leads them into the broader campaign against Wynne’s Liberals.

All three candidates have expressed the need for “change” in Ontario and that must continue to be a key focus of the new leader.

After 15 years of Liberal scandal and mismanagement, voters in this province need an alternative.

— Postmedia Network