Brown enters Ont. Tory leadership contest
TORONTO — Ontario’s Progressive Conservatives plunged deeper into turmoil Friday as former leader Patrick Brown, who stepped down amid sexualmisconduct allegations weeks ago, vowed to reclaim his old job bolstered by what he called a groundswell of support from the party grassroots.
The 39-year-old Barrie, Ont., politician officially joined the race to lead the Tories shortly before a registration deadline, making him the fifth candidate to vie for the top post and stirring more controversy at a time when the party is trying to get back on course.
Brown, who has been waging a campaign to redeem himself in the public eye in recent days, said he found the strength to make his resurgence after hearing from the party faithful and believes he is the best-placed to take on the Liberals in the spring election.
“I think my name has been cleared and now it’s about getting Ontario back on track,” he said at the party’s Toronto headquarters.
“This isn’t about me, this isn’t about the PC party, this is about making sure that on June 7, the Progressive Conservative party is successful,” he said.
“The support we’ve been getting across the province has just been so encouraging … frankly, it changed my opinion. This is not what I was thinking about, but the support of the party membership has really inspired me.”
Support for Brown is far from unanimous, however. Just hours before joining the leadership race, Brown was kicked out of the Tory caucus, a decision that means he will sit as an independent when the legislature resumes on Tuesday.
Experts said his candidacy could exacerbate tensions within the party and expose the Tories — who had been leading in the polls — to attacks from their political rivals as the province heads to the polls.
“It certainly throws the party into even more turmoil and it’s already in a lot of turmoil,” said Jonathan Malloy, a political science professor at Carleton University in Ottawa.
“I can’t see that he’s going to win the race but he can certainly do a lot to mix things up. But I’m not sure it’s going to help him or the party in the long run,” he said. “It’s becoming more about clearing Patrick Brown’s name than what’s best for the Ontario PC party.”