Interim leader says he cleaned up Ontario Tory ranks

As he prepares to hand over the reins of Ontario’s Progressive Conservatives this weekend, the party’s interim leader said he’s managed to clean up the mess left by his predecessor Patrick Brown.

Vic Fedeli had previously vowed to “root out the rot” from within Tory ranks and in his last speech to caucus as interim leader Tuesday morning, he said he has achieved his goal.

“While there will always be more work to be done, today I can confidently give our party a clean bill of health,” he said, adding the party’s IT system, which was hacked late last year, has been updated and excessive spending has been brought under control.

The Tories have spent the last few weeks trying to close the door on the unprecedented chaos triggered by Brown’s resignation in late January, which stirred tensions within the party and exposed allegations of mismanagement, fraud and bullying — all ahead of a spring election.

The party eventually reopened candidate nominations in two contested ridings, though some grassroots members have called for more nominations to be reconsidered.

Many of those issues have nonetheless continued to bubble up as the party gets ready to choose a new leader, and have often been brought up by the four candidates competing for the job.

In an interview with The Canadian Press on Tuesday, Fedeli denied he will be handing over a divided party in need of major reform, as some critics and candidates have suggested.