Canada's Conservatives pick O'Toole to challenge PM Trudeau

Canada's main opposition Conservative Party on Monday elected Erin O'Toole, a former cabinet minister and armed forces veteran, to be its new leader and the primary challenger to Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. O'Toole replaces Andrew Scheer, who failed to unseat Trudeau in an election last year. In the leadership race, O'Toole beat out the better known Peter MacKay, who cofounded the Conservative Party in 2003 and was a high-profile member of former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper's government, and two other candidates.

The campaign was overshadowed by the coronavirus pandemic. The results, announced in a virtual convention broadcast from Ottawa, were delayed at least five hours by mechanical problems with the machines opening nearly 175,000 ballot envelopes.

While there is no vote looming, Trudeau needs the support of at least one of three opposition parties to stay in power, and a crucial confidence vote on the government's COVID-19 economic recovery plan is expected in late September.

"The Conservative Party will be ready for the next election and we will win the next election," O'Toole said in his acceptance speech, delivered after 1 a.m. ET (0500 GMT). O'Toole, a 47-year-old father of two, describes himself as a "true blue Conservative" and has vowed to "put Canada first" while helping families and the economy recover from the coronavirus crisis.