Leader of Conservative Party ousted
Erin O’Toole, the leader of Canada’s opposition Conservative Party, was ousted in a vote against his leadership Wednesday, providing a political lift to the minority government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, buffeted by pandemic fatigue and divided opinion over his stewardship of the country.
In a secret ballot, the Conservative caucus voted against O’Toole, 73-45, according to a statement from the caucus chair, Scott Reid. The vote was forced by a petition from caucus members concerned that O’Toole had taken the party too far away from its core conservative values on social issues.
The vote appears to have been triggered by Conservative members angered by his support of a Liberal government bill banning conversion therapy earlier this year.
The vote is something of a political gift for Trudeau, a polarizing figure who has grappled with the invasion of the omicron variant and intensifying frustration over pandemic restrictions. There are economic challenges, too, including inflation of nearly 5%, the highest in 30 years.
While a Jan. 27 poll by the Angus Reid Institute, a not-for-profit polling group, showed that about half of Canadians approved of Trudeau’s handling of the pandemic, his overall approval rating shrank to 42% from 50% a year ago.
The Conservative Party is now looking for a new leader for the third time in five years. The ouster of O’Toole, 49, also suggests a widening of the rift between its more socially conservative wing, which is largely based in Western Canada, and its fiscally conservative, socially liberal branch that is centered in Ontario, the most populous province and O’Toole’s home.
O’Toole, who was defiant before the vote, offered some advice to his successor in a prerecorded video after the vote.
“This country needs a Conservative Party that is both an intellectual force and a governing force,” he said. “Ideology without power is vanity. Seeking power without ideology is hubris.”