LESLYN LEWIS
SECOND ATTEMPT
Leslyn Lewis is into her second leadership race, and she is once again the darling of the social conservative wing of the party, which is sparing no effort to try to get her the win.
Lewis sparked surprise by being the first candidate to raise the $200,000 in entry fees and $100,000 compliance deposit required by the party to be on the ballot. And the Ontario MP is making her rounds in different parts of the country, attracting quite large crowds and engaging members with question-and-answer sessions.
“It's interesting, because while she's not getting obviously the same amount of crowds that
Pierre Poilievre is, she's certainly getting a lot larger crowds and more consistently and in different areas compared to other candidates,” noted Scott Hayward, Conservative strategist and co-founder of the pro-life organization Rightnow in an interview.
The Campaign Life Coalition has been pushing to get more social conservatives on the final ballot, encouraging their members to donate to specific candidates before Friday's deadline. The CLC mentioned Saskatchewan businessman Joseph Bourgault had also raised enough money to make the cut, but he was not listed as an official candidate as of deadline.
Hayward said Rightnow has been encouraging its 30,000 members to purchase the party membership and encourage prolife candidates, as well as using networks in specific ridings across the country to contact their own personal pro-life networks.
Lewis posted impressive scores in 2020 and almost made it to the final ballot, but insiders say the competition was less fierce then.
“I think it will be more challenging,” said Michael Solberg, a former Conservative staffer and now partner at New West Public Affairs. “I think a lot of those (social conservative) supporters are also flocking in large numbers to Pierre Poilievre.”
But Melanie Paradis, former close adviser to ex-leader Erin O'toole, believes that Lewis's team has learned some valuable lessons from their first leadership race. That is why she has been perfecting her speaking skills and has been taking French lessons.
Steve Outhouse, campaign manager for Lewis, told the National Post that the last campaign was a “steady diet of Zoom meetings” but now candidates can travel. “It's creating opportunities for members to meet her in person for the first time, and for her supporters to invite friends and family members out to hear her message of hope, unity and compassion,” he said.