Tories in for a fractious affair

Evidence points to a scrappy leadership race

The Conservative party will release the rules for the contest to replace Stephen Harper within the month, but there are already signs it will be a fractious affair.

The committee convened to draw up the rules for the race will meet Friday at Toronto’s Albany Club to hammer out the date of the vote, the nomination deadline, spending l i mits, the entrance fee and the appeals process.

But sources within the party’s national council say the membership of the leadership executive organizing committee ( LEOC) is stacked with supporters of John Walsh, the party president.

One source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said a Dec. 5 meeting offered council members no input on the makeup of the committee, which will act as referee in the contest.

“John controls the LEOC,” said the Conservative activist, who also said a motion to postpone a decision on committee membership was defeated.

The minutes of the meeting say a “fulsome discussion ensued,” with three council members voting for the postponement and 14 voting against.

“There was much anger and name- calling,” said the source. “Nastiness and bullying still pervades the national council. Rona (Ambrose, the interim Conservative leader) has given no leadership when it comes to council. She talks the talk but doesn’t walk the walk. There is a lack of leadership in the (Conservative party) at the moment and John Walsh is filling the void, for better or worse.”

The leadership committee comprises eight members of the national council, including Walsh, plus 15 others, including former MPs John Williamson, Loyola Hearn and Lois Brown, current MP Diane Finley and Irving Gerstein, senator and chair of the Conservative Fund.

In response to the claims, Walsh issued a statement saying some of the party’s best activists, organizers and fundraisers have consented to make “the biggest sacrifice a political person can make — agreeing to sit on the sidelines for this leadership race.”

He did not address the criticism directly, but Conservative insiders painted a different picture than did the disgruntled council member.

“Different camps are trying to start fights in empty rooms,” said one person familiar with the situation.

He said the goal was to form a committee that was studiously neutral, yet offered expertise and experience. The process began in December, with Walsh inviting people to come forward if they wanted to join the committee. Ambrose and her caucus were consulted, with the i nterim l eader suggesting Finley as the l ead person from the parliamentary party.

Conservative sources suggest there was broad satisfaction with the quality of candidates. Dan Nowlan, former chief of staff to finance minister Joe Oliver and currently a vice-chair at CIBC, will chair the leadership committee. Other members include Dave Filmon, a partner with a Winnipeg law firm and son of a former Manitoba premier, and Gary Clement, a senior manager with TD Bank who is also a member of the committee organizing the party’s convention in May.

The dissident council members point out that all are friends of Walsh. Supporters of the party president point out that all are eminently qualified in terms of their neutrality and knowledge of corporate governance. Even those unhappy with the decision say it is unclear whether the roster of committee members favours one particular candidate over another.

Nobody has formally de- clared their candidacy for the party l eadership, although Quebec MP Maxime Bernier and Ontario Conservative Kellie Leitch have made it clear they will run. Other likely entrants are finance critic Lisa Raitt, foreign affairs critic Tony Clement and former justice minister Peter MacKay.

The expectation is that the vote will be held in spring 2017, which would give Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall plenty of time to mull a run, though he continues to insist he is not a candidate.

Conservative insiders do not expect to see leadership bids by either Caroline or Mark Mulroney, children of former prime minister Brian Mulroney. “It’s too bad — both would be great leaders,” said one senior Tory.

That source also said there was no sign of any moves by former industry minister James Moore. The great imponderable is whether former defence minister Jason Kenney covets the job. Many senior people i nside the party think not.

“I never believed Jason will run and I continue to stand by that,” said one person with a good view of the leadership racetrack.

One difference from the 2004 contest that Harper won on the first ballot is the changes to Election Canada’s donation rules. The $ 1,500 donation limit rules out the prospect of a wealthy candidate like Belinda Stronach entering the race and using his or her own money to blow away the field. In that race, the spending cap was $ 2.5 million and the entrance fee was $100,000.

This time around it will be up to the leadership committee to set those numbers.

The old adage has it that nobody notices the referee during the game unless he or she makes a bad call.

The committee members likely hope the new rules are greeted with equanimity by all the leadership hopefuls and their contribution passes unnoticed. But that hope may be forlorn. Early evidence points to a scrappy, bad-tempered contest.