Tories to hold leadership contest to replace Brown
Progressive Conservatives will hold a leadership contest to pick a successor to Patrick Brown just weeks before the June 7 provincial election.
Five hours after MPPs selected Vic Fedeli as their interim leader at noon Friday, the party executive overruled caucus wishes and opted for a leadership race that will likely end by March 31.
“I can’t wait to get out and campaign,” said Fedeli, 61, after emerging from the executive meeting at a Bay St. law office late Friday afternoon.
The interim leader, who took over after Brown, 39, resigned over a sexual misconduct scandal involving teenagers, had initially hoped to lead the party into the campaign without a divisive leadership contest. “I fully support their decision. I think it’s another opportunity to bring great attention to our party in advance of a general election,” he said.
Fedeli’s likely opponents will be lawyer Caroline Mulroney, 43, who is running in York-Simcoe, and former CivicAction head Rod Phillips, 52, the PC candidate in Ajax.
“This is good news for the party and good news for the grassroots,” said Phillips, the former head of both the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. and Postmedia. “We have 200,000 members who will have their say.”
Mulroney, who was not available for comment, tweeted that “our party is stronger when all of our members across the province have their voices heard about who will lead us into the next election.”
Rallying behind the daughter of former prime minister Brian Mulroney are at least four former top advisers to Brown: PC campaign chair Walied Soliman, excampaign manager Andrew Boddington, ad guru Dan Robertson and strategist Hamish Marshall. Boddington and Robertson quit Brown’s campaign after he initially refused their advice to resign Wednesday when CTV broke the news of the two women’s allegations.
Party president Rick Dykstra said details are still be worked out — such as timelines and entry fees — to have an orderly leadership election.
Dykstra said the executive was discussing such details to prevent fringe candidates from hijacking the contest by focusing on polarizing issues.
“This will be a very aggressive time frame,” he said.
Fedeli, who had repeatedly asserted he was “the party leader” earlier in the day, admitted “it’s a roller coaster” for the Tories. Indeed, as Brown’s name was scraped from the door of the office of the leader of the official opposition, MPPs huddled to pick his interim successor just down the hall.
At that caucus, a beaming Fedeli said he was grateful for the support of caucus mates, who cheered and chanted: “Vic-Tory, Vic-Tory.”
In his first decision as interim chief, he urged Brown, who has denied the allegations, to stay away from Queen’s Park.
“I am asking Mr. Brown to take a leave of absence from the Ontario PC caucus while he has a chance to defend himself,” said Fedeli, who supported the two unidentified women who spoke out on CTV.
“I believe the women,” he said, adding he “would not sign Patrick Brown’s nomination papers” if the ex-leader tries to run in a Barrie riding in the spring vote.
With an election four months away, Tories were deeply divided on whether the leader chosen by caucus can lead them into the spring campaign or if they should hold a contest so PC members could pick a new chief.
While 27 PC caucus members rallied behind Fedeli, 28 PC candidates penned a letter imploring the party to hold a leadership contest.
“We feel it is vital that membership have the final word when it comes to selecting the Ontario PC Party Leader that will lead us into the next election and our first majority government,” they wrote.
Amid all the uncertainty, Fedeli (Nipissing), who ran in the 2015 PC leadership won by Brown but dropped out early citing a lack of support, expressed concern about holding a contest with only 132 days until Election Day.
“You can marshal all your time, all your energy, all your resources, have a great big two-month-long infighting party, shooting ourselves in the foot while Kathleen Wynne has free rein to be out there unchallenged,” he said.
“We are smack dab in the middle of an election. Let’s not fool ourselves.”
Brown, who has denied the allegations from the two women, was not at the meeting.
While some MPPs called in from out of town or vacation spots, the former leader remained in seclusion at an undisclosed location.
He quietly left his downtown Toronto condo and friends say he is “devastated” by the turn of events.
The Tories, meanwhile, are eager to turn the page.
Kevin Gaudet, chair of the successful November PC convention in Toronto, said the party had to seize the chance it has been given.
“It’s a tremendous opportunity to shine the spotlight on the party and a new leader for two months leading into the election,” said Gaudet, president of BrightPoint Strategy.
Party activist and volunteer Dimitri Soudas, former director of communications for prime minister Stephen Harper, said not holding a leadership race would have been a big mistake.
“If every member does not get a chance to vote on a new leader they will not necessarily get behind the new leader. It’s an absolute no-brainer.”