A Conservative senator launches a petition to submit Erin O’Toole to a vote of confidence by activists within six months.
Senator Denise Batters, a vocal critic of Mr. O’Toole, argues the leader cannot lead the Conservative Party to victory in the next election.
In a video accompanying the online petition, Ms Batters says a rift is growing within the party. She argues that, without consulting the Conservative caucus in Ottawa, Mr. O’Toole watered down, if not completely reneged on, the party’s positions on guns, carbon pricing and the right to freedom of conscience of medical professionals. .
Ms Batters accuses Mr O’Toole of running a failed election campaign, during which she said it was almost impossible to distinguish him from Justin Trudeau, when he had been elected leader of the Conservatives a year earlier by proclaiming himself “a true blue”.
In the video to party members, posted on Twitter, the Saskatchewan senator argues that a vote of confidence can be held if 5% of Conservative activists in five provinces have signed the petition online.
Watch video