(Ottawa) At least eight candidates have successfully taken the first step to see their names on the ballots that will elect the new leader of the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC).
Posted at 8:37 p.m.
British Columbia MP Marc Dalton is the latest candidate to submit his paperwork, including a questionnaire and a $50,000 first-payment of registration fees demanded by the party leadership.
Since the start of his campaign, Mr. Dalton has notably promised to set up an investigation into the management of the COVID-19 pandemic by the federal government. He joins former MK and deputy CPC leader Leona Alleslev and MK Scott Aitchison in the race.
Other candidates who managed to submit their registration documents before the deadline include the mayor of Brampton, Ontario, Patrick Brown and the independent MPP for Ontario Roman Baber.
CPC Chief Executive Wayne Benson said Tuesday that he expects to receive other files that will require review by party officials and that no further announcements would be made until those checks are complete.
The Conservatives will know in ten days who will be the candidates officially in the race. Candidates must, by April 29, pay the balance of the total sum of $200,000 claimed as an entry fee in addition to an amount of $100,000 claimed as a compliance deposit. At the same time, they must submit 500 supporting signatures from party members.
Candidates Pierre Poilievre, Leslyn Lewis and Jean Charest have already completed this second stage. Their candidacies have thus already been validated by the PCC.
A spokeswoman for Roman Baber’s team said the remainder of the $300,000 is expected to be released “very soon”.
A spokesman for Patrick Brown’s campaign, Jeff Silverstein, said Tuesday that his team had deposited the total sum of $300,000 along with the required signatures. He said he expected Mr Brown’s name to be “added to the final list shortly”.
For the other aspiring candidates, and particularly those who are less known, finding donors to raise $300,000 remains a serious challenge.
“We have reached our goal of signatures and will deposit them soon, assured Steve Gilchrist, Leona Alleslev’s campaign manager in a statement sent at the end of the day on Tuesday. However, the bar is high for the fundraising target to be raised in a very short period. Maybe it’s intended to exclude candidates from the race. »
“While our campaign is growing rapidly, as our fundraising numbers demonstrate, now is the time to donate for anyone who wants to see a wider range of candidate choices in the leadership race. »
When announcing that he had taken the first step, Marc Dalton also appealed to donors, saying he needed “a lot more funds” to appear on the final ballot.
“All amounts help,” he wrote.
In Scott Aitchison’s camp, we are very grateful to the donors who have already supported his candidacy, but he did not give details of the shortfall.
For others, the slope remains very steep before obtaining a place on the starting line.
Saskatchewan businessman Joseph Bourgault — who got into the business after founding a nonprofit alleging Canadian governments are controlled by globalists — said Tuesday he still needed $175,000 to bridge the gap. next step.
Joined in Calgary, Bourgault said he deposited his first installment of $50,000 two weeks ago and that he was due to meet with the race’s organizing committee on Wednesday for the mandatory interview imposed on candidates. The entrepreneur says he collected 550 signatures.
The candidates who have passed the second stage, on April 29, will be invited to the debate on May 5, in Ottawa, on the sidelines of the annual conference of the Canada Strong and Free Network. An event that prides itself on supporting the conservative movement in the country.
Other debates will be organized by the PCC itself, one in English in Edmonton on May 11 and the other in French in Montreal on May 25.
A third oratorical contest could take place at the beginning of August, a few weeks before the vote is held on September 10.