2022 Conservative Party of Canada leadership election

The 2022 Conservative Party of Canada leadership election was a leadership election held by the Conservative Party of Canada to elect the successor to Erin O'Toole. He was removed on February 2, 2022, as leader by the party's caucus in the House of Commons of Canada by a vote of 73–45. Candice Bergen was chosen as interim party leader and served until a permanent leader was elected.

Five candidates were running for the position, including former Cabinet minister and Member of Parliament Pierre Poilievre, former Cabinet minister, former leader of the Progressive Conservative Party, and former Quebec Premier Jean Charest, Member of Parliament Leslyn Lewis, Member of Parliament Scott Aitchison, and Ontario Member of Provincial Parliament Roman Baber. Former member of parliament, former leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, and Brampton, Ontario Mayor Patrick Brown also ran for the position, but was disqualified in early July due to his campaign's alleged violations of the financial provisions of the Canada Elections Act.

On September 10, it was announced that Poilievre won the leadership on the first ballot. This was the party's first leadership election since 2004 which resulted in a first-ballot victory.

Background
Following the 2021 Canadian federal election, the Conservative Party remained the Official Opposition with a loss of two seats, leaving it with 119 seats in the House of Commons. O'Toole announced that he had enough support to remain leader, and launched a review of the Conservative election campaign. James Cumming was selected to lead the review.

In November 2021, Senator Denise Batters launched an internal party petition to review O'Toole's leadership. Party president Robert Batherson quickly decided the petition was not in order. The following day, Batters was removed from the National Conservative Caucus, although she retained her membership in the Saskatchewan Conservative Caucus and the Conservative Senate Caucus.

In late January 2022, Cumming completed his review and briefed Conservative MPs and senators on his findings. His report blamed party staff for "over managing" O'Toole during the campaign, and said O'Toole needed to be more "authentic" and Conservatives failed to craft policy on some issues. In response to the report, O'Toole acknowledged that he needed to appear less "scripted" during the final days of the campaign.

On January 31, 2022, Conservative MP Bob Benzen submitted a letter with signatures from 35 Conservative MPs calling for a leadership review, pursuant to the Reform Act, of O'Toole's leadership to the Conservative caucus chair, Scott Reid. In the letter, Benzen criticized O'Toole's reversal on repealing Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's carbon tax and assault weapons ban.

This was the first time the Reform Act leadership-removal provisions were invoked. During the review, held on February 2, 2022, 45 MPs voted to retain him against 73 who voted for his removal. Immediately following his removal the Conservative caucus voted by secret ballot to appoint Candice Bergen as interim leader.

In addition to Bergen, eight other caucus members sought to be appointed interim leader, including John Barlow, John Brassard, Kerry-Lynne Findlay, Marilyn Gladu, Tom Kmiec, Rob Moore and John Williamson.

2020

 * August 23–24 – Erin O'Toole was elected as Conservative Party leader in the 3rd round of voting.

2021

 * September 20 – The 2021 Canadian federal election was held. The Conservative Party remained the Official Opposition with a loss of two seats, leaving it with 119 seats in the House of Commons.
 * October 5 – O'Toole announced that he intended to remain leader and launched post election review of the Conservative campaign.
 * November 15 – Senator Denise Batters launched a petition to review the leadership of Erin O'Toole. Party president Robert Batherson decided the petition was not in order. The following day, Batters was removed from the national Conservative caucus, although her memberships were retained in the Saskatchewan Conservative caucus and in the Conservative Senate caucus.

2022

 * January 27 – The post election review was completed. Its author, James Cumming, briefed Conservative MPs and Senators on his findings.
 * January 31 – 35 Conservative MPs submitted a letter to the Conservative caucus chair, triggering the leadership review, pursuant to the Reform Act.
 * February 2 – Conservative Members of Parliament voted to remove Erin O'Toole as party leader by a vote of 73 to 45. The caucus chose deputy leader Candice Bergen as interim leader.
 * February 5 – Pierre Poilievre announced his candidacy.
 * February 9 – Senator Denise Batters is reinstated in the National Conservative Party caucus.
 * March 8 – Leslyn Lewis announced her candidacy.
 * March 9 – Roman Baber, Joseph Bourgault, and Jean Charest announced their candidacies.
 * March 13 – Patrick Brown announced his candidacy.
 * March 16 – Scott Aitchison announced his candidacy.
 * March 18 – Bobby Singh announced his candidacy.
 * March 20 – Marc Dalton announced his candidacy.
 * March 26 – Leona Alleslev announced her candidacy.
 * March 28 – Joel Etienne announced his candidacy.
 * March 29 – Grant Abraham announced his candidacy.
 * April 4 – The Conservative Party confirmed to Postmedia that Leslyn Lewis met the requirements to become a verified candidate.
 * April 12 – The Conservative Party announced that Jean Charest and Pierre Poilievre met the requirements to become verified candidates.
 * April 19 – Deadline to announce leadership candidacy
 * April 26 – The Conservative Party announced that Roman Baber and Patrick Brown met the requirements to become verified candidates.
 * April 28 – The Conservative Party announced that Scott Aitchison met the requirements to become a verified candidate
 * April 29 – Deadline to submit all endorsement signatures, full registration fee, and full compliance deposit in order to become a verified candidate and appear on the ballot
 * May 2 – The Conservative Party announced that the final verified candidates were Scott Aitchison, Roman Baber, Patrick Brown, Jean Charest, Leslyn Lewis, and Pierre Poilievre.
 * May 5 – Canada Strong and Free Network debate.
 * May 11 – First Official Candidates' debate (English).
 * May 25 – Second Official Candidates' debate (French).
 * June 3 – Deadline to sign-up new members;
 * June 30 – Candidates given preliminary list of party membership and given until midnight July 4 to challenge any names.
 * July 5 – Patrick Brown is disqualified by the Leadership Election Organizing Committee on the recommendation of the party's chief returning officer after receiving information on alleged violations of the financial provisions of the Canada Elections Act by Brown's campaign.
 * Early July – Ballots started going out to eligible Conservative party members
 * September 6 – Ballots need to be completed and returned by 5 pm EDT
 * September 10 – Ballots counted, Pierre Poilievre was elected the new leader of the Conservative Party with 68% of the points on the first round

Rules and procedures
On March 8, 2022, the party's Leadership Election Organizing Committee released the Rules and Procedures for the 2022 Leadership document. As in the previous two leadership elections, the vote will be held under instant-runoff voting in which each electoral district is given 100 points, distributed according to the weight of a candidate's vote in that electoral district. Should no candidate receive more than 50% of the points in a round, the candidate with the lowest amount of points is removed and their points reallocated to the next highest choice on the ballots that had selected them. Voting is only open to those who are members of the Conservative Party of Canada as of June 3.

To be considered as a candidate, a member of the party had to apply by April 19 to the Leadership Candidate Nominating Committee with a completed Leadership Contestant Questionnaire, a written endorsement of the party's Code of Conduct policy document, and a $50,000 deposit. Then the member had until April 29 to provide the remaining $150,000 registration fee, a $100,000 security deposit (related to providing financial filings and adherence to the Rules and Procedures document), and 500 signatures of endorsement from party members (which must span at least 30 Electoral Districts in 7 provinces). The document limited expenses to $7,000,000 and prohibited accepting contributions from non-residents and foreign entities. Ballots were mailed to Conservative party members in late July or early August with the results being released on September 10. Media coverage of the 2022 race has described it as "the most expensive-to-enter race in Canadian history ".

Campaign
On March 30, 2022, concerns arose that the party's membership lists may have been compromised and used to make fake donation pledges. Melanie Paradis, a former staffer to Erin O'Toole, posted a warning to Twitter about the alleged breach, saying that she was contacted about a $120 donation pledge she never made. Laurence Toth, spokesman for the Charest campaign, said someone had made numerous false donations pledges using a Ukrainian IP address, saying it was an "obvious attempt to create chaos" for the campaign. The party has denied that members' data had been compromised but is investigating the incidents.

In early April, Charest raised the prospect that Poilievre's support for the Freedom Convoy protests in Ottawa – as expressed in a 10 February podcast during which Poilievre said "I'm proud of the truckers and I stand with them," – disqualified him from being party leader. In response to Charest's comments, Poilievre said Charest was "repeating Liberal lies about truckers" and stated that Charest's consulting work for Huawei "sold out Canada's security" and disqualifies him from becoming Prime Minister.

On April 12, 2022, Poilievre raised concerns of potential fraud through the use of prepaid credit cards to purchase party memberships. A lawyer for his campaign sent a letter to the leadership election organizing committee demanding that it prohibit the use of prepaid cards to purchase memberships, and saying the campaign would take "appropriate steps to require the party comply" if it did not receive an "acceptable response" in a few days. The use of prepaid credit cards for the leadership election was banned on April 14.

On July 5, 2022, Patrick Brown was disqualified from the race by the party's Leadership Election Organizing Committee. In a statement, Ian Brodie, the chair of the committee, said that the disqualification was recommended by the party's chief returning officer after receiving information on alleged violations of the financial provisions of the Canada Elections Act by Brown's campaign.

Results
On September 10, 2022, the Conservative Party announced that Pierre Poilievre had won the election in the first round with 68% of points.

Poilievre won the leadership election in a landslide, carrying 330 of 338 ridings with at least a plurality. In both points and vote, Poilievre won the largest share ever in a Conservative Party of Canada leadership election, eclipsing Stephen Harper, who won with 56% of points and 69% of the vote in 2004. Poilievre also eclipsed Harper's 2004 victory in terms of votes cast, winning with 70% of the vote. Polls before the announcement of results, from Ipsos and Leger, had shown him at 54% and 63% support respectively (both 44% when including undecideds) among Conservative Party supporters. This was also the first time since the 2004 leadership election that the winner was determined on the first ballot. Last Conservative leader Erin O'Toole won on the third round with 57% of points. The margin of his victory was also the largest in any seriously contested leadership election for a Canadian conservative party, exceeding the 66.7% of the delegated vote that George A. Drew had won while winning the leadership of the old Progressive Conservative Party in 1948; Charest had won 96% of the vote in 1995, but ran unopposed as one of only two MPs the party still had (the other, Elsie Wayne, declined to contest the leadership election) after the 1993 Canadian federal election.

The only other candidate to win a plurality in any ridings was Jean Charest, whose support mostly came from Quebec, though Poilievre still won 72 of the province's 78 ridings. Charest won his former federal riding of Sherbrooke, all other candidates losing their ridings to Poilievre.

Provincial summary
Source: cpcleadership.ca

Debates
Canada Strong and Free Network invited all declared candidates to its debate, but only candidates who satisfied the party's verified criteria were ultimately permitted to attend. Dalton and Bourgault had agreed to attend the debate, but both failed to become verified contestants. Brown did not attend the first unofficial debate held by the Strong and Free Network.

The Independent Press Gallery of Canada debate was cancelled due to an insufficient number of candidates attending. Dalton had agreed to join the debate before he failed to qualify as a candidate. Baber, Charest, and Lewis had also agreed, but Aitchison, Brown, and Poilievre did not, and thus the debate was cancelled.

Leslyn Lewis did not attend the Western Standard debate due to a prior commitment.

Verified candidates are required to attend all official debates organized by the party's Leadership Election Organizing Committee. In April 2022, the committee advised candidates that they reserved the right to hold a third official debate in August. In July, the committee announced that it would be holding a third debate. Immediately following the announcement, Poilievre said he would not be attending the debate. A week later, Lewis announced that she would also not participate in the third official debate. Under the leadership election rules both face a fine of at least $50,000 if they do not attend.

In addition to the debates, there was also a candidate's forum held by seven Greater Toronto Area Conservative electoral district associations in Burlington, Ontario on May 1, 2022. All verified candidates were in attendance and gave six-minute speeches.

Failed to qualify as verified contestants
Approved applicants who failed to qualify as verified candidates.

Grant Abraham

Grant Abraham, is a lawyer, columnist and unsuccessful candidate in the 2019 United Kingdom general election in the constituency of Strangford, where he stood for the Northern Ireland Conservatives. Abraham attended high school in Abbotsford, British Columbia, before completing bachelor's degree in business and English at Trinity Western University. He completed a law degree at Queen's University Belfast. Abraham announced his candidacy on March 29, 2022. His candidacy was approved on April 27, 2022, and on April 30, 2022, he was said to have met the requirements and was awaiting verification. On May 2, 2022, it was announced he did not meet qualifications. Abraham later said that he had met the financial and signature requirements, but that after submitting his application he was told that he had been "deemed ineligible" by the party. He has asked the party for clarification on why he was disqualified.

Leona Alleslev

Leona Alleslev, 54, is the former Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada (2019–2020), and former MP for Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill (2015–2021). Before entering politics, Alleslev was an air force officer and corporate manager, having worked for IBM and Bombardier. She launched a campaign website on March 26, 2022, before becoming an approved contestant in mid-April. At the time, her campaign manager, Steve Gilchrist, said that they had collected the required signatures for Alleslev to become a verified contestant, but that the fundraising requirement of $300,000 was a "very high bar" which needed to be met in "very short time frame". He said it may be designed to exclude candidates from the leadership election. On April 29, 2022, Alleslev announced that she was withdrawing from the leadership election having failed to raise $300,000 required to pay the entry fee and deposit by that deadline. Alleslev had called for a significant increase to Canada's defence spending.

Joseph Bourgault

Joseph Bourgault, CEO of Bourgault Tillage Tools and founder of Canadians for Truth. He lives in St. Brieux, Saskatchewan. Bourgault announced his candidacy on March 9, 2022. He was approved on April 22, 2022. On April 28, 2022, Bourgault claimed to have raised $400,000 and received 1,000 signatures, and was waiting for final approval from the party. However, on May 2, 2022, it was announced he did not meet qualifications. Bourgault had said on social media that he had met the financial and signature requirements.

Marc Dalton

Marc Dalton, 61, MP for Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge (2019–present), MLA for Maple Ridge-Mission (2009–2017). Before entering politics, Dalton was a teacher in British Columbia. He identifies as of French and Métis heritage. Dalton is bilingual in English and French. He announced his candidacy on March 20, 2022. On April 17, 2022, he was approved as a candidate. On April 29, 2022, it was announced that he failed to qualify as a verified candidate. Dalton said he needed "just a bit more time" to raise the necessary funds. He endorsed Leslyn Lewis for leader.

Joel Etienne

Joel Etienne, is a lawyer, movie producer, and 2021 candidate in York Centre. He also ran as a candidate for the Canadian Alliance in the 2000 election in Eglinton—Lawrence. He is originally from New Brunswick, and graduated from the University of Moncton. He announced his candidacy on March 28, 2022. His candidacy was approved on April 28, 2022, and on April 29, 2022, Etienne claimed to have met all of the party's requirements. However, on May 1, 2022, it was announced that Etienne did not meet the requirements and failed to become a verified candidate. Etienne later said that he had met the financial and signature requirements. He is seeking clarification from the on why he was disqualified, but says that he faced "racialized stereotypes" and questions about association with Falun Gong. He endorsed Jean Charest for leader.

Failed to qualify as approved applicants
Bobby Singh

Bobby Singh, is a Toronto-based businessman who was the party's candidate for Scarborough—Rouge Park, Ontario in the 2019 election. Singh briefly sought the Conservative leadership in 2020 but withdrew early after failing to satisfy the application criteria. On March 18, 2022, Singh announced his candidacy for the 2022 leadership election. By April 29, 2022, he had failed to become an approved contestant.

Conservative Party supporters

 * Preferred leader

Voting intention under each candidate
Polls were also conducted to garner the prospective voting intentions of the public for the various political parties under each leadership candidate in a general election.