Conservative party lowers membership fees amid pressure

Conservative MP Jason Kenney arrives for a caucus meeting on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Nov. 5, 2015. (Adrian Wyld / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

OTTAWA -- The Conservative party's national council has voted to lower its membership fees after several MPs called for change.

A one-year membership has dropped to $15 from $25, and a two-year membership is down to $25 from $30.

On Friday, former defence minister Jason Kenney published a post on his website, saying the party should lower fees to $10 annually to encourage broader membership.

He wrote that the fee had recently been raised to $25 by the national council, and he feared the cost was discouraging people from joining the party.

Earlier in the month, Conservative MP Deepak Obhrai issued a press release that said he thought the $25 fee would turn the party into an "elitist and white-only" club.

Obhrai said the Conservative fee was the highest of all of Canada's parties.

Three-year and five-year membership fees have also dropped in the new plan, and a new four-year membership option is now available.

The party says that anyone who purchased a party membership this year for $25 would receive an additional year of membership for free.