Patrick Brown to remain on Conservative leadership ballots despite disqualification
Patrick Brown to remain on Conservative leadership ballots despite disqualification
Despite being disqualified by the Conservative Party of Canada from becoming its next leader, ousted candidate Patrick Brown's name will still appear on the ballot.
In an interview on CTV News Channel, Conservative Party President Rob Batherson said they "simply don't have the time to do a reprint,” of hundreds of thousands of ballots and still meet the party’s set deadline for announcing a new leader on Sept. 10.
Last week, the party announced approximately 675,000 members will be eligible to vote in this year’s leadership race, a historic number far exceeding past leadership races.
While the final membership verification process is still underway, according to the party's leadership contest spokesperson Yaroslav Baran, the first batch of mail-in ballots with all six names on it have already been sent out to Conservative supporters who had memberships pre-dating the leadership race process.
The party is set to continue mailing out ballot packages in batches over the next several weeks, with the requirement that all ballots be returned to the party by Sept. 6.
The party had an April 29 deadline for candidates to submit the required fees and membership signatures in order to make it on to the ballot as a verified candidate. This timing was a factor in their print deadlines for the ballots.
Questions over whether Brown would still be on the ballot came after the Conservative Leadership Election Organizing Committee (LEOC) announced late Tuesday night it had decided to disqualify Brown, citing “serious allegations of wrongdoing” that they were referring to federal elections authorities.
In an interview with CTV News’ Evan Solomon on Wednesday, Brown sought to fight back against what he called "phantom" allegations, claiming his campaign "did nothing wrong." Brown also indicated he was assessing his options to challenge being removed from the race. However, Batherson told CTV News that the party’s rules “do not provide for appealing a disqualification decision.”
This isn't the first time in recent years that the party has ran a leadership election featuring a candidate's name on the ballot that was no longer in the running.
In 2017, then-leadership hopeful Kevin O'Leary withdrew from the race after the ballots were printed.
"So the ballots will go out—as they did with Kevin O'Leary's name on it in 2017—and with a preferential ballot, there will be second and third choices. That will be applied once a candidate drops off the ballot," said Batherson on Wednesday.
Despite this considerable shakeup in the race, Batherson said the party has no plans to delay the process in any way, and all current timelines will stand, including naming the winner at an event in Ottawa on Sept. 10.
As for what Brown still appearing on the ballot may mean when it comes to how Conservative party members decide to fill out their ranked ballot, Conservative strategist and president of Texture Communications Melanie Paradis said in an interview on CTV News Channel that it’ll be something to watch. Brown had previously said his campaign had signed up approximately 150,000 members.
“It's going to be very interesting to see how this shakes out. Where do those voters go? The people that he recruited, do they go anywhere? Or are they going to drop off? In which case, that would completely change the math on the points in each riding,” Paradis said.
“It's a really complicated algorithm. It's not a very straightforward one-member-one vote, kind of set of rules. We have it weighted by riding, and that makes things very difficult to predict and how this could impact the race.”
With files from CTV News' Sarah Turnbull, Mike Le Couteur, and Evan Solomon
Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair and RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki took turns Monday denying pressuring the RCMP, or interfering in the police investigation into the Nova Scotia mass shooting, saying that their approaches were appropriate and warranted, given the unprecedented nature of the situation.
Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem says Canada's inflation rate is set to remain 'painfully high' for the rest of the year. In an exclusive interview with CTV News, Macklem says the path to a 'soft' economic landing is 'narrowing' but at this point the central bank is not projecting a recession.
Five months ago, the first 'Freedom Convoy' trucks rolled into Ottawa. After the federal government took the unprecedented step of invoking the Emergencies Act to end the protests, a series of inquiries and probes have been initiated. With the nation's capital bracing for more protests over the Canada Day weekend, CTVNews.ca takes a look at where the main commissions and studies stand.
Now that the House and Senate have adjourned for the summer, CTVNews.ca breaks down what key pieces of legislation passed in the final days of the spring session, and what key government bills will be left to deal with in the fall.
The Conservative Party leadership race is well underway as contenders hold rallies, duke it out in debates, and slowly release more details of their policy platforms. Here's a snapshot of where the five candidates stand on the economy, housing, climate, defence and social issues.
'After a weeks-long survey of just about everyone I've met ... the overall judgment on Justin Trudeau is one of being a political write-off,' writes Don Martin in an opinion column for CTVNews.ca. 'He’s too woke, too precious, preachy in tone, exceedingly smug, lacking in leadership, fading in celebrity, slow to act, short-sighted in vision and generally getting more irritating with every breathlessly whispered public pronouncement,' Martin writes.
It's time for the whiners to win and the government to reopen the skies, a return to those glory times of flying when the biggest complaints were expensive parking, a middle seat and stale pretzels, commentator Don Martin writes in an exclusive opinion column for CTVNews.ca.
In an exclusive opinion column for CTVNews.ca, Don Martin says Doug Ford coasted to majority re-election victory in Ontario by sticking to the middle of the road: 'Not too progressive. Not too conservative.'
There's a lesson for Canada's political leaders in the short life and quick death of Jason Kenney as premier of Alberta, writes Don Martin in an exclusive opinion column for CTVNews.ca.
It's becoming a make-or-break week for two Conservative premiers as their futures pivot on a pair of defining moments, writes Don Martin in an exclusive opinion column for CTVNews.ca.
Expressing concerns over the RCMP's yearslong use of spyware in major investigations, privacy and civil liberties experts say the previously undisclosed tools are 'extremely intrusive' and they are calling for stronger oversight and regulation of spyware Canada-wide.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford says through his throne speech that more can be done to ease health system pressures, but is not yet offering up any new solutions.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday tried to turn the news of an FBI search of his Florida estate to his benefit, citing the investigation in text messages and emails soliciting political donations from his supporters.
The detention and alleged beating by Quebec police of a Senegalese diplomat last week came as a bailiff was attempting to seize property at her residence to pay for a judgment against her.
The serious shortage of nurses and doctors has put the spotlight on a long overdue reform to the rules governing entrance requirements for foreign-trained professionals, says former NDP leader Tom Mulcair in an exclusive column for CTVNews.ca.
TripAdvisor has ranked the best excursions in Canada, according to travellers. The activities include driving an ATV through the wilderness of B.C., exploring snow-blanketed caves in Alberta, and whale-watching in Newfoundland and Labrador.
For the first time in eight years, Canadian warships are not involved in either of two NATO naval task forces charged with patrolling European waters and defending against Russian threats.
Parents may get direct payments from the Ontario government yet again this year. This will be the fourth payout to parents since Premier Doug Ford took office in 2018.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford says through his throne speech that more can be done to ease health system pressures, but is not yet offering up any new solutions.
Three years after new rules came into force, the regulator overseeing Canadian airlines has not issued any fines related to passenger compensation claims for flight delays and cancellations.
TripAdvisor has ranked the best excursions in Canada, according to travellers. The activities include driving an ATV through the wilderness of B.C., exploring snow-blanketed caves in Alberta, and whale-watching in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Calgary police are warning citizens about an extortion scam that sees victims sent graphic and violent photos to intimidate them into handing over their hard-earned money.
The detention and alleged beating by Quebec police of a Senegalese diplomat last week came as a bailiff was attempting to seize property at her residence to pay for a judgment against her.
The FBI's unprecedented search of former U.S. President Donald Trump's Florida residence ricocheted around government, politics and a polarized country Tuesday along with questions as to why the Justice Department -- notably cautious under Attorney General Merrick Garland -- decided to take such a drastic step.
Taiwan warned Tuesday that Chinese military drills aren't just a rehearsal for an invasion of the self-governing island but also reflect ambitions to control large swaths of the western Pacific, as Taipei conducted its own exercises to underscore it's ready to defend itself.
Israeli troops killed three Palestinian militants and wounded dozens in a shootout that erupted during an arrest raid in the city of Nablus in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday.
Police announced Tuesday that they have detained a 'primary suspect' in the killings of four Muslim men in Albuquerque, New Mexico, whose deaths sparked fear in Muslim communities nationwide.
A suicide bomber targeted a security convoy in a former Pakistani Taliban stronghold in northwestern Pakistan, killing four soldiers, officials said Tuesday.
Flames engulfed a fourth tank at an oil storage facility in western Cuba on Tuesday as the raging fire consumes critical fuel supplies on an island grappling with a growing energy crisis.
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland says the government is working hard to meet its end-of-year deadline to deliver dental-care coverage to kids, but acknowledges that providing new services is 'complicated.'
Expressing concerns over the RCMP's yearslong use of spyware in major investigations, privacy and civil liberties experts say the previously undisclosed tools are 'extremely intrusive' and they are calling for stronger oversight and regulation of spyware Canada-wide.
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino and senior RCMP officers are defending the national police force's years-long and previously undisclosed use of spyware—capable of remotely accessing cell phone and computer microphones, cameras and other data—as part of dozens of major investigations.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization Tuesday that allows health-care providers to change how the Jynneos monkeypox vaccine is administered, stretching out the supply amid high demand.
As the doctor wait list hits 74,000 in New Brunswick, one woman is turning to social media with her pitch to try to find a replacement after losing her own doctor.
U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed a US$280 billion bipartisan bill to boost domestic high-tech manufacturing, part of his administration's push to boost U.S. competitiveness over China.
After Russia invaded Ukraine last February, the European Union moved to block RT and Sputnik, two of the Kremlin's top channels for spreading propaganda and misinformation about the war. Nearly six months later, the number of sites pushing that same content has exploded, according to a report by NewsGuard.
Two new features being introduced on WhatsApp, which will let you choose who can see when you're active, and to leave groups silently, will start rolling out to all WhatsApp users this month.
Although she is best known for her role as Sandy in the blockbuster musical 'Grease,' Olivia Newton-John, who died at the age of 73, had a career that extended far beyond the dramas of Rydell High.
Socially conscious rockers The Tragically Hip, eminent broadcaster Barbara Frum and music video visionary Director X are among the homegrown icons set to be inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame.
Several countries in Europe dependent on Russian energy suffered another blow with confirmation Tuesday that oil shipments have stopped through a critical pipeline.
TripAdvisor has ranked the best excursions in Canada, according to travellers. The activities include driving an ATV through the wilderness of B.C., exploring snow-blanketed caves in Alberta, and whale-watching in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Issey Miyake, the Japanese fashion designer whose timeless pleats made him an industry favorite, has died aged 84. He died of cancer on August 5, his office confirmed to CNN on Tuesday.
Unlike in the NBA, WNBA teams aren't permitted to use charter planes for travel. And, much like other airline passengers flying commercial these days, that has caused headaches for WNBA teams in the midst of travel.
Bolivia's decision to open an alternate route to its historic 'Death Road' - a serpentine dirt path across the towering Andes hills known for its deadly cliffs - has led to a resurgence of wildlife in the area, according to an environmental group.
Bicycles have long been a means of transport in China and once outnumbered cars on city streets. Now cycling is increasingly also seen as a sport by an urban middle class that has benefited from China's growth into the world's second largest economy.
The new plan to encourage Americans to buy more electric vehicles built in North America, instead of just the United States, has cleared its tallest hurdle, and for the Canadian auto industry, the stakes are enormous.
