More than 600,000 may be eligible to vote in Conservative leadership race: party
More than 600,000 may be eligible to vote in Conservative leadership race: party
More than 600,000 may be eligible to vote in Conservative leadership race: party
Conservative Party leadership candidates can expect that “well over” 600,000 members will place a vote to decide who among them should take over the party’s top post, executive director Wayne Benson says.
In a statement released Thursday, Benson said the six candidates were informed of the record-shattering membership numbers but noted the voter list is subject to change.
“We can’t stress enough, however, that this number is likely to change as there are many remaining steps that the party needs to complete, including internal verification and processing, the preparation of a preliminary voters list, a challenge period for leadership campaigns and the finalization of a national voters list no later than July 29,” said Benson.
During the 2020 leadership race, the party counted 269,469 eligible voters.
“Canadians are joining the Conservative Party of Canada in record numbers because they want to change from a Justin Trudeau-Jagmeet Singh alliance that is making everything more expensive for everyone – especially workers, families and seniors,” he said.
Benson said preparations are underway to ensure a smooth voting process given the boost. Ballot packages are expected to be sent to all eligible voters in late July, early August and completed ballots must be received in Ottawa no later than Sept. 6.
Voters will elect a new leader on Sept. 10.
Pierre Poilievre’s campaign claims it has signed up 311,958 new members and has called on the party’s leadership committee to publicly release the total membership numbers of each campaign. Patrick Brown, who says he has signed up 150,000 members, has pushed for the same.
Benson, in his statement, said consistent with the 2017 and 2020 leadership elections, the party will not be confirming transaction numbers by individual campaigns.
Five of six candidates are also pushing for a third official debate before the vote.
The first official English debate was held on May 11 in Edmonton, Alta. and the first official French debate was held on May 25 in Laval, Que. Candidates also faced off in an unofficial debate on May 5 hosted by the Canada Strong and Free Network.
Benson told CTVNews.ca a decision has not yet been made about hosting another official debate.
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.
What does Bill C-21 propose to do? From a handgun 'freeze' to 'red' and 'yellow' flag laws, CTVNews.ca explores the federal government's proposed firearm legislation.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh's recent encounter with protesters at an Ontario election campaign stop, where he was verbally harassed, is casting a renewed spotlight on politicians' security, with Singh telling CTV News that he's witnessing a level of anger he hasn't seen before.
Six candidates are on the ballot to become the Conservative Party's next leader. In holding rallies, doing media interviews, and participating in debates, each contender has been releasing details of their policy platforms. Here's a snapshot of where the candidates stand on the economy, housing, climate, defence and social issues.
The federal Liberals and New Democrats have finalized an agreement that, if maintained, would keep Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government in power until June 2025, in exchange for progress on longstanding NDP priorities. Trudeau announced Tuesday morning that the confidence-and-supply agreement has been brokered, and is effective immediately.
'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.
Cassidy Hutchinson, a key aide in Donald Trump's White House, told the House committee investigating the violent Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection on Tuesday that Trump was informed that people rallying on the mall that morning had weapons but he told officials to 'let my people in' and march to the Capitol.
The top aide to former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows who is testifying before the House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot was a young, fast-rising star in the Trump administration.
After five years in the role, John Horgan announced on Tuesday afternoon he plans to step down as premier of British Columbia and has asked his governing party, the NDP, to hold a leadership convention later this year.
Ghislaine Maxwell, the jet-setting socialite who once consorted with royals, presidents and billionaires, was sentenced to 20 years in prison Tuesday for helping the wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse underage girls.
A scathing letter from an RCMP communications manager released today says RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki referred to direct pressure from the federal public safety minister to release firearm details in the days after the Nova Scotia mass shooting.
The federal Liberal government has agreed to provide sensitive cabinet documents to the inquiry examining its use of the Emergencies Act during the "Freedom Convoy" protest.
A jury at a coroner's inquest into the deaths of three women murdered by their former partner is recommending that Ontario formally declare intimate partner violence an epidemic and establish an independent commission dedicated to eradicating it.
After five years in the role, John Horgan announced on Tuesday afternoon he plans to step down as premier of British Columbia and has asked his governing party, the NDP, to hold a leadership convention later this year.
A jury at a coroner's inquest into the deaths of three women murdered by their former partner is recommending that Ontario formally declare intimate partner violence an epidemic and establish an independent commission dedicated to eradicating it.
An Ontario community is reeling after a 23-month-old boy died when he was accidentally left in a hot car outside the school where his mother taught, the mayor says.
Ontario's police watchdog is investigating after Ottawa police officers shot and killed a man and injured a woman while responding to the stabbing deaths of two women.
The Montreal police's anti-gang squad has seized 'a significant quantity' of weapons and drugs in a joint-department operation running from Toronto to Quebec.
The chief elected official in the Missouri county where an Amtrak train slammed into a dump truck said Tuesday that residents and county leaders have been pushing for a safety upgrade at the railroad crossing for nearly three years. Meanwhile, the toll from the accident rose to four deaths and 150 injuries.
The first 10 years of Syria's conflict, which started in 2011, killed more than 300,000 civilians, the United Nations said Tuesday -- the highest official estimate to date of conflict-related civilian deaths in the country.
France's president denounced Russia's fiery airstrike on a crowded shopping mall in Ukraine as a 'new war crime' Tuesday and vowed the West's support for Kyiv would not waver, saying Moscow 'cannot and should not win' the war with its neighbour.
Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced plans on Tuesday for a second referendum to be held on Scottish independence in October next year, vowing to take legal action to ensure a vote if the British government tried to block it.
The House Jan. 6 committee held a surprise hearing Tuesday delivering alarming new testimony about Donald Trump's angry, defiant and vulgar actions as he ignored repeated warnings against summoning the mob to the Capitol and then refused to intervene to stop the deadly violence as rioters laid siege.
A scathing letter from an RCMP communications manager released today says RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki referred to direct pressure from the federal public safety minister to release firearm details in the days after the Nova Scotia mass shooting.
At a time of enhanced global uncertainty and growing Chinese influence, the Canadian government faces mounting pressure to appoint a diplomatic representative in Beijing after the post has sat vacant for six months.
The federal Liberal government has agreed to provide sensitive cabinet documents to the inquiry examining its use of the Emergencies Act during the "Freedom Convoy" protest.
Following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, a number of states south of the border have stopped performing abortions. If you're a Canadian who has had an abortion, CTVNews.ca wants to hear from you.
With the overturning of Roe v. Wade opening the door to abortion bans in the U.S., Canadian Tiktokers are welcoming Americans who are considering travelling north of the border to get an abortion.
The European Medicines Agency says it will begin reviewing data to decide if a smallpox vaccine made by the pharmaceutical company Bavarian Nordic might also be authorized for monkeypox, amid a growing outbreak of the disease across the continent.
Fossils of early human ancestors from a South African cave are 3.4 million to 3.6 million years old -- making them a million years older than previously suspected and shaking up the way researchers understand human origins and evolution.
A U.S. Navy destroyer that engaged a superior Japanese fleet in the largest sea battle of the Second World War in the Philippines has become the deepest wreck to be discovered, according to explorers.
The head of the European Central Bank said Tuesday that it will move gradually to combat soaring consumer prices with interest rate hikes in July and September but will keep its options open to "stamp out" inflation if it surges faster than expected.
Waning consumer confidence and Fed warnings about interest rate hikes pushed North American stock markets lower ahead of data Wednesday that could confirm the U.S. is in a technical recession.
The May Garden Chinese Restaurant in Bedford, N.S., has introduced 'Bella' to its team -- a robot that helps deliver customers' orders to their tables.
Calgary is now officially home to the world's tallest mural. German graffiti artist Mirko Reisser, known as DAIM, used a swing-stage to paint and spray-paint the tremendously tall piece of art.
Scotiabank is putting its Hockey Canada sponsorship on ice. The financial institution said Tuesday the pause will last until it's confident the right steps are taken to improve the culture within the sport.
A coroner's report released Tuesday is calling on Quebec to teach new drivers to open their car doors with their right hand in order to prevent dooring incidents with cyclists.
