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
IN DEPTH
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
'Democracy requires constant vigilance' Trudeau testifies at inquiry into foreign election interference in Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified Wednesday before the national public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada's electoral processes, following a day of testimony from top cabinet ministers about allegations of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Recap all the prime minister had to say.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Kitchener family says their 10-year-old needs life-saving drug that cost $600,000
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.
'Do not consume': Gift Chocolate recalled due to undeclared milk, soy
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has issued a recall for a specific chocolate brand sold in Ontario and Quebec.
Key mediator Qatar urges Israel and Hamas to do more to reach a cease-fire deal
A senior Qatari official has urged Israel and Hamas to show "more commitment and more seriousness" in ceasefire negotiations in interviews with Israeli media, as pressure builds to reach a deal that would free some Israeli hostages and bring a ceasefire in the nearly seven-month-long war in Gaza.
Ontario to ban use of cellphones in school classrooms starting in September
Ontario is introducing a suite of measures that will crack down on cellphone use and vaping in schools.
Health minister 'deeply appreciative' of doctors but capital gains changes here to stay
Health Minister Mark Holland says while he is 'deeply appreciative' of the work doctors in Canada do, the federal government has no plans to scrap the proposed capital gains tax changes outlined in the latest budget, despite opposition from the Canadian Medical Association.
Campus anti-war protesters dig in across U.S. as schools, police take action
Students protesting the Israel-Hamas war woke up in tents at college campuses across the United States Sunday morning planning more protests demanding that schools cut financial ties to Israel and divest from companies accused of enabling the conflict.
Invasive and toxic hammerhead worms make themselves at home in Ontario
Ontario is now home to an invasive and toxic worm species that can grow up to three feet long and can be dangerous to small animals and pets.
Here's where Canadians are living abroad: report
A recent report sheds light on Canadians living abroad--estimated at around four million people in 2016—and the public policies that impact them.
BREAKING Quebec to invest $603 million to protect the French language
Quebec will invest $603 million over five years to counter the decline of French in the province, French Language Minister Jean-Francois Roberge announced Sunday.
Local Spotlight
DonAir force takes over at Oilers playoff games
As if a 4-0 Edmonton Oilers lead in Game 1 of their playoff series with the Los Angeles Kings wasn't good enough, what was announced at Rogers Place during the next TV timeout nearly blew the roof off the downtown arena.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Fergus, Ont. man feels nickel-and-dimed for $0.05 property tax bill
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
Twins from Toronto were Canada's top two female finishers at this year's Boston Marathon
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
Mystery surrounds giant custom Canucks jerseys worn by Lions Gate Bridge statues
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
'I'm committed': Oilers fan skips haircuts for 10 years waiting for Stanley Cup win
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
'It's not my father's body!' Wrong man sent home after death on family vacation in Cuba
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
'Once is too many times': Education assistants facing rising violence in classrooms
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
What is capital gains tax? How is it going to affect the economy and the younger generations?
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”