Canadian Conservative MP Erin O’Toole, a Royal Canadian Airforce (RCAF) veteran and advocate of a free trade deal with post-Brexit Britain, has been voted the new leader of the Canadian Conservatives (CPC).
Mr O’Toole, a former minister of veteran’s affairs, beat three other candidates including Peter MacKay, who served as the head of several government ministries under former Prime Minister Stephen Harper including Defence and Foreign Affairs.
The leadership vote, which was delayed for several hours due to sorting machine issues, saw three rounds of voting as in each round the candidate with the least amount of votes was eliminated from the race and their second choice picks were awarded the votes, CBC reports.
The biggest surprise of the evening was the huge support for social conservative Dr. Leslyn Lewis who courted the most support in the province of Saskatchewan and had strong showings across Canada’s western provinces, the traditional heart of Canadian conservatism.
A newcomer to politics, Dr Lewis, a black ethnic minority woman, rallied social conservatives and raised of two million dollars and over 20 per cent of the vote.
Kate Harrison, a Conservative strategist and Vice President at Summa Strategies, told broadcaster CTV Lewis’ run was “remarkable” and said she will likely run for a seat in parliament and could have influence in the CPC under O’Toole going forward.
In his acceptance speech, that took place in the early hours of Monday morning, Mr O’Toole promoted a message of inclusion, saying that anyone of any background, religion or sexual orientation was welcome in the Conservative Party.
“Today, you have given me a clear mission: To unite our party. To champion our Conservative principles. To show Canadians what we know so well — that Justin Trudeau and his team are failing our great country,” O’Toole said.
A former RCAF tactical navigator and corporate lawyer, O’Toole ran on policies that included being tougher on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which he has condemned over China’s actions in Hong Kong and labelled growing Chinese authoritarian influence as Canada’s greatest geopolitical issue.
He is also a proponent of the CANZUK project, a potential free trade and free movement bloc between Canada, Australian, New Zealand and the UK and has promised to pursue the idea within his first 100 days of government if elected Prime Minister.
Illegal immigration, particularly from the United States, has been a major issue in recent years for Canada as many Haitians and others have crossed illegally into the country.
O’Toole campaigned on amending the Safe Third Country Agreement and called for the funding of a mobile border checkpoint to stop illegal migrants exploiting loopholes in Canada’s asylum system.
In July, O’Toole also promised to follow in the steps of U.S. President Donald J. Trump and move the Canadian embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.