Conservative Leadership: Erin O'Toole's Defeat

Conservative Leadership: Erin O'Toole's Defeat

By Andrew Thomson | March 14, 2022 1:07pmET

Erin O’Toole’s leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada ended in early February when more than 60 per cent of MPs voted him out by secret ballot during a virtual caucus meeting.

The 73 to 45 vote via the Reform Act led to O'Toole's resignation and the party's third leadership race in five years.

"I pledge my support and unwavering loyalty to our next leader," O'Toole said in brief remarks via Facebook, adding Canada is in a "dire moment" and requires its leaders to hear all voices and not just "echoes from your own tribe."

"This country needs a Conservative party that is both an intellectual force and a governing force," O'Toole said. "Ideology without power is vanity. Seeking power without ideology is hubris."

O'Toole also said he would continue as Member of Parliament for Durham, Ont.  

Watch Erin O'Toole's video statement on Facebook:

Here was the official statement from caucus chair Scott Reid, who did not take part in the Feb. 2 vote:

A leadership review vote, held earlier today pursuant to Section 49.5 of the Parliament of Canada Act, produced the following results:

There are 119 MPs in the CPC caucus. The chair did not vote. Therefore, 118 votes were cast.

Of these, 45 were in favour of endorsing the leadership of Erin O’Toole, and 73 were in favour of replacing Erin O’Toole as leader of the Conservative Party.

Watch reaction from Conservative MPs:

Watch reaction from Conservative commentator Tim Powers and former deputy leader Lisa Raitt:

O’Toole had been under internal fire for months, accused of ignoring party members on policy, flip-flopping on carbon pricing and gun control, and using a heavy-handed approach with dissidents.

The 49-year-old had called the caucus vote a "time for a reckoning" on the future of his leadership and the direction of the party itself, after a number of MPs sought to force a leadership review within caucus.

At least 20% of the Conservative party's 119 MPs were needed to trigger the caucus leadership review and secret-ballot vote, according to the Reform Act.

O'Toole wrote on Twitter that he wanted the matter settled: "Right here. Right now. Once and for all."

"I will accept the result of this vote," he said on Jan. 31

"The signers of this letter must accept it, too. They brought it. They’ll have to live with it."

The Conservative party faced two options, O'Toole added. One was "angry, negative and extreme," a "dead-end" that would leave Conservatives shut out of government. The other, he said, was a message of "inclusion, optimism, ideas and hope" that reflects modern Canada. 

O’Toole removed Saskatchewan Senator Denise Batters from the national caucus last year after she publicly spearheaded a petition for members to seek a leadership review in advance of the next Conservative convention.

Calgary Heritage MP Bob Benzen, meanwhile, accused O'Toole of "flip-flops and questionable judgment" in publicly calling for a caucus review, saying a vote was necessary to avoid a potentially irreparable split within the Conservative party.

Benzen then went further, deeming O'Toole's Twitter comments an attempt at intimidation and a threat to party unity:

Meanwhile, Edmonton-area MP Garnett Genuis accused O'Toole and his staff of divisive leadership -- and confirmed about one-third of Conservative MPs wanted a leadership vote. 

"Mr. O'Toole should recognize that his position is untenable, rather than using lies to publicly attack members of his own team," Genuis wrote.

Although the Conservatives won the 2021 popular vote under O’Toole (33.7%), the party failed to increase its seat count or make gains in riding-rich urban regions, notably the Greater Toronto Area and B.C.’s Lower Mainland.

Watch O'Toole's election-night speech:

Watch O'Toole's news conference the following day, promising a full campaign post-mortem:

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