Four Candidates Fight for PC Leadership

Believe it or not this Friday Progressive Conservatives begin voting for their next leader. It's hard to imagine. The PC leadership has been marked by chaos and seeming panic from even a casual observer's perspective. Patrick Brown threw his hat into the leadership race, one presumes, in an attempt to reclaim his 'good' name. That lasted eleven days before he withdrew.

Four candidates stand to lead the party likely best poised to form the next government. They will be debating tonight at 6:30 PM, for those interested. 

Tanya Granic Allen is the little known candidate running as a social conservative. Her primary motivating issue is sex education in public schools. She is a staunch social conservative and not easily dismissed. As reported by the CBC she has raised a significant amount of money for her campaign and leads an organization that purports to have 80000 supporters.

Christine Elliott was a former MPP and ran for the leadership against Patrick Brown but fell short. I hesitate to designate her the frontrunner, but she is clearly among the 'sane' choices the PCs have before them. Of those running she has the most experience in the provincial political arena. She has been considered a moderate within the Progressive Conservatives. I think most observers would say that she would be the safe choice for the party in this difficult time.

Doug Ford, yes, that Doug Ford, is running to lead the PCs as well. He is running on a similar brand of populism as his brother Rob. It has always struck me as galling given that his brother was a career politician and his father was a MPP. His main points have been to root out the corruption and waste in Queen's Park and the PC Party. Of all the candidates in the race he likely has the greatest name profile which alone would give him a strong basis to contend the leadership. However, his negative impressions is very high.

Caroline Mulroney is a successful businessperson and daughter of the former Prime Minister of the same name. She was going to run in the 2018 provincial election and when Brown resigned threw her name in to become leader of the party. She is somewhat unknown in provincial politics. Recently the CBC reported that her campaign is struggling. Political experience matters and going for the leadership without holding elected office may be too great of a jump for Mulroney.

A new leader will be selected on March 10 to lead the Progressive Conservatives into the next election. While they continue to poll high it is undoubtedly true that whichever of these four individuals are selected will have to win the trust of Ontarians. If PC members select unwisely they may send their party into the wilderness and deliver Wynne a surprise victory, or create a substantial opportunity for the NDP and Andrea Horwath.