Politics This Morning: Malfunctioning machine spoils coronation of new Conservative leader O’Toole

Good Monday morning, A decision to switch to a smaller envelope to ensure mail-in ballots made it in time ended up spoiling the night's programming for the coda to the Conservative race, which delayed the release of the final tally by several hours. The party had hoped to anoint its new leader by the early evening, with some of the results trickling in by 6 p.m., but damages to the ballots due to a malfunctioning machine set back its planned schedule. Conservative MP Erin O'Toole handily won the race on the third ballot, ultimately beating presumptive front-runner Peter MacKay with 57 per cent of support, or more than 19,000 points. Mr. MacKay drew 43 per cent, with more than 14,000 points. Toronto lawyer Leslyn Lewis fell off the ballot on the second round, while Conservative MP Derek Sloan was eliminated on the first, drawing 14.39 per cent of the vote. In his final speech as leader, Andrew Scheer took aim at the Trudeau Liberals, warning against the "temptation" of supporting a more expansive government to address society's issues. He mounted a case against communism, reaching for images of the fall of the Berlin Wall and people waiting in line for bread. Mr. Scheer warned that a larger government opens the door for a system that can be exploited by "powerful lobbyists," making a not-so-subtle reference to the ethical controversies engulfing the governing Liberals. He also offered his successor some advice: “We, as a party, need to constantly be looking at ways to make the case for the core Conservative principles we believe: freedom, limited government, and unlimited potential." The race itself, as originally set out, had been set to wrap up in late June. But the coronavirus scuttled plans to hold the convention in Toronto as Pride festivities were supposed to be underway. Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough defended her government's decision to prorogue Parliament just before it introduced its $37-billion plan for making changes to EI and other employment measures in response to the pandemic. She told Global News the government intends to seek input from the opposition, saying, "I’m very confident that we’re going to allow MPs to dig in on this over the next month, work with critics, work with opposition parties, our own Liberal MPs, and just seeing the way forward." ICYMI, the Trudeau government said it's appealing the Federal Court's decision striking down the Safe Third Country Agreement, which had been ruled unconstitutional. The court, last month, ruled that the pact with the U.S., which came into effect in 2004, is in violation of the constitutional right to life, liberty, and security, because those who are forced to return are subject to detention. It gave the government a six-month period for the agreement is rendered invalid. Under the agreement, Canada can turn away would-be refugee claimants entering from the U.S., on the grounds that they are coming from a "safe country" and should file their claim there. In a statement, Public Safety Minister Bill Blair's office said "there are important legal principles to be determined in this case, and it is the responsibility of the Government of Canada to appeal to ensure clarity on the legal framework governing asylum law." In other news, Canada's lobbying commissioner has opened a "preliminary assessment" into the efforts of Rob Silver, who is married to Mr. Trudeau's chief of staff Katie Telford, to push for changes to the feds' wage subsidy program. Mr. Silver, a former lobbyists, works for MCAP, a mortgage finance company, and was not registered to lobby at the time when he was said to be lobbying then-finance minister Bill Morneau to tweak the rules of the program, as first reported by Vice News. The rules weren't changed, but MCAP was tapped to manage the government's rent assistance program. According to Vice's sources, Mr. Morneau told Ms. Telford's husband that his requests were inappropriate. The Hill Times

Politics This Morning

Politics This Morning: Malfunctioning machine spoils coronation of new Conservative leader O’Toole

Plus, the Trudeau government said it's appealing the Federal Court's decision striking down the Safe Third Country Agreement, which had been ruled unconstitutional.

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Politics This Morning

Politics This Morning: Malfunctioning machine spoils coronation of new Conservative leader O’Toole

Plus, the Trudeau government said it's appealing the Federal Court's decision striking down the Safe Third Country Agreement, which had been ruled unconstitutional.

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