Conservative Party finalize nomination rules for its 217 unheld ridings
The Conservative Party on Saturday has finalized the nomination rules for the 217 unheld ridings for the next federal election, which could be held amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Anticipating that it might not be possible to hold in-person meetings in the vast majority of ridings across the country, the party has decided to let members […]
Short timelines, mail-in voting coming for Tory nominations in unheld ridings, say top Conservative sources
Conservative sources are predicting “compressed timelines and mail-in ballots” for the party’s pre-election nomination contests in the 217 ridings not held by Conservative incumbents, amid ongoing speculation that an election could come this fall or next spring. The Conservative Party’s communications office was not available to comment for this article last week. Senior Conservative sources […]
Ontario MPP Baber, former senior staffer Lantsman, and former candidate Willson said to be eyeing Conservative nomination in York Centre
The yet-to-be-scheduled byelection in York Centre is shaping up to be a high profile contest with prominent Conservative and Liberal figures testing the waters for seeking their party’s nomination in the GTA riding. In interviews with The Hill Times, Conservative sources mentioned the names of former senior Conservative Hill staffer and media pundit Melissa Lantsman; […]
Conservative MPs need to raise $15,000 by year’s end to fend off nomination challenges, says party
All 121 Conservative MPs are being required to raise $15,000 by the end of 2020 in order to fend off nomination challenges. In a briefing before the national Conservative caucus on Wednesday, Jaime Girard, acting executive director of the party, and Conservative MP Diane Finley (Haldimand–Norfolk, Ont.), the caucus liaison to the national council, said […]
Conservatives considering 2019 Liberal model to protect incumbent MPs from nomination challenges in next election
The Conservative Party’s national council is considering using the Liberal Party’s 2019 nomination model as an option to protect incumbent MPs from nomination challenges for the next election, but the party also wants a mechanism in place if it doesn’t want an MP to be a candidate, Conservative sources told The Hill Times. “What they’re […]
Conservative Party to protect all 121 incumbent MPs from nomination challenges until June 2021
All 121 Conservative MPs will be protected from nomination challenges if a federal election is held before June 2021, and MPs are urging the party to take the expiry date off that protection so they can focus on their work in Ottawa during this minority Parliament. “National council has been in discussions on nomination rules […]
More candidates could drop out after Sept. 30 deadline, PPC, Greens lead pack so far
The People’s Party of Canada and the Green Party have had the most declared candidates step aside over the last couple months—with reasons ranging from a candidate’s family member being charged with murder, to offensive online comments, to personal reasons, though many remain unexplained—and more candidates could drop out after the Sept. 30 nomination deadline. […]
Calgary Forest Lawn Conservatives elect Jasraj Hallan to succeed late MP Deepak Obhrai for the upcoming federal election
With the election call only days away, the federal Conservatives elected Jasraj Hallan as their candidate in the coveted riding of Calgary Forest Lawn, which opened up unexpectedly last month after the death of Deepak Obhrai, the party’s nominated candidate to run for what would have been his eighth successive term as an MP. The […]
Leader tours show Liberals eye riding upsets to offset tougher battles out East, experts say
Party leaders’ summer travel itineraries tell a story of politicians who are looking to break ground in ridings historically held by rivals, particularly the Liberals who may be looking to make up for anticipated losses out East, say strategists. “The Liberals have done a good job of setting themselves up for a victory in seats […]
Too much party control in ‘highly uncompetitive’ candidate selection: Samara study
Over the past five elections, fewer than one-fifth of candidates earned their name on the ballot through a competitive party nomination process, found a new Samara report, a statistic the group says shows candidate selection is “highly uncompetitive, opaque, unpredictable, and centrally controlled” by parties. In effect, party brass—not party members or the Canadian public—have […]
