Leadership contender Patrick Brown says he was ejected from Conservative race without a fair hearing
Patrick Brown #PatrickBrown
OTTAWA—Shock waves reverberated over the battlefield that is the Conservative leadership party race Wednesday after Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown was kicked out of the contest in a move he claims was proof the fix is in for rival Pierre Poilievre.
But Poilievre’s campaign equally did not hold back as they detailed a laundry list of previous accusations of misdoing against Brown, saying he alone is responsible for his removal from the contest.
And coming up the middle was candidate Jean Charest who urged transparency about what the allegations actually are and why, exactly, Brown had to go.
The race organizing committee, known as LEOC, issued a statement late Tuesday saying Brown was disqualified based on allegations of wrongdoing that appear to violate the financial provisions of the Elections Act.
Ian Brodie, the head of the organizing committee, said while they asked the Brown team for a response to the allegations, the answer they received was insufficient.
“Throughout the investigation into these allegations, the chief returning officer and I have done our best to be fair to the Patrick Brown leadership campaign and provide them with the time they need to substantively refute these allegations,” Brodie said in a statement.
“We regret having to take these steps but we have an obligation to ensure that both our party’s rules and federal law are respected by all candidates and campaign teams.”
The party did not say what those allegations are, but sources told the Star they do not relate to membership sales; the party had previously been investigating whether Brown’s team had broken race rules on that score.
Brown had previously been accused in this contest of having Brampton city staff working on his campaign during normal business hours, an issue that was supposed to be discussed at a city council meeting Wednesday morning that was abruptly cancelled after word of Brown’s disqualification circulated.
The Brown campaign had also disputed that allegation.
In his own statement issued early Wednesday morning, Brown blasted the organizers decision, saying he was denied due process.
Brown said the only reason the party was acting was because “it was expecting a coronation for Pierre Poilievre,” and the membership sales figures showed it would be otherwise.
He did not provide proof of that claim.
“This is reprehensible, undemocratic behaviour that breaks faith with hundreds of thousands of Canadians that embraced Patrick Brown’s vision of a modern inclusive Conservative party,” he said in a statement.
“This is an indictment of the CPC, and a party that is not serious about winning a general election.”
The unexpected twist in the contest comes as hundreds of thousands of ballots are already in the mail to party members and Brown’s name is on them.
Around 675,000 people are eligible to vote in the contest, but how many are in which leadership camp is unclear.
Brown has claimed to have sold upwards of 150,000 but multiple party sources have told the Star his actual count was far less.
Poilievre’s claim to 311,000 is also believed to include people who held existing memberships but renewed to show their support for him.
The two men have been at each other’s throats since the early days of the race, and Poilievre did not let up on Wednesday, repeating their consistent line of attack about Brown’s political past.
Among them, that in 2018 the Ontario Integrity Commissioner found him in breach of ethics rules for failing to disclose a loan he received from a potential PC party candidate when Brown was the leader of that party.
“For years, Patrick’s conduct has demonstrated that he is the kind of person that will say and do anything to win,” his campaign said in a statement.
“Yesterday’s news was just the latest chapter in a career defined by numerous scandals, inquiries, and even criminal investigations related to political activities at all three levels of government.”
Charest’s campaign called the whole affair “deeply troubling.”
“We need to understand what the allegations are, how Patrick Brown’s campaign responded and why LEOC took such drastic action,” they said in a statement.
“Transparency is paramount.”
The three other candidates in the race — Scott Aitchison, Leslyn Lewis and Roman Baber — had no immediate comment.
The next leader of the party is expected to be announced on Sept. 10.
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