Last Saturday, the leader of the Conservative Party Erin O’Toole He surprised more than one person by announcing, on social networks, about it Susan McArthur He was going to defend his party’s colors riding the Glengarry-Prescott-Russell in eastern Ontario.
the Lady MacArthur He entered and resides in the world of politics Hudson, in Quebec.
The members of the local assembly accuse the party leader of presenting them with the fait accompli and not informing them before the announcement.
This decision notably led to the resignation of one of the executive vice presidents of the conservative Glengarry-Prescott-Russell Riding Association, Joël Charbonneau.
I’ve never seen this in the whole time I’ve been involved in politics, be it at the provincial or federal level.
I, I find it unacceptable that the board of directors knows the news through social networks
He said in an interview. This is a pity, most of the time, advertising is done to members.
Not enough time
A former Conservative MP from the region, from 2006 to 2015, Pierre Lemieux had run for office over a year and a half ago. But this cannot be kept.
The Canadian Conservative Party (CPC) rules and procedures prevent a twice-defeated candidate from running for a third time.
Former Glengarry Conservative MP Prescott Russell, Pierre Lemieux (Archives)
Photo: The Canadian Press
Such is the case of Mr Lemieux, the Conservative Party candidate in 2015 and 2019, who was twice beaten by the new outgoing Liberal MP Francis Drouin.
In 2019, Mr. Drouin won 47.6% of the vote. Mr. Lemieux received 36% of the vote.
The latter requested an exemption from the party, which he refused. Mr. Charbonneau wonders about the time frame in which this was done.
He said the party’s response to Mr. Lemieux’s request came less than two days before the nominations closed.
It’s basically a 48-hour period to close the nomination, which left no time for any other candidate to go and collect signatures and sell membership cards.
, argued in an interview. This is what the members regret.
There is no way to run a campaign in 48 hours.
The Conservative National Campaign indicated, as previously mentioned, That the candidate does not have to be […] He was defeated in the previous two federal general elections. Waiver of this requirement is the exception, not the rule.
For this reason, Pierre Lemieux did not receive an exemption.
Remember that the Glengarry-Prescott-Russell ride will be in dispute, on September 20, between the Governor, Susan Mrs. MacArthurSo, Liberal MP and outgoing New Democrat Frances Drouin, already running in 2019, Constantin Malacus, Daniel Lapierre, of the Canadian Green Party, and Brennan Ostring, for the Canadian People’s Party.
With information from Dennis Papin
