The Conservatives allowed six candidates to run in the party’s leadership race on Monday, but disqualified three others, all of whom said they had met the requirements for fundraising and nominations to reach the final vote.
Ontario MPs Scott Aichison, Leslin Lewis and Pierre Poalievre will take part in the vote, as will former Quebec Prime Minister Jean Charest, Brampton, Ontario, Mayor Patrick Brown and Roman Baber, an independent member of the Ontario legislature.
The party tweeted the list Monday, saying the candidates had been screened by the organizing committee for the election of leaders, which is responsible for running the race to replace former leader Erin O’Toole.
The Conservative Party is finalizing its list of candidates for leaders. Here are the people and the dates to watch
Leadership candidates Joel Etienne, Joseph Burgo and Grant Abraham were disqualified from the race. The party leadership did not explain why the three were disqualified. They all said they met Friday’s deadline to raise $ 300,000 and collect the 500 nomination signatures needed to take part in the final vote in September.
On Monday, Mr Etienne said he would appeal the commission’s decision to remove him from the vote. He said he was told on Sunday that the funds and signatures he had collected were “insufficient”.
“The party has so far refused to provide any reports or data to Etienne’s campaign to justify its position, a position that seems scandalous,” he said in a statement sent to The Globe and Mail.
In a series of updates posted on his Facebook page, Mr Abraham said over the weekend that he had also met the requirements to stay in the race. But he was also later told he was disqualified.
Mr Abraham “responded to the party with a statement asking for a detailed justification for their decision”, according to an update posted on his Facebook page.
Mr Burgo did not respond to a request for comment on his disqualification on Monday.
Ian Brody, chairman of the organizing committee for the leadership election, did not explain the disqualifications when he contacted the Globe on Monday. In a series of tweets on Monday, the party did not comment on why some candidates were excluded from the vote.
Leadership campaigns recruit members before the break in membership sales on June 3. The Conservatives will announce their new leader, elected by party members by postal vote, on September 10th.
On Friday, Conservative MP from British Columbia Mark Dalton and former Conservative MP Leona Aleslev dropped out of the race after failing to meet a fundraising deadline.
On Sunday, the six official candidates gathered for a forum organized by seven Greater Toronto constituency associations. Everyone was allowed to give a six-minute speech to an audience of about 900 people gathered at the Burlington Convention Center.
The leadership race is entering a more combative phase this month with three debates scheduled.
The first debate of the campaign, held in Ottawa at the 14th Annual Conference on a Strong and Free Network in Canada, will take place on Thursday. The party held an official English debate in Edmonton in May. 11 and a debate in French in Laval, Que., On 25 May.
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