73 out of 118 Conservative MPs voted to remove Erin O' Toole as leader of the party on Wednesday, hoisting Candace Bergen to the top of the caucus for now.

The party looks to fill the spot permanently, but the caucus' divide on issues could make that a challenge. Dr. Howard Leeson is an Adjunct Professor and Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of Regina and was the first Deputy Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs for the province in 1979. Leeson says the issue of being divided dates back long before the pandemic for this party. He says the party has not recovered since the 1988 election.

"The dissolution of the whole coalition that Brian Mulroney put together, which dissolved into the Bloc Quebecois and the Reform Party, I don't think the (Conservative) party has welded together as well as they would have liked." 

When it comes to the fall of O'Toole, Leeson says he wasn't shocked.

"I think we were all surprised about the speed it happened, but for those of us who watch politics closely, it seemed like it was coming," said Leeson. He also could have predicted Candace Bergen's success in taking the top position. "She has done a good job as deputy leader, so there was a general feeling that she was up to the job." 

The question of who will permanently become the leader of the party remains up in the air.

"You just have to go with the people who have been out and about in the media, so I think there are several front runners," says Leeson. Pierre Poilievre is the first MP to throw his hat in the ring, with a social media announcement on Saturday.

It seems Poilievre will have to wait a long time to find out if he can call himself the next Conservative Leader. Leeson says this process could take at least a year.

"As we know from last time, one person can start quite far ahead, and at the end of the day, that might not be the person who wins," says Leeson. He credited the long wait to several different things including, the new leader will need time to settle in, the pandemic and its effect on the economy is still unknown, and the minority parliament. 

Leeson says the future of the Conservative Party is difficult to project as it all depends on whether or not the party takes a hard turn to the right or stays the course it is currently on. 

 

Written by Hayley Shirkey - Discover Moose Jaw