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    • Meet the five candidates vying to be the next Conservative leader

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    Conservative Party members will be electing their new leader in September. While six candidates had originally secured their place in the race after meeting all of the party’s eligibility requirements, on July 5 the leadership organizing committee announced Patrick Brown had been disqualified. Chair Ian Brodie announced the move, stating that the Brown campaign appears to have violated financing rules. Brown’s campaign is disputing the claims, accusing the party of undergoing a “fishing expedition.â€

    That leaves five candidates still currently in the running. Here’s a snapshot of who each contender is, their political histories, and what kind of campaign they’re running.

    For more on where each stands on key issues, read our primer.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    SCOTT AITCHISON

    Ontario MP Scott Aitchison is seen in an undated handout photo. The Conservative Party of Canada is now up to six contenders who are officially in the running for Erin O'Toole's former job. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Scott Aitchison

    , while a relatively new face on the federal scene, has decades of experience in public office. The 49-year-old has represented the Ontario riding of Parry Sound-Muskoka since 2019. Between 2014 and 2019, Aitchison was the mayor of Huntsville, Ont. where he grew up. Raised in the Jehovah’s Witness faith, Aitchison left home at age 15 to seek “a different path,†and was taken in by neighbours.

    He was first elected at 21 to the Huntsville town council and then after spending time in the private sector — including working in sales with Coldwell Banker Thompson Real Estate and Fowler Construction Company — Aitchison returned to municipal politics as in 2010. Since entering the Conservative leadership race in March, he’s centred his campaign on the idea that “there is nothing wrong about Canada that cannot be fixed with everything that is right about it.â€

    ROMAN BABER

    Conservative Party of Canada leadership candidate Roman Baber talks to CTV News Channel's Power Play host Evan Solomon in an interview that aired Monday, March 14, 2022.

    is lesser known within the federal political scene but has been a member of Ontario’s provincial Parliament as the representative for York Centre since 2018. He was kicked out of Premier Doug Ford’s caucus in early January 2021, after penning a two-page letter stating pandemic lockdowns were “deadlier than COVID.†On top of booting him from the Progressive Conservative party, Ford said he would not be permitted to seek re-election under the party banner. Baber’s campaign website notes, since then, he’s been a “staunch advocate in favour of balanced covid response,†specifically as it relates to lockdown measures.

    Barber was born and raised in the Soviet Union, moved to Israel at the age of nine, and immigrated to Canada at age 15. He obtained a law degree from the University of Western Ontario and practised civil and commercial litigation until entering provincial politics. He says he is running for the leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada because he will not “sit back while Canadians are losing faith in Canada’s democracy and Canadian opportunity.†Baber resides in Toronto with his partner Nancy Marchese.

    JEAN CHAREST

    Former Quebec Premier Jean Charest formally launches his campaign for the Conservative leadership campaign at an event in Calgary, Alberta on Thursday, March 10, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Dave Chidley

    first entered into the federal political ring during the 1984 election. The then-28-year-old lawyer won the Sherbrooke riding seat under the Progressive Conservative (PC) banner. He went on to serve as the Minister of State for Youth, Minister of Environment, Minister of Industry, and Deputy Prime Minister of Canada. He was subsequently named interim PC leader and then permanent leader in 1995. Charest left federal politics three years later to lead the Quebec Liberal Party to victory in three consecutive elections starting in 2003.

    After losing the 2012 election to the Parti Québécois under then-leader Pauline Marois, Charest exited politics and became a consultant at McCarthy Tétrault. He has drawn criticism from his fellow leadership rivals for his past work advising Huawei in Canada’s 5G rollout. Charest is viewed as a more moderate candidate, advocating for strong child care and climate change policies. He is running on the tagline “built to win†touting his experience “united and governing†a diverse Canada. The 63-year-old father of three, and grandfather of two, lives in Montreal with his partner Michèle Dionne.

    LESLYN LEWIS

    FILE - Conservative member of Parliament Leslyn Lewis rises during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

    leapt on to the federal Conservative scene during the 2020 Conservative leadership race, in which she came in third and made history as the first ever Black woman to be in the running to lead the Conservative party. The 51-year old mother of two lives in Dunnville, Ont. with her family. Lewis was elected as the MP for the southwestern Ontario riding of Haldimand-Norfolk in the 2021 federal election. In 2015, she ran unsuccessfully, after being put into a race at the last moment when the previous candidate was dropped after a video surfaced of him urinating in a cup while working in someone's home.

    Prior to politics, Lewis had a career on Bay Street in Toronto, and ran a business while completing her PhD in international law and teaching law at Osgoode Hall Law School, where she’s also received a Juris Doctorate and PhD in law. She also has a master’s degree in environmental studies from the Schulich School of Business. Her campaign is focused on the idea that “Canada is in desperate need of hope, unity, and compassion.â€

    PIERRE POILIEVRE

    Federal Conservative leadership candidate Pierre Poilievre speaks at an anti-carbon tax rally in Ottawa on Thursday, March 31, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Patrick Doyle

    has been the MP for an Ottawa-area riding since 2004. The 42-year-old long-time politician is married to his wife Anaida and together they have two children Valentina and Cruz. They currently live in the Eastern Ontario village of Greely. Poilievre, who was adopted by schoolteachers at a young age, grew up in Calgary and graduated from the University of Calgary with a degree in International Relations. He’s been connected to conservative politics from a young age, before entering federal politics nearly two decades ago.

    Once Stephen Harper’s Conservative government came to power in 2006, Poilievre held a series of parliamentary secretary and junior minister roles. He then became a key critic of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government, from his seat in the Official Opposition benches. One of the first candidates out of the gate, Poilievre has been attracting large crowds across the country with his affordability-focused and populist message of ‘taking back control’ from ‘gatekeepers.’ He had contemplated running in the party’s last leadership race, but ended up not throwing his hat into the ring citing family considerations. This time, he’s framing his race as a run for prime minister, one that would champion “personal freedom.â€

    IN DEPTH

    Opinion

    opinion

    opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster

    A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?

    opinion

    opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike

    When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.

    CTVNews.ca ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

    The province's public security minister said he was "shocked" Thursday amid reports that a body believed to be that of a 14-year-old boy was found this week near a Hells Angels hideout near Quebec City.

    B.C.'s police watchdog is investigating the death of a woman who was shot by the RCMP after allegedly barricading herself in a room with a toddler early Thursday morning.

    Canada

    • In the middle of the small crowd — near the tents, the lineup of kids awaiting face painting, the snack table — stood a jubilant Chiara Padovani. 'When I say 'tenant, you say 'power,'' she commanded to several dozen tenants, who chanted back with gusto. What looked like a summer block party in front of two north-end Toronto apartment buildings last month was a celebration of what renters who withheld payments for months called a 'huge victory.'

    • The University of Ottawa's special advisor on antisemitism says he has resigned following posts he made on social media celebrating the pager explosions in Lebanon this week.

    • B.C.'s police watchdog is investigating the death of a woman who was shot by the RCMP after allegedly barricading herself in a room with a toddler early Thursday morning.

    • Friends and strangers have set up a makeshift memorial outside the home of a five-year-old boy who was found dead yesterday in Coteau-du-lac.

    • The lawyer for a B.C. RCMP officer convicted of obstruction for telling a witness to delete cellphone video following the violent 2017 arrest of Dale Culver has requested a stay of proceedings.

    World

    Politics

    Health

    Sci-Tech

    Entertainment

    • Lawyers representing the producers of 'Russians at War' say they may pursue legal action against Ontario's public broadcaster for pulling support for the controversial documentary amid outcry from the Ukrainian community and some Canadian politicians.

    • Viewers of Jeopardy got a chance to test their knowledge of trivia about B.C.'s biggest city Wednesday night.

    Business

    Lifestyle

    • They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

    Sports

    • Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko says he's been working his way back from a rare lower-body muscle injury since being sidelined in last season's playoffs.

    • Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette returned to the 10-day injured list Thursday due to a right middle finger fracture.

    Autos

    • An Ontario man says it is 'unfair' to pay a $1,500 insurance surcharge because his four-year-old SUV is at a higher risk of being stolen.

    • Video of a brazen daylight auto theft which shows a suspect running over a victim in a stolen luxury SUV has been released by police west of Toronto.

    • The plant was expected to produce batteries for a million electric vehicles a year. Once up and running, it was supposed to create hundreds of permanent jobs in a small southeastern Ontario municipality. But two years later, spending on the construction of the Umicore plant has been delayed in what the company calls a "significant worsening of the EV market context."

    Local Spotlight

    They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

    Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

    The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

    The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

    It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

    A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.

    David Krumholtz, known for roles like Bernard the Elf in The Santa Clause and physicist Isidor Rabi in Oppenheimer, has spent the latter part of his summer filming horror flick Altar in Winnipeg. He says Winnipeg is the most movie-savvy town he's ever been in.

    Edmontonians can count themselves lucky to ever see one tiger salamander, let alone the thousands one local woman says recently descended on her childhood home.

    A daytrip to the backcountry turned into a frightening experience for a Vancouver couple this weekend.

    • B.C.'s police watchdog is investigating the death of a woman who was shot by the RCMP after allegedly barricading herself in a room with a toddler early Thursday morning.

    • Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.

    • The 'Namgis First Nation says a fish farm it owns near Port McNeill shows the potential of land-based aquaculture in B.C.

    • An Ontario man says it is 'unfair' to pay a $1,500 insurance surcharge because his four-year-old SUV is at a higher risk of being stolen.

    • Toronto police say a driver who crashed into a house in the city’s west end early Friday morning has been arrested on suspicion of impaired driving.

    • In the middle of the small crowd — near the tents, the lineup of kids awaiting face painting, the snack table — stood a jubilant Chiara Padovani. 'When I say 'tenant, you say 'power,'' she commanded to several dozen tenants, who chanted back with gusto. What looked like a summer block party in front of two north-end Toronto apartment buildings last month was a celebration of what renters who withheld payments for months called a 'huge victory.'

    • The Parole Board of Canada says a man who assaulted a young pregnant woman and left her for dead remains too dangerous to be released into the community.

    • A Vulcan, Alta., man has been charged with a Lethbridge woman's murder after her body was found in the Oyen area.

    • Even though the Calgary Stampeders haven’t won a game in more than a month, they’re still right in the thick of things in the CFL’s West Division.

    • BREAKING NEWS

      BREAKING NEWS

      A man has been taken to hospital in life-threatening condition following a stabbing incident that happened on Baseline Road in the early hours of Friday morning, according to the Ottawa Paramedic Service.

    • Police say a man who was taken to hospital in critical condition after being shot Thursday night has died.

    • The Progressive Conservatives have won a provincial byelection in eastern Ontario to hold onto a seat previously held by a popular cabinet minister.

    • The province's public security minister said he was "shocked" Thursday amid reports that a body believed to be that of a 14-year-old boy was found this week near a Hells Angels hideout near Quebec City.

    • A harrowing video has been presented to a jury at the trial of three men facing first-degree murder charges.

    • Quebec Premier Francois Legault is calling on the Bloc Quebecois to topple the Trudeau government next Wednesday and trigger a federal election.

    • Five bison are dead at Elk Island National Park east of Edmonton following an early Thursday morning collision.

    • An Edmonton man who is charged with sexually assaulting a teen boy is a member of the Alberta sheriffs, CTV News Edmonton has confirmed.

    • The mayor of Fort Saskatchewan apologized on Thursday for comments she made earlier this week about killing feral cats.

    • Gas prices increased in all three Maritime provinces for the first time in more than a month.

    • A section of Herring Cove Road in the Spryfield area of Halifax is closed to traffic in both directions following a single-vehicle collision Friday morning.

    • Police are asking people to avoid the Dartmouth Commons area in Dartmouth, N.S., as they assist with a wildlife call for a bear.

    • Manitobans are continuing to mop up after a deluge of rain hit southern Manitoba earlier in the week.

    • Shamattawa RCMP are searching for a missing six-year-old boy who hasn’t been seen since Wednesday morning.

    • A Winnipeg pet rescue is putting out a warning to dog owners across the city about a possible parvovirus in the province.

    • A social media post of purple apples “growing†in Saskatchewan has sparked a lot of attention. However, garden experts say there's no such thing.

    • A case involving stolen funds from a Saskatchewan business being used to purchase cryptocurrency will be heading back to the courts, thanks to a new decision by Saskatchewan's Court of Appeal.

    • Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) has confirmed a tornado touched down Wednesday evening near Langbank, Sask.

    • Amber and Adam Brueckner have a pool-shaped hole in their backyard – and their wallets.

    • New details have been shared about a missing family that was last seen on Sept. 1 in Kitchener, Ont.

    • Police are trying to identify a man who approached a woman and child in Wellesley.

    • A gym teacher at a private Christian school in Saskatoon has been charged. Terra MacEwan, 44, is charged with assault with a weapon. A Saskatoon mother who spoke with CTV News says her autistic son was MacEwan's victim.

    • Thomas Hamp says he believed secret police were out to kidnap, torture, and kill him when he fatally stabbed his girlfriend Emily Sanche in February of 2022.

    • A social media post of purple apples “growing†in Saskatchewan has sparked a lot of attention. However, garden experts say there's no such thing.

    • They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

    • As northern Ontario gets ready to welcome autumn this weekend, it’s still feeling a lot like summer as provincial forest fire crews continue to battle blazes.

    • James Bay Ontario Provincial Police have charged four commercial vehicle drivers with impaired, including one who was hauling 36,000 kilograms of ammonia hydrate.

    • Police say just before 7:00 p.m. four teens entered a business in the 1000 block of Adelaide Street North.

    • Police were focusing their attention on the northeast corner of Richmond and Horton, with members of the emergency response unit taking up positions at the scene.

    • Shedden, southwest of London, hasn’t changed much in decades – but word is spreading that hundreds of new residents could soon be calling the town home.

    • Two men from Barrie have been charged after a deadly shooting at a park in Keswick on Wednesday.

    • A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

    • Ontario Provincial Police executed a search warrant in Walkerton.

    • Standing up, speaking out, and showing solidarity — survivors and supporters gathered in the core to take back the night in Windsor. The city is just one of a growing list of communities that have declared intimate partner violence (IPV) an epidemic.

    • The Windsor Police Service (WPS) has seized over $56,000 in drugs and have arrested one suspect.

    • SERVEONE Canada, a global procurement solution company, has begun Canadian operations in Tecumseh.

    • In a rare move, the Greater Victoria School District Board of Education has been slapped with a ministerial order from the province requiring it to update a student safety plan – drawing concern around political posturing leading up to an election.

    • The Union of B.C. Municipalities is asking the provincial government to make transit free for teenagers.

    • To appreciate why Mimi Vandermolen is so pleased to notice one particular vehicle she’s walking past, you need to know that seeing this many cars in one place would have been unimaginable when she was growing-up in the post-war Netherlands.

    • A pair of runaway pigs are in the custody of an animal sanctuary in the Okanagan after evading police and volunteers for hours earlier this week.

    • The Red Bridge, a historic landmark in Kamloops, B.C., was completely destroyed by fire early Thursday morning.

    • Animal protection officers in British Columbia have rescued three pit bulls – including one that gave birth to 10 puppies – from a rat-infested home in Kelowna.

    • A Vulcan, Alta., man has been charged with a Lethbridge woman's murder after her body was found in the Oyen area.

    • A Lethbridge couple got a good reminder as to why you should keep your vehicle doors locked at all times.

    • Lethbridge residents who live near the police range can expect to hear plenty of shots fired Wednesday and Thursday.

    • A new community health profile in the Algoma District shows the area is significantly below provincial averages in a number of health metrics.

    • North Bay Police Service says one person has died following an industrial accident at the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission Rail Yard on Tuesday.

    • Three northern Ontario residents are charged with drug trafficking after the vehicle they were in got stuck along a bush road off Highway 17 on Monday.

    N.L.

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