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2004 Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario leadership election

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On January 23, 2004, Ontario Progressive Conservative Party leader Ernie Eves announced his intention to step down as leader before the Fall. (Eves was elected party leader in 2002 becoming Premier of Ontario but led the party to defeat in the 2003 provincial election.) However, under the Ontario PC Party Constitution, a leadership election could not be called until Eves submitted a formal request to the Party Executive. He did not do so until June and a few days later, on June 13, the Party Executive called a leadership election for September 18.

Announced candidates

  • Frank Klees is the former Chief Government Whip in the Harris government and minister of tourism and of transportation in the Eves government. His campaign has criticised the Harris-Eves government for its reliance on unelected advisors and has promised to return the party to the grass roots.

Not running

  • Elizabeth Witmer, a Waterloo, Ontario MPP since 1990 who served as minister of health and then minister of the environment under Mike Harris and then minister of education and deputy premier under Ernie Eves. Witmer was a candidate in the 2002 race that selected Eves. She had considered running in the 2004 race but has decided to endorse John Tory instead.
  • John Baird, MPP for Nepean since 1995 was initially mentioned as a possible candidate but has decided to support Jim Flaherty.
  • Cam Jackson, a Tory MPP since 1985 from Burlington, Ontario and variously minister of tourism, citizenship and seniors in the Harris and Eves governments was rumoured to be considering a run but has decided to endorse John Tory.

Process

The Ontario Progressive Conservatives use a system similar to that used by the federal Conservative Party of Canada in its leadership election. Each provincial riding association has up to 100 Electoral Votes which will be allocated among the candidates by proportional representation among votes cast by party members within the riding. This is not a pure "one member one vote" system since each riding has equal weight unless the number of members in the association is small. (Ridings with fewer than 100 voting party members are allocated one Electoral Vote per voting member; ridings with 100 or more voting party members are allocated 100 Electoral Votes.)

This system is designed to favour candidates who can win support across the province and win in a majority of ridings thus replicating what is necessary for a party to win a general election - though without the first past the post feature of elections under the Westminster system. The party will use a preferential ballot on which voters rank their choices. If no candidate wins a majority of Electoral Votes then the third-place candidate will be eliminated and his votes redistributed according to second-choice rankings.

Members may only vote in person on September 18 or at the September 13 advance poll, or by proxy. Mail-in, phone-in and Internet voting are not permitted. Only party members in good standing as of 6:00 p.m., EDT, August 7, 2004, will be eligible to vote.

Party president Blair McCreadie has announced that candidates will be under a spending cap of one million dollars, down from $1.5 million in the last leadership contest.

The leadership election is administered by an impartial Leadership Election Committee, chaired by McCreadie and co-chaired by MPP Julia Munro. The Chief Election Officer is Tom Barlow. There are three Deputy Chief Election Officers: Janet Carwardine, Barbara Cowieson and Murna Dalton.

Timeline

The first of three candidates' debates is scheduled for Ottawa on July 26. The leadership election will occur on September 18, 2004.

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