2017 Conservative Party of Canada leadership election

2017 Conservative leadership election
← 2004 May 27, 2017 2020 →
Opinion polls
Turnout54.57%[1]
 
Candidate Andrew Scheer Maxime Bernier Erin O'Toole
Final ballot 17,222
50.95% 		16,578
49.05% 		Eliminated
First ballot 7,376
21.82% 		9,763
28.89% 		3,601
10.65%
Leader before election

Rona Ambrose (interim)

 Elected Leader

Andrew Scheer

2017 Conservative leadership election
DateMay 27, 2017
ConventionToronto Congress Centre, Toronto
Resigning leaderStephen Harper
Won byAndrew Scheer
Candidates13
Entrance FeeC$100,000
($50,000 of which is a refundable compliance deposit)[2]
Spending limitC$5,000,000
Progressive Conservative leadership elections
1927 · 1938 · 1942 · 1948 · 1956 · 1967 · 1976 · 1983 · 1993 · 1995 · 1998 · 2003

Canadian Alliance leadership elections
2000 · 2002

Conservative leadership elections
2004 · 2017 · 2020 · 2022

The Conservative Party of Canada held a leadership election on May 27, 2017. The leadership election was prompted by the resignation of Stephen Harper, who had led the Conservative Party of Canada as its leader from 2004, after the party's defeat in the 2015 election.

Thirteen candidates entered the contest: Chris Alexander, Maxime Bernier, Steven Blaney, Michael Chong, Kellie Leitch, Pierre Lemieux, Deepak Obhrai, Erin O'Toole, Rick Peterson, Lisa Raitt, Andrew Saxton, Andrew Scheer and Brad Trost. Additionally, four other candidates withdrew, including Kevin O'Leary, who remained on the final ballot.

Voting was conducted using a ranked ballot; however votes were calculated so that each electoral district had equal weight with each electoral district allocated 100 points.[3] 259,010 party members were eligible to vote in the leadership contest.[4] 141,000 members cast a vote.

Andrew Scheer was elected leader on the thirteen ballot, narrowly defeating second-place finisher Maxime Bernier. Many considered Scheer's victory as an upset, given Bernier's consistent frontrunner status in the polls.[5]

  1. ^ CBC News (May 27, 2017). "Andrew Scheer wins Conservative leadership race". YouTube. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
  2. ^ "Conservative Party of Canada Rules and Procedures for the 2016-2017 Leadership" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 1, 2017. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference O'Leary displays modest French skills was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Grenier, Éric (April 25, 2017). "259,010 eligible to vote in Conservative leadership race". CBC News. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
  5. ^ Boutilier, Alex (May 27, 2017). "Andrew Scheer wins Conservative leadership in major upset". The Toronto Star.