In an interview with CBC Power & Politics, Brown said he was confident he could win the leadership, but that if he did, he would also consider running in the next election if former Quebec Prime Minister Jean-Chares wins, or MP Leslie Lewis. the leadership. Brown said it was not his personal opinion of Puliyev that would prevent him from being a candidate under his leadership – although the two candidates verbally attacked each other throughout the campaign. He said he was confident Poilievre would supply the party’s assets to the greater Toronto area. “I could be a candidate under them, for sure. They have the potential to win the next general election,” Brown said of Charest and Lewis. “With Pierre Poilievre, I just do not think he could win seats in the GTA. I think his message is very divisive. Even as a popular mayor in the GTA, I do not think I could win a seat with a leader like that. “For me, following the federal path with Pierre would not make much sense.” Brown said if Poiliev wins, he would consider staying in his current job as mayor of Brampton, a city of about 600,000 west of Toronto. The deadline for submitting documents for a re-election bid in this municipality is August 19 – weeks before the results of the Conservative leadership elections will be announced in early September. Brown did not say exactly why he saw Pouliavre undermining the Conservative vote in the Toronto area. The mayor had previously cited Poilievre’s support in the past for banning the niqab at citizenship ceremonies and advising “barbaric cultural practices” as electoral obligations in the high-vote district.
Brown challenges Puliev’s numbers
Brown also said on Thursday that he did not trust some of the membership data released by the Poilievre campaign. Poilievre’s team said last weekend that they had sold more than 310,000 new subscriptions – an impressive number that his campaign said showed the candidate could win the first ballot. Brown said on Thursday he had sold more than 150,000 subscriptions before the June 3 deadline. The Conservative Party said there were about 600,000 members who could vote in this leadership election – a number that could be adjusted once the party has completed a verification process to eliminate any duplication. Poilievre, left, and Brown share an exchange during the Conservative Party’s French-language debate in Laval, Que., On May 25. (Ryan Remiorz / The Canadian Press) There were already about 140,000 Conservatives in good shape when the fight started. If Poilievre signed 310,000 members and Brown persuaded another 150,000 to join the party, the mayor said, that means the campaigns led by Charest, Lewis, Independent MPP Roman Baber and MP Scott Aitichison sold few, if any, subscriptions. “If Pierre Poilievre’s claims are true, virtually no one else has sold subscriptions,” he said. “I believe the other campaigns ran strong campaigns, so clearly there is a disconnect with the Poilievre campaign’s claims.” Brown said that in order to deal with these competing member sales figures, the party would have to publish a list of members in all campaigns now. “It’s fair to have the list so we know where everyone is,” Brown said. Brown said the Poilievre campaign tried to stop the move.
“Scorched earth approach”
“If they were so confident in that campaign and actually sold the subscriptions they claimed, they would not be as worried as they are. “They continue to follow a burnt ground to our candidates and that does not speak to the confidence of a supposed pioneer,” Brown said. Jenni Byrne, a former senior adviser to former Prime Minister Stephen Harper and a senior Poilievre campaign official, said it would be “completely against the rules” to publish a list of members before it could be verified by party officials. He also said that Brown is not honest about the details of his members. “If it sold 150,000 subscriptions, let me know the exact number,” Byrne said in an interview with CTV this week. “What Patrick Brown does is what he does best, which is a lie.” Ian Brodie is the chairman of the Organizing Committee for Party Leadership (LEOC), the body that conducts this leadership race. He said on Thursday the party would draw up a provisional voter list in about a month – a list that campaigns could use to reach out to members to persuade them to vote for a particular candidate. Brody said the party would then send a final voter list to each campaign by July 29. “To be fair to all the campaigners involved in this struggle, I have to follow the rules of the party,” Brodie told Power & Politics.
