There is a new leader of the Conservative Party of Canada today.
Erin O’Toole was finally chosen among four candidates last night, after a third round of balloting that came hours later than expected.
Peter MacKay placed second, after holding a narrow lead after the first round.
Around 175-thousand party members reportedly voted in the race.
The results were delayed for several hours and finally came in after midnight Monday, after some vote-counting machines malfunctioned, shredded some envelopes, and several thousand ballots had to be replicated by hand.
O’Toole takes over the party – and the job of Official Opposition leader – exactly a month before the minority Liberal government will deliver a throne speech laying out a post-pandemic recovery plan, which is scheduled on September 23rd.
It will be the first opportunity for the opposition parties to topple Trudeau and force an election through a non-confidence vote.
The vote for a new leader was supposed to take place in June, but was postponed due to the pandemic.
This is the only the third time in its history the party has chosen a new leader.
To learn more about Erin O’Toole, please click here.
Join us in congratulating our new leader @ErinOTooleMP! #cpcldr #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/npDWDG62ll
— Conservative Party (@CPC_HQ) August 24, 2020
"You're going to be seeing and hearing a lot from me in the coming weeks and months. But I want you to know from the start that I'm here to fight for you and your family," Erin O'Toole tells Canadians in remarks after winning the Conservative party leadership. #cdnpoli #cpcldr pic.twitter.com/WRvcQNeWW0
— CPAC (@CPAC_TV) August 24, 2020