By Canadian Press

Who’s in, who’s out and who else could join the race to lead the Conservative party

Feb 7, 2022 | 3:38 PM

OTTAWA — As the race to replace Erin O’Toole as leader of the Conservative Party of Canada gets underway, here’s a look at the contest so far:

Who’s in:

Pierre Poilievre: The 42-year-old Ottawa-area MP and well-known Conservative was the first out of the gate to declare his intention to seek the leadership. 

Who’s out: 

Rona Ambrose: The party’s last interim leader, who was a cabinet minister in former prime minister Stephen Harper’s Conservative government, says she’s not going to run despite many Tories hoping she would. 

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Brad Wall: Saskatchewan’s former premier says he’s enjoying life in the private sector so won’t be returning to elected politics. 

Ontario Premier Doug Ford: Ford says his hands are full running for re-election provincially in June. 

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney: The former MP and high-profile cabinet minister in the Harper government says he’s not interested in going after the party’s top job. 

Potential contenders: 

Peter MacKay: A former cabinet minister and leader of one of the Conservative party’s predecessors, the Progressive Conservative party. He placed second to O’Toole in the 2020 leadership race and recently penned an op-ed calling for party unity. 

Patrick Brown: The mayor of Brampton, Ont., said before O’Toole’s departure that he was focused on reopening the city. However, many Tories are looking to him as a candidate. He has also been championing a stand against a controversial secularism law in Quebec, something many MPs and party members feel strongly about. 

Roman Baber: An Independent MPP in Ontario who Ford booted from his caucus last year for speaking out against COVID-19 lockdowns. Since his departure from the Progressive Conservatives, Baber has remained a steadfast opponent of vaccine mandates and pandemic health restrictions. 

Leslyn Lewis: She placed third in the 2020 leadership race, strongly supported by the party’s social conservative wing and members in Western Canada. 

Other possibilities: 

Michelle Rempel Garner: A veteran Conservative from Alberta whose name usually appears whenever party leadership questions emerge. 

Michael Chong: An Ontario MP who ran in the party’s 2017 contest, but didn’t re-enter in 2020. 

Jean Charest: The former Quebec premier said in 2020 he wasn’t going to enter that year’s race. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 7, 2022.

Stephanie Taylor, The Canadian Press