Ontario Tories announce rules for leadership race

Candidates for the leadership of Ontario’s Progressive Conservative party have until Feb. 28, 2015 to sign up new members before voting is held in May.

The party executive decided on Sunday that all members will be eligible to cast preferential ballots on May 3 or May 7, and the official results will be unveiled on May 9.

Former Opposition leader Tim Hudak resigned after leading the party to a second straight election loss in June, when the Liberals were returned with a majority government.

There are only two declared candidates so far _ deputy PC Leader Christine Elliott, the widow of former federal and Ontario finance minister Jim Flaherty, and Sarnia-area MPP Monte McNaughton.

Two other caucus members have been openly preparing leadership bids _ former North Bay mayor Vic Fedeli is expected to enter the race on Wednesday.

Nepean-Carlton MPP Lisa MacLeod hasn’t said when she will officially join, but several caucus members have already pledged support for her leadership campaign in videos posted at a website set up for the cause: webelieveinlisa.com.

Federal Conservative MP Patrick Brown has scheduled “an exciting announcement regarding the Ontario PC leadership” in his Barrie riding next Sunday.

PC party members will be able to cast ballots in each of the province’s 107 ridings, which will be weighted to give each riding 100 electoral votes.

Party membership was more than 100,000 when the Tories were last in power in 2003, but has fallen to just 10,000, according to McNaughton.

Candidates must file their nomination papers by Jan. 30, along with a $75,000 registration fee, and have a campaign spending limit of $1,250,000.

The lowest ranked candidate will be dropped from the next round as ballots are counted, and the first candidate to get 50 per cent of the votes will be declared the new leader.

The PC Ontario Fund will take 20 per cent of all contributions above $100,000 raised by each of the candidates.

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