Membership sales by Ontario Progressive Conservative leadership candidates ends

Barrie MP Patrick Brown claimed the early lead as the candidates to become leader of Ontario’s Progressive Conservatives reported the number of new memberships they sold before the five p.m. Saturday cut off time.

Brown’s campaign says they sold 40,410 new memberships to the PC party, Ontario’s Official Opposition, while London-area MPP Monte McNaughton’s campaign says they sold just under 20,000.

Deputy PC leader Christine Elliott did not report any sales figures in a statement issued after the membership sales ended, but said she was confident the final numbers released by the party will reflect her widespread support across the province.

The party may not release official results _ and a preliminary voters’ list _ until April 3.

Every PC member will be eligible to vote for the new leader in May, so candidates tried to sell as many $10 memberships as possible. People as young as 14 were eligible to become PC members.

The Tories had about 100,000 members in the early 2000s, but were down to just 10,000 when they lost their fourth consecutive election last June.

Top Stories

Top Stories

Most Watched Today