OTTAWA — Ontario Member of Parliament Erin O’Toole became the new leader of the Conservative Party of Canada Monday morning, telling supporters that “the world still needs more Canada. It just needs less Justin Trudeau.”
O’Toole, who was the foreign affairs critic for the Official Opposition Conservatives, replaced Andrew Scheer as leader after third ballot voting that took the contest into the early hours of Monday, Global News reported.
Newly elected Conservative Party of Canada leader Erin O’Toole (2nd L) arrives with his wife Rebecca (2nd R), daughter Mollie (L) and son Jack (R) to delivery his speech during the 2020 Leadership Election in Ottawa Aug. 24, 2020. (Photo by DAVE CHAN/AFP via Getty Images)
The former Royal Canadian Air Force tactical helicopter navigator could be put to the electoral test soon. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau suspended Parliament last week after Finance Minister Bill Morneau resigned. (RELATED: With Canada Day Celebrations Cancelled, Thousands Blanket Ottawa Streets To Protest Trudeau Government ‘Corruption’)
He is promising to reopen Parliament in the fall with a Speech from the Throne but Trudeau’s Liberal government has come under fire for a spending scandal.
O’Toole previously ran for the Conservative Party leadership in 2017, losing to Andrew Scheer. He won Monday based on the ranked mail-in ballots of about 175,000 party members.
“Today you have given me a clear mission: to unite our party, to champion conservative principles, to show what we know so well,” he said, via Zoom.
“We will be proposing a vision of a stronger Canada: a more united and prosperous Canada.” (RELATED: Trudeau Apologizes, Says He’s ‘Pissed-Off’ He Did Brown Face — But Hints That He Might Have Done Blackface Too)
Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attends a news conference at Rideau Cottage as efforts continue to help slow the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada March 27, 2020. REUTERS/Blair Gable
He said Trudeau has become detached from governing and from Canadians during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, saying the disease has confronted the country with “the most serious economic challenges since the Great Depression.”
O’Toole said the Trudeau government remains committed to “ideological and out of touch policies.”