Get Your Cheque Books Out: $300,000 To Run For Leader Of The Conservative Party

The rich only need to apply.

The Conservative Party just announced that the election for their new leader will be on June 27 in Toronto, says the head of the party’s leadership organizing committee.

Dan Nowlan on national TV said to CBC News Network’s Power & Politics that the committee chose that date based on feedback from party members. It was the overwhelming membership consensus which favours a quick, efficient and transparent race to replace Andrew Scheer — and he’s committed to delivering that.

With a minority Liberal government in office that could fall at any point, “we have an obligation as the opposition party to be ready as quickly as we can,” Nowlan said. 

Candidates will need to pay a fee of $300,000 and gather 3,000 signatures of support to enter the race. It costs $10 to join the Conservative party. In the 2017 Conservative leadership race, the fee was $100,000 and candidates were required to gather only 300 signatures. Half of that money was refundable if candidates followed all the rules of the contest. Brad Trost was the only candidate who did not receive his full reimbursement. 

There have been no other leadership rules set, but likely they will be very similar to the last leadership election. The goal of the increased cost is to eliminate such a large number of candidates down to a serious few and generate greater interest. In 2004, the Conservative party only had three candidates such as Belinda Stronach, Tony Clement and Stephen Harper. Harper went on to become Prime Minister two years later.