Ontario Progressive Conservative leadership election, 2002
Encyclopedia
The 2002 Ontario Progressive Conservative leadership election was a leadership election
called in the fall of 2001 when Ontario Progressive Conservative Party Premier
Mike Harris
announced his intention to resign.
The candidates to succeed Harris were Elizabeth Witmer
, Tony Clement
, Ernie Eves
, Jim Flaherty
and Chris Stockwell
. Eves was not initially a candidate, but was persuaded to join the race by senior Tories who felt none of the other candidates could win a provincial election.
Witmer and Eves sought to distance the party from Harris' "Common Sense Revolution" agenda. Eves began his campaign with a speech in which he said he was neither left wing nor right wing. He later said that the government should not be giving tax credits to parents who send their children to private schools unless the schools teach the government curriculum. This policy had been introduced by Flaherty as Minister of Finance. These and other comments led Harris loyalist Jim Flaherty to launch a number of publicity stunts against Eves, whose de facto rejection of the Common Sense Revolution had made him the early front-runner. Flaherty referred to Eves as a "serial waffler" and as "a pale-pink imitation of Dalton McGuinty." Eves was dogged on the campaign trail by a pink waffle and a pink panther, courtesy of the Flaherty campaign. Flaherty, for his part, caught flack in the media for proposing to take the homeless off the streets by force on cold winter nights. During the campaign, Clement effectively blamed Flaherty for bringing to the fore news about Clement's wife, a lawyer, who was alleged to take a pro-choice view of abortion. Eves - who had the backing of almost all PC Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs) - won the campaign.
For the vote a modified "One Member One Vote" system was used in which all ridings in the province were accorded 100 points which were distributed among the candidate in proportion to the number of votes each received in that riding. If no candidate won a majority on the first ballot, a second ballot would be held later the same day with balloting continuing until one candidate had a majority.
The vote was held on March 23, 2002. 44,188 party members out of an approximate membership of 100,000 cast ballots.
The results of the first ballot were:
Stockwell, having the fewest votes, was forced to withdraw. Clement and Witmer could have stayed on for a second ballot, but both chose to withdraw and endorse Eves.
The results of the second ballot were:
One problem with the procedure was that voters were expected to remain in voting centres throughout the province for hours if they wanted to cast ballots in both rounds of voting. Many did not wish to do so, or could not do so, and left after casting their first ballot vote. As a result, in the 2004 PC leadership election
, voters voted only once using a preferential ballot, in which they ranked the candidates by preference, rather than vote in separate rounds.
Leadership convention
In Canadian politics, a leadership convention is held by a political party when the party needs to choose a leader due to a vacancy or a challenge to the incumbent leader.- Overview :...
called in the fall of 2001 when Ontario Progressive Conservative Party Premier
Premier
Premier is a title for the head of government in some countries and states.-Examples by country:In many nations, "premier" is used interchangeably with "prime minister"...
Mike Harris
Mike Harris
Michael Deane "Mike" Harris was the 22nd Premier of Ontario from June 26, 1995 to April 15, 2002. He is most noted for the "Common Sense Revolution", his Progressive Conservative government's program of deficit reduction in combination with lower taxes and cuts to government...
announced his intention to resign.
The candidates to succeed Harris were Elizabeth Witmer
Elizabeth Witmer
Elizabeth Witmer is a politician in Ontario, Canada. She has been a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario since 1990, originally representing Waterloo North and later Kitchener—Waterloo for the Progressive Conservative Party.Witmer moved with her family to Ontario at a young age...
, Tony Clement
Tony Clement
Tony Peter Clement, PC, MP is a Canadian federal politician, President of the Treasury Board, Minister for the Federal Economic Initiative for Northern Ontario and member of the Conservative Party of Canada....
, Ernie Eves
Ernie Eves
Ernest Lawrence "Ernie" Eves was the 23rd Premier of the province of Ontario, Canada, from April 15, 2002, to October 23, 2003.-Beginnings:...
, Jim Flaherty
Jim Flaherty
James Michael "Jim" Flaherty, PC, MP is Canada's Minister of Finance and he has also served as Ontario's Minister of Finance. From 1995 until 2005, he was the Member of Provincial Parliament for Whitby—Ajax, and a member of the Progressive Conservative Party caucus...
and Chris Stockwell
Chris Stockwell
Chris Stockwell is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1990 to 2003, and served as a cabinet minister in the governments of Mike Harris and Ernie Eves. Before entering provincial politics, he had been a...
. Eves was not initially a candidate, but was persuaded to join the race by senior Tories who felt none of the other candidates could win a provincial election.
Witmer and Eves sought to distance the party from Harris' "Common Sense Revolution" agenda. Eves began his campaign with a speech in which he said he was neither left wing nor right wing. He later said that the government should not be giving tax credits to parents who send their children to private schools unless the schools teach the government curriculum. This policy had been introduced by Flaherty as Minister of Finance. These and other comments led Harris loyalist Jim Flaherty to launch a number of publicity stunts against Eves, whose de facto rejection of the Common Sense Revolution had made him the early front-runner. Flaherty referred to Eves as a "serial waffler" and as "a pale-pink imitation of Dalton McGuinty." Eves was dogged on the campaign trail by a pink waffle and a pink panther, courtesy of the Flaherty campaign. Flaherty, for his part, caught flack in the media for proposing to take the homeless off the streets by force on cold winter nights. During the campaign, Clement effectively blamed Flaherty for bringing to the fore news about Clement's wife, a lawyer, who was alleged to take a pro-choice view of abortion. Eves - who had the backing of almost all PC Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs) - won the campaign.
For the vote a modified "One Member One Vote" system was used in which all ridings in the province were accorded 100 points which were distributed among the candidate in proportion to the number of votes each received in that riding. If no candidate won a majority on the first ballot, a second ballot would be held later the same day with balloting continuing until one candidate had a majority.
The vote was held on March 23, 2002. 44,188 party members out of an approximate membership of 100,000 cast ballots.
The results of the first ballot were:
- Ernie Eves 41.3%
- Jim Flaherty 29%
- Tony Clement 13.2%
- Elizabeth Witmer 11.6%
- Chris Stockwell 4%
Stockwell, having the fewest votes, was forced to withdraw. Clement and Witmer could have stayed on for a second ballot, but both chose to withdraw and endorse Eves.
The results of the second ballot were:
- Ernie Eves 54.6%
- Jim Flaherty 37.8%
One problem with the procedure was that voters were expected to remain in voting centres throughout the province for hours if they wanted to cast ballots in both rounds of voting. Many did not wish to do so, or could not do so, and left after casting their first ballot vote. As a result, in the 2004 PC leadership election
Ontario Progressive Conservative leadership election, 2004
On January 23, 2004, the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario leader Ernie Eves announced his intention to step down as leader before the fall of 2004. Eves was elected party leader in the party's 2002 leadership election, and became Premier of Ontario...
, voters voted only once using a preferential ballot, in which they ranked the candidates by preference, rather than vote in separate rounds.
See also
- Ontario Progressive Conservative leadership conventionsOntario Progressive Conservative leadership conventionsThis page lists the results of leadership elections within the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario .Before 1920, leaders of the Conservative Party were usually chosen by caucus...
- Ontario Progressive Conservative leadership conventions, 1985Ontario Progressive Conservative leadership conventions, 1985In 1985, the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party held two leadership elections: one in January, and one in November.-The January Convention:The January convention was held at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto to choose a replacement for William Davis, who had served as Ontario PC leader and Premier...
- Ontario Progressive Conservative leadership election, 2004Ontario Progressive Conservative leadership election, 2004On January 23, 2004, the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario leader Ernie Eves announced his intention to step down as leader before the fall of 2004. Eves was elected party leader in the party's 2002 leadership election, and became Premier of Ontario...