Federal Conservative Party of Canada leader Erin O’Toole has been voted out of his job.
The 119 members of the Official Opposition held a caucus meeting on Feb. 2, 2022, after around one-third of them signed a letter over the previous weekend which triggered a leadership review.
A secret-ballot vote was held during the meeting, with final results tallying 73 of the Conservative Members of Parliament voting to replace O’Toole while 45 voted to support him.
“Today the Conservative Party of Canada caucus voted in favour of new leadership,” stated Battle River-Crowfoot MP Damien Kurek, via written release.
“Change is never easy, and I would like to thank Erin O’Toole and his family for their service to the Conservative Party and all Canadians during what has been a very challenging couple of years.”
O’Toole had been Conservative Party of Canada for around a year-and-a-half, having taken over control of the party in the summer of 2020.
Next steps for the party include voting on an interim leader until a full leadership campaign can be held.
This will be the third leadership race for the Conservatives since Stephen Harper lost the 2015 election to Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party of Canada.
“I will be sure to update constituents on details of the leadership of (the) Conservative Party in the coming days and weeks,” continued Kurek.
“In the meantime, we remain focused on working for Canadians and holding the Trudeau Liberals to account.”
See also: Erin O’Toole voted out as Conservative leader by MPs
- With files from the Canadian Press