Party officials told reporters Thursday that the historic figure reflected the success of any campaign. “We had six credible candidates out there, each with a slightly different message to the Canadians, but together, it resonated in a way that sparked this great mobilization,” said Ian Brodie, chairman of the Organizing Committee for Leadership Elections. In February, before the membership deadline was set for June 3, there were about 113,000 active members nationwide – with the exception of those whose subscriptions were due to expire by that date. The 675,000 pre-order has been cleared of non-compliant sales – transactions that do not comply with leadership rules – and double subscriptions. “In the frenzy of a leadership race, it is normal to attract people who do not know all the details of party funding rules,” Brody said. Of those who signed up in recent months, 95 percent bought their subscriptions online. The party publishes the list for each individual campaign on Thursday. Candidates and their teams have until midnight Monday to challenge any names they consider “inappropriate.” By the same deadline, they can also ask for a name to be added if they believe a person is missing. “Our head of returns, Don Nightingale, has the power to make decisions about challenges. Its decisions can then be appealed to the Dispute Resolution Board. “Once all these challenges are addressed, the head of returns will publish the final voter list,” Brody said. The party usually does not disclose the preliminary membership numbers, but it did so this time given the significant increase. The most recent high was recorded during the party merger in 2004, which combined several leadership battles to reach 282,000 members. The ballot packages will be mailed in batches in the coming weeks, the party said, and must be returned by September 6th. The new leader will be named on September 10. During the 2020 leadership race, the results were significantly delayed due to the damage of thousands of ballots during the opening. Automated envelope openers cut both the envelope and some ballots, requiring the re-marking of a new ballot with the same data in order to be scanned and recorded correctly. Yaroslav Baran, who handles media communications for the current leadership contest, told CTVNews.ca on Thursday that they made changes to the editing to avoid a similar issue. “Given the volumes we are dealing with, the party has really increased the number of people working on each stage. “There is a small army of people working on it and this small army will be re-destined to validate ballots as soon as we reach this stage,” Baran said in an email.
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Jean Charest’s campaign said the number of members was “extremely new” to the party and that they were “very confident” that they had a motivated base. “We will continue to persuade the party to join, offering real ideas and solutions that will make us competitive in the next federal election,” Communications Director Michel Coach Matter said in a statement. Jamie Ellerton, Scott Aitchison’s campaign director, said 675,000 Canadians had “joined” to help the party “fight for a better Canada”. “Scott Aitchison will embark on his Hope and Respect national tour next month and will continue to work to build a Conservative Party that can deliver the results and good government that Justin Trudeau is unable or unwilling to provide,” he said. a statement. CTV News addressed all the campaigns for comments, but at the time of publication, it had only heard of the above. With files from Rachel Aiello of CTV News
