Michael Barrett wins Conservative nomination in riding held by late Gord Brown

Over the weekend, Michael Barrett was officially chosen as the federal Conservative candidate for Leeds Grenville Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes.

Barrett was chosen at a nomination meeting at the Brockville Memorial Centre on Saturday, which according to Barrett, saw a robust turnout of 1,300 to 1,400 people.

“Absolutely so excited,” said Barrett about his win. “Obviously it was the result we were looking for, but it was a pleasant surprise.”

The new Conservative candidate beat out four other potentials — Colin Brown, Anne Johnston, Henry Oosterhof and Stephanie Mitton.

Barrett, who acted as the Conservative Party riding president for the region for two years and was also a councillor for the Township of Edwardsburgh Cardinal region for the past three years, and had announced that he would be running for Mayor of the Township of Edwardsburgh Cardinal on May 1.

On May 2, MP for the region Gord Brown died suddenly from a heart attack.

“His sudden death put the election plans on hold. We wanted to mourn for our friend, and prepare for the next step.”

The race to replace Brown was a heated one, with former MPP for the region and Sen. Bob Runciman first taking interest in the seat. Then Brown’s nephew, Colin Brown, put his name in the race, prompting Runciman to drop out.

This then spurred Barrett to announce that he would seek the nomination.

“While Barrett was initially working to nominate Senator Bob Runciman as a unity candidate, Runciman’s withdrawal led to his announcement,” said a press release at the time of Barrett’s bid.

After Barrett stepped in for Runciman, three more announced their interest for the Conservative seat, which according to the newly minted candidate, made hard work for his campaign team at Saturday’s nomination meeting

“That was by far my campaign team’s busiest day.”

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Barrett won on Saturday, by process of elimination, on the fourth ballot.

He said he took the day after the nomination meeting to spend time with his family, going to the beach to take a “deep breath” after the meeting.

But on Monday, Barrett said he had rallied with his campaign team, and they were ready for the race to the byelection, which has yet to be announced.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has until Oct. 31 to set a date for the election. There are no official opposition candidates yet, but Mary Jean McFall, who ran and lost against Gord Brown in 2015, apparently left her post as chief of staff for the federal Agricultural Minister in July to run for the Liberal Party, although she has not been nominated as the Liberal candidate.