Kellie Leitch quitting politics following failed Tory leadership bid

Failed Conservative leadership candidate Kellie Leitch says she won’t seek re-election in 2019.

Leitch gained notoriety during the leadership race for her controversial proposal to screen newcomers for Canadian values.

That followed her role during the 2015 election as a pitch woman for a Conservative plan to launch a hotline for people to report so-called barbaric cultural practices.

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Leitch was first elected in 2011 and went on to serve as a cabinet minister under Stephen Harper.

She finished sixth in last May’s leadership contest and was subsequently left out of winner Andrew Scheer’s shadow cabinet.

Her announcement comes as the Tories gather in Victoria to plot strategy for the resumption of Parliament next week.