Leslyn Lewis, who came third place to Erin O’Toole and Peter MacKay during the last Conservative Party leadership race, says she will run in the next election.
“It’s time to bring my approach of courage, compassion and common sense to Parliament and I’m excited to get to work on making that a reality,” she said in a release.
Lewis, a Toronto lawyer, said she spoke with O’Toole on Tuesday and congratulated him on his victory and pledged her support.
“I confirmed my commitment to running as part of our Conservative team in the next election,” she said.
Lewis said she has not yet determined which riding she will be running for.
Steve Outhouse, her campaign manager, told the Canadian Press that Lewis is “100 per cent committed to running and helping build the party and grow the party.”
Lewis was the first-ever Black female candidate to run for Conservative party leadership.
Although entering as a low-profile candidate, Lewis proved a strong contender, winning the popular vote and picking up 30 per cent of the votes on the second ballot before falling behind MacKay by less than five per cent.
She saw a steady increase in donations throughout her campaign. On Saturday, Lewis said she had raised more than $2 million.
Some of her campaign promises included eliminating the carbon tax, banning international and “sex-selective” abortions, establishing a strategic oil reserve, re-establishing an action plan to combat human trafficking, and stopping the expansion of new categories for medically-assisted death.
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney praised the “tremendous support” for Lewis at a news conference on Tuesday, shortly after appointing the country’s first-ever black justice minister.
He said Lewis won the vote in Alberta on the second ballot and “would’ve won on the third ballot, but she was knocked out nationally.”
“She won overwhelmingly the support of rural Albertans and people across the rural Prairies,” said Kenney.
“I think that sends a very important message about how this truly is a country characterized by equality of opportunity and about how the conservative movement embraces people of diverse backgrounds.”
She overcame enormous barriers and has become a very powerful voice in our national politics and I hope and expect to see great things from her,” he said.
Former premier Brad Wall also commended supporters of Lewis in Saskatchewan in a previous interview with Global News.
Lewis put forward “a very clear message for western Canada” during a time when some in the west are “flirting with protest parties or independence movements,” he said.
— With files from the Canadian Press
Comments