Reference to the CFA’s Advocacy Update from July 7, 2022

Patrick Brown has been ejected from the leadership race over allegations he broke financing rules.

The news came in a statement released late Tuesday night by the party’s leadership election organizing committee, which said Brown, who is currently the mayor of Brampton, Ont., was being disqualified from the race after “serious allegations of wrongdoing” related to financing rules.

“We regret having to take these steps but we have an obligation to ensure that both our party’s rules and federal law are respected by all candidates and campaign teams,” said the statement from Ian Brodie, head of the Conservative Party’s Leadership Election Organizing Committee, which oversees the race.

Those involved did their best to be fair to Brown and his campaign, Brodie said, giving them time to substantively refute the allegations.

“None of these problems has any impact on the integrity of the vote itself,” he said, adding the party will share the information it has with Elections Canada.

Brown’s campaign responded in a statement early Wednesday that his disqualification is unfounded and an attempt to ensure that his rival, Pierre Poilievre, wins the race. It added it would consult its legal team. The statement said the allegations are anonymous and that the campaign wasn’t given the full details of the allegations. However, it said the campaign still attempted to respond to the party’s questions and claims.

This story will continue to play out over the coming days and weeks.

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