{"id":63463,"date":"2017-01-16T12:26:13","date_gmt":"2017-01-16T12:26:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/?p=63463"},"modified":"2017-01-16T12:26:13","modified_gmt":"2017-01-16T12:26:13","slug":"andrew-scheer-leads-endorsement-race-in-conservative-leadership-campaign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/political\/andrew-scheer-leads-endorsement-race-in-conservative-leadership-campaign.html","title":{"rendered":"Andrew Scheer leads endorsement race in Conservative leadership campaign"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In his bid\u00a0for the Conservative Party leadership, Andrew Scheer\u00a0has\u00a0the bulk of endorsements from current and former politicians.<\/p>\n<p>But because of the rules of the campaign, the contest will be decided in favour of the candidate who\u00a0can garner the broadest base of support nationwide. Seen through that lens, Scheer&#8217;s\u00a0endorsement advantage over Erin\u00a0O&#8217;Toole,\u00a0Maxime\u00a0Bernier\u00a0and Lisa\u00a0Raitt\u00a0narrows.<\/p>\n<p>Scheer has 58\u00a0endorsements from current and former politicians at either the federal or provincial level. O&#8217;Toole\u00a0has 23, followed by Bernier with 16\u00a0and Raitt with 13 (a full list can be found at the bottom of this article).<\/p>\n<p>Michael Chong has received the support of nine former and current elected officials and senators, while Kellie Leitch has five, Deepak Obhrai has three and Andrew Saxton has two. Steven Blaney and Rick Peterson have each received one endorsement.<\/p>\n<p>Chris Alexander, Pierre Lemieux and Brad Trost have yet to announce any endorsements in this campaign.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\"javascript:void(0)\">Kevin O&#8217;Leary&#8217;s advisers see path to victory with\u00a0<span>millenials<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"javascript:void(0)\"><strong>How NDP leadership campaign will differ from Conservative<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Among fellow caucus members, Scheer has 24 MPs backing him.\u00a0O&#8217;Toole\u00a0has\u00a014, Bernier\u00a0has\u00a0six, Leitch and Raitt\u00a0have\u00a0three apiece\u00a0and Chong\u00a0has\u00a0two.<\/p>\n<p>On Thursday, O&#8217;Toole also announced the endorsement\u00a0of Daniel Lindsay, a Manitoba physician who withdrew from the race last month.<\/p>\n<h2>Follow the money<\/h2>\n<p \/>\n<p>While endorsements are one metric that can be tracked to determine the contours of a leadership race, fundraising is often a more revealing set of data. But the next set of fundraising numbers, covering the fourth quarter of last year, won&#8217;t be released by Elections Canada until Feb. 1.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"javascript:void(0)\"><strong>Bernier&#8217;s\u00a0donor base broader than\u00a0Leitch&#8217;s<\/strong><\/a><strong>\u200b<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Some of the campaigns, however, have already publicized their fundraising totals for the end of 2016. Maxime Bernier announced on Facebook that he\u00a0raised $583,000 in the fourth quarter, boosting his total to over $1 million for the entire campaign, while Andrew Scheer\u00a0says\u00a0he\u00a0raised $323,570.50 in the quarter.<\/p>\n<p> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/RSSPoster_PRO\/cache\/9bbff_conservative-leadership-debate-20161109.jpg\" alt=\"Conservative Leadership Debate 20161109\" width=\"100%\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"figure-caption\">Conservative leadership candidate Maxime Bernier was able to raise about as much money as Scheer and Erin O&#8217;Toole combined in the last quarter of 2016, while having a fifth of the endorsements of his two rivals (Liam Richards\/Canadian Press)<\/p>\n<p>Erin O&#8217;Toole&#8217;s campaign told CBC News it raised $300,000 to Jan. 11, while Rick Peterson said his campaign\u00a0raised $71,040 by the end of December, noting he only began to fundraise at the beginning of the month.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Fundraising can signal organizational strength. But endorsements can hint at the same thing, indicating that people within the party recognize a candidate&#8217;s capacity to win. And in a race where every riding has equal weight, a call from the local MP favouring one contestant over another can be significant.<\/p>\n<h2>Scheer&#8217;s edge narrows with regional weighting<\/h2>\n<p>The\u00a0Conservative leadership campaign will be decided at the local level, as each of Canada&#8217;s 338 electoral districts will be weighted\u00a0equally when the votes are counted, regardless of how many members a riding has. That means having a concentration of support in one part of the country might lead to a lot of wasted votes.<\/p>\n<p>Scheer has received 44\u00a0per cent of all the endorsements in the campaign\u00a0\u2014 well ahead of O&#8217;Toole at 18 per cent, Bernier at 12 per cent, Raitt at 10 per cent and Chong at seven\u00a0per cent.<\/p>\n<p>But a lot of Scheer&#8217;s support is concentrated in two provinces. Fully\u00a066\u00a0per cent of his endorsements are from Alberta and Saskatchewan politicians, including 20 Saskatchewan MLAs. The two provinces will only represent\u00a014 per cent of all points awarded to determine the winner.<\/p>\n<p> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/RSSPoster_PRO\/cache\/9bbff_conservative-leadership-20161206.jpg\" alt=\"Conservative Leadership 20161206\" width=\"100%\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"figure-caption\">Michael Chong, Erin O&#8217;Toole and Andrew Scheer, left to right, participate in a debate in Moncton, N.B., on Dec. 6. (Andrew Vaughan\/Canadian Press)<\/p>\n<p>If endorsements are adjusted by the weight each province will have in the leadership vote, Scheer&#8217;s advantage drops. But it still holds, thanks in large part to the endorsements of four Quebec Conservative MPs that Scheer announced\u00a0Thursday in the run-up to Tuesday&#8217;s leadership debate in Quebec City.<\/p>\n<p>Before those endorsements, Scheer&#8217;s weighted share would have been just 22 per cent. With those endorsements, Scheer&#8217;s weighted share of endorsements stands at 34\u00a0per cent. O&#8217;Toole\u00a0and Bernier follow\u00a0with 17 per cent each, Raitt with 12\u00a0per cent and Chong\u00a0with seven\u00a0per cent.<\/p>\n<h2>Cluttered field\u00a0in Ontario<\/h2>\n<p>The race for endorsements is closest in Ontario, the province that will carry the most weight in the leadership vote.<\/p>\n<p>O&#8217;Toole leads the pack with nine, followed by Chong at seven, Raitt at six, Bernier and Scheer with five apiece, Leitch with four and Obhrai with three.<\/p>\n<p> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/RSSPoster_PRO\/cache\/ea965_veterans-affairs-20150414.jpg\" alt=\"Veterans Affairs 20150414\" width=\"100%\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"figure-caption\">O&#8217;Toole is ahead of his rivals with nine endorsements from current or former Ontario politicians. (Sean Kilpatrick\/Canadian Press)<\/p>\n<p>There&#8217;s greater separation\u00a0in the West, where Scheer leads with 43 endorsements (26 in Saskatchewan, 12 in Alberta, three in B.C. and two in Manitoba). Next is O&#8217;Toole with 12, Bernier with seven\u00a0and Raitt with two.<\/p>\n<p>In Quebec, Scheer has four endorsements while Bernier has two.<\/p>\n<p>And in Atlantic Canada, Scheer narrowly edges out Raitt five to four, with O&#8217;Toole\u00a0sitting at two endorsements.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p \/>\n<p \/>\n<p \/>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"javascript:void(0)\"><strong>Poll suggests no Conservative leadership contestant resonating<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>But Scheer&#8217;s edge in endorsements does not necessarily make him the favourite \u2014 it is one metric among others. Bernier was able to raise about as much money as Scheer and O&#8217;Toole combined in the last quarter of 2016, while having just a fifth of the endorsements of his two rivals. This suggests he might be having more success\u00a0resonating with rank-and-file members.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In the end, endorsements are just one factor in a multi-faceted race with a long list of candidates and a preferential ballot that makes being a voter&#8217;s second choice almost as important as being their first.<\/p>\n<p>At this stage, it seems the Conservative Party establishment thinks Scheer is the one to beat. It won&#8217;t be clear until May 27, when the results are announced, whether the voting members agree.<\/p>\n<p \/>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Endorsements from sitting and former federal and provincial politicians<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Saskatchewan MP Andrew Scheer (58):\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>MPs:<\/strong> Ziad Aboultaif, John Barlow, Luc Berthold, Kelly Block,\u00a0Sylvie Boucher, Jim Eglinski, Ted Falk, Garnett Genuis, Marilyn Gladu, Matt Jeneroux, Tom Lukiwski, Kelly McCauley, Pierre Paul-Hus, Alain Rayes, Scott Reid, Gerry Ritz, Kevin Sorenson, Mark Strahl, Shannon Stubbs, Arnold Viersen, Cathay Wagantall, Mark Warawa, Chris Warkentin\u00a0and Bob Zimmer.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Former MPs:<\/strong>\u00a0Paul Calandra, LaVar Payne, Peter Penashue, Kyle Seeback, Devinder Shory and Jeff Watson.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Saskatchewan\u00a0MLAs:<\/strong>\u00a0Steven\u00a0Bonk, Bill Boyd, Fred\u00a0Bradshaw, Greg\u00a0Brkich, Jennifer\u00a0Campeau, Lori Carr, Herb Cox, Dan\u00a0D&#8217;Autremont, Terry Dennis, Larry\u00a0Doke, Jeremy Harrison, Warren\u00a0Kaeding, Greg Lawrence, Hugh\u00a0Nerlien, Greg\u00a0Ottenbreit, Kevin Phillips, Doug Steele, Warren\u00a0Steinley, Lyle Stewart and Christine Tel.<\/li>\n<li><strong>New Brunswick MLAs:<\/strong>\u00a0Jeff Carr and Carl Urquhart.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Senators:<\/strong> Denise Batters, Norman Doyle, Dennis Patterson, Don Plett, David Tkachuk and David Wells.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Ontario MP Erin O&#8217;Toole (23):<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>MPs:\u00a0<\/strong>James Bezan, John Brassard, Colin Carrie, Michael Cooper, Todd Doherty, Randy Hoback, Ron Liepert, Larry Maguire, Cathy McLeod, Blake Richards, Jamie Schmale, Robert Sopuck, Karen Vecchio and\u00a0Kevin Waugh.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Former MPs:\u00a0<\/strong>Laurie Hawn, Ed Holder, Gerald Keddy, Wladyslaw Lizon, Ted Opitz, Bernard Trottier and David Wilks.<\/li>\n<li>\u200b<strong>New Brunswick MLAs:\u00a0<\/strong>Brian Macdonald.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Former Ontario MPPs:\u00a0<\/strong>John O&#8217;Toole<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Quebec MP Maxime Bernier (16):<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>MPs:\u00a0<\/strong>Dan Albas, Alupa Clarke, Tony Clement, Jacques Gourde, Tom Kmiec and Alex Nuttall.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Former MPs:\u00a0<\/strong>Ryan Leef, Gary Lunn, Pat Perkins, John Reynolds, Brian Storseth and\u00a0Lawrence Toet.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Saskatchewan MLAs:\u00a0<\/strong>Laura Ross.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Senators:\u00a0<\/strong>Lynn Beyak, Nicole Eaton and Stephen Greene.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Ontario MP Lisa Raitt (13):<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>MPs:\u00a0<\/strong>Dean Allison, Phil McColeman and Bruce Stanton.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Former MPs:\u00a0<\/strong>Keith Ashfield, John Carmichael, Rob Clarke, Kerry-Lynne Findlay, Robert Goguen and Gary Goodyear.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ontario MPPs:\u00a0<\/strong>Lisa MacLeod.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Nova Scotia MLAs:\u00a0<\/strong>Alfie MacLeod.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Former Nova Scotia MLAs:\u00a0<\/strong>Cecil Clarke.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Senators:\u00a0<\/strong>Judith Seidman.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Ontario MP Michael Chong (9):<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>MPs:\u00a0<\/strong>Peter Kent and David Tilson.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Former MPs:\u00a0<\/strong>Chungsen Leung, Mike Wallace and Terence Young.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ontario MPPs:\u00a0<\/strong>Ted Arnott.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Former Alberta MLAs:\u00a0<\/strong>Gary Mar.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Former New Brunswick MLAs:\u00a0<\/strong>R\u00e9jean Savoie.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Senators:\u00a0<\/strong>Victor Oh.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Ontario MP Kellie Leitch (5):<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>MPs:\u00a0<\/strong>Ben Lobb, Peter Van Loan and David Yurdiga.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Former MPs:\u00a0<\/strong>Ronald Atkey.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Former Senators:\u00a0<\/strong>Consiglio Di Nino.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Alberta MP Deepak Obhrai (3):<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Former MPs:\u00a0<\/strong>Corneliu Chisu, Joe Daniel and Julian Fantino.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Former B.C. MP Andrew Saxton (2):<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Former MPs:\u00a0<\/strong>John Duncan.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Former Senators:\u00a0<\/strong>Noel Kinsella.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Quebec MP Steven Blaney (1):<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Senators:\u00a0<\/strong>Jean-Guy Dagenais.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Businessman Rick Peterson (1):<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Former MPs:\u00a0<\/strong>Bill Clarke.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Saskatchewan MP Brad Trost and former Ontario MPs Chris Alexander and Pierre Lemieux have yet to announce any endorsements.<\/p>\n<p \/>\n<p \/>\n<p>Article source: http:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/politics\/grenier-conservatives-endorsements-1.3931211?cmp=rss<\/a>\r\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In his bid\u00a0for the Conservative Party leadership, Andrew Scheer\u00a0has\u00a0the bulk of endorsements from current and former politicians. But because of the rules of the campaign, the contest will be decided in favour of the candidate who\u00a0can garner the broadest base of support nationwide. Seen through that lens, Scheer&#8217;s\u00a0endorsement advantage over Erin\u00a0O&#8217;Toole,\u00a0Maxime\u00a0Bernier\u00a0and Lisa\u00a0Raitt\u00a0narrows. Scheer has 58\u00a0endorsements [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":63464,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[84],"class_list":["post-63463","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-political","tag-political"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63463","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63463"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63463\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63464"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63463"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63463"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63463"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}