2004 Conservative Party of Canada leadership election

Last updated

2004 Conservative Party of Canada leadership election
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg
  2003 (PC)
2002 (CA)
March 20, 2004 2017  
  Harper,-Stephen-Jan-23-06 (cropped).jpg Belinda Stronach 1 (cropped).jpg Tony Clement 2012 (3x4).jpg
Candidate Stephen Harper Belinda Stronach Tony Clement
Popular vote67,14322,2867,968
Percentage68.9%22.9%8.2%
Points17,29610,6132,887
Percentage56.2%34.5%9.4%

CPC leadership map 2004.png
Results by Canadian electoral district

Leader before election

John Lynch-Staunton (interim)

Elected Leader

Stephen Harper

2004 Conservative leadership election
Convention Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Toronto
Won by Stephen Harper
Ballots1
Candidates3
Entrance Fee C$100,000 [1]
Spending limit C$2.5 million [2]
Progressive Conservative leadership elections
1927 · 1938 · 1942 · 1948 · 1956 · 1967 · 1976 · 1983 · 1993 · 1995 · 1998 · 2003

Canadian Alliance leadership elections
2000 · 2002

Conservative leadership elections
2004 · 2017 · 2020 · 2022

The 2004 Conservative Party of Canada leadership election took place on March 20, 2004, in Toronto, Ontario, and resulted in the election of Stephen Harper as the first leader of the new Conservative Party of Canada. The Conservative Party was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, in December 2003.

Contents

Stephen Harper, the former leader of the Canadian Alliance, was elected on the first (and only) ballot. Tony Clement, a former Ontario Progressive Conservative health minister, and Belinda Stronach, the former Chief Executive Officer of Magna International, were the other candidates on the ballot. [3]

The leader was selected by a system in which each of the party's riding associations was allocated 100 points, which were allocated among candidates in proportion to the votes that he or she received. This system was selected as a condition of the merger, to prevent the far larger Canadian Alliance membership base from overwhelming that of the Progressive Conservatives.

Members voted using ranked ballots. If no candidate won a majority of votes in the first round, the ballots supporting the candidate with the smallest number of votes would be re-distributed according to the voters' second preferences. Subsequent rounds were not needed, however, because Stephen Harper won in the first round.

Candidates

Tony Clement

42, Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario Member of Provincial Parliament for Brampton South (1995–2003), provincial Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (2001–2003), provincial Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing (1999–2001), provincial Minister of the Environment (1999–2000), provincial Minister of Transportation (1997–1999), third place candidate in Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario leadership election (2002)

Caucus Endorsements

Stephen Harper

44, Reform Party of Canada MP for Calgary West (1993–1997), Canadian Alliance MP for Calgary Southwest (2002–), Leader of the Canadian Alliance (2002–2003), President of the National Citizens Coalition (1998–2002)

Caucus Endorsements

Belinda Stronach

37, CEO of Magna International (2001–)

Caucus Endorsements

Announced they would not run

Results

Results by round
Candidate1st round
Votes cast%Points allocated%
Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2006.jpg Stephen Harper 67,14368.9%17,29656.2%
Belinda Stronach 2006 Convention.jpg Belinda Stronach 22,28622.9%10,61334.5%
Tony Clement 2012.jpg Tony Clement 7,9688.2%2,8879.4
Total97,397100%30,796100%

Points needed to win: 15,401

Each of 308 ridings had 100 points which were distributed by proportional representation according to votes cast by party members in the riding.

Votes
Harper
68.94%
Stronach
22.88%
Clement
8.18%
Points
Harper
56.16%
Stronach
34.46%
Clement
9.37%

The actual vote totals remained confidential when the leadership election results were announced; only the point totals were made public at the time, giving the impression of a race that was much closer than was actually the case. Three years later, Harper's former campaign manager, Tom Flanagan, published the actual vote totals, noting that, among other distortions caused by the equal-weighting system, "a vote cast in Quebec was worth 19.6 times as much as a vote cast in Alberta". [5]

Total expenses

Timeline

December 2003

January 2004

March 2004

Breakdown by province

Points allocated by candidate (rounded)
ProvinceClementHarperStronachTotal
Newfoundland and Labrador102231369702
Prince Edward Island4185272398
Nova Scotia1104095821,101
New Brunswick514614921,004
Quebec4522,5064,5387,496
Ontario1,6726,0352,89110,598
Manitoba721,0292991,400
Saskatchewan511,1412081,400
Alberta812,3803462,807
British Columbia2302,8784923,600
Yukon66232100
Northwest Territories95339101
Nunavut172856101
Total2,89417,29810,61630,808

Breakdown by riding

Newfoundland and Labrador

RidingClementHarperStronach
Avalon272251
Bonavista—Exploits123653
Humber—St. Barbe—Baie
Verte
34552
Labrador05050
Random—Burin—St.
George's
133156
St. John's North302645
St. John's South172162

Prince Edward Island

RidingClementHarperStronach
Cardigan111177
Charlottetown93358
Egmont92368
Malpeque121869

Nova Scotia

RidingClementHarperStronach
Cape Breton—Canso92368
Central Nova62470
Dartmouth—Cole Harbour164836
Halifax133849
Halifax West154441
Kings-Hants63757
North Nova63757
Sackville—Eastern Shore105139
South Shore—St. Margaret's163153
Sydney—Victoria92567
West Nova45145

New Brunswick

RidingClementHarperStronach
Acadia-Bathurst6590
Beauséjour25048
Fredericton76429
Fundy95636
Madawaska—Restigouche12673
Miramichi33563
Moncton—Riverview—
Dieppe
75043
St. Croix—Belleisle47125
Saint John94547
Tobique—Mactaquac35938

Quebec

RidingClementHarperStronach
Abitibi—Témiscamingue04456
Ahuntsic03565
Alfred-Pellan53758
Argenteuil—Mirabel06338
Beauce02278
Beauharnois—Salaberry231463
Beauport44650
Berthier—Maskinongé31880
Bourassa04654
Brome—Missisquoi45937
Brossard—La Prairie82963
Chambly—Borduas31582
Charlesbourg32374
Charlevoix—Montmorency02080
Châteauguay—Saint-
Constant
2791
Chicoutimi—Le Fjord06436
Compton—Stanstead154343
Drummond22771
Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-
Madeleine
05050
Gatineau33266
Hochelaga00100
Honoré-Mercier0496
Hull—Aylmer114044
Jeanne-Le Ber122662
Joliette04060
Jonquière—Alma02971
Lac-Saint-Louis83953
La Pointe-de-l'Île71380
LaSalle—Émard63361
Laurentides—Labelle0496
Laurier312643
Laval47224
Laval—Les Îles93457
Lévis—Bellechasse03565
Longueuil03367
Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-
Chaudière
02377
Louis-Hébert72073
Louis-Saint-Laurent34750
Manicouagan21979
Marc-Aurèle-Fortin102367
Matapédia—Matane04753
Mégantic—L'Érable01684
Montcalm33266
Mount Royal255025
Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—
Lachine
44056
Nunavik—Eeyou04060
Outremont344026
Papineau173647
Pierrefonds—Dollard173549
Pontiac65539
Portneuf24058
Quebec52569
Repentigny65935
Richelieu145233
Richmond—Arthabaska02179
Rimouski—Témiscouata154638
Rivière-des-Mille-Îles94545
Rivière-du-Loup—
Montmagny
0893
Rivière-du-Nord115633
Roberval05248
Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie53362
Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert1594
Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot02674
Saint-Jean283141
Saint-Lambert23067
Saint-Laurent—Cartierville154441
Saint-Léonard—Saint-
Michel
0595
Saint-Maurice—Champlain05347
Shefford21681
Sherbrooke03268
Terrebonne—Blainville42076
Trois-Rivières03961
Vaudreuil-Soulanges127216
Vercheres—Les Patriotes01288
Westmount—Ville-Marie303931

Ontario

RidingClementHarperStronach
Ajax-Pickering125732
Algoma—Manitoulin—
Kapuskasing
86428
Ancaster—Dundas—
Flamborough —Westdale
116721
Barrie95932
Beaches—East York264431
Bramalea—Gore—Malton252847
Brampton—Springdale622810
Brampton West543214
Brant136423
Burlington126027
Cambridge116425
Carleton—Lanark66727
Chatham-Kent—Essex86626
Clarington—Scugog—
Uxbridge
76824
Davenport294130
Don Valley East166222
Don Valley West245125
Dufferin—Caledon145630
Eglinton—Lawrence373924
Elgin—Middlesex—London125731
Essex87220
Etobicoke Centre175924
Etobicoke—Lakeshore225126
Etobicoke North204337
Glengarry—Prescott—
Russell
57223
Grey—Bruce—Owen Sound76824
Guelph195625
Haldimand—Norfolk106723
Haliburton—Kawartha
Lakes— Brock
66728
Halton176419
Hamilton Centre105733
Hamilton East—Stoney
Creek
75637
Hamilton Mountain167411
Huron—Bruce135235
Kenora95140
Kingston and the Islands166223
Kitchener Centre126128
Kitchener—Conestoga67024
Kitchener—Waterloo156025
Lanark—Frontenac—
Lennox and Addington
77221
Leeds—Grenville56927
London—Fanshawe126820
London North Centre116721
London West97615
Markham—Unionville404020
Middlesex—Kent—Lambton116226
Mississauga—Brampton
South
563212
Mississauga East—
Cooksville
155431
Mississauga—Erindale215128
Mississauga South186022
Mississauga—Streetsville285121
Nepean—Carleton56926
Newmarket—Aurora73757
Niagara Falls96922
Niagara West—Glanbrook87121
Nickel Belt63460
Nipissing—Timiskaming46234
Northumberland—Quinte
West
166420
Oak Ridges—Markham185329
Oakville156520
Oshawa156025
Ottawa Centre96526
Ottawa—Orléans66529
Ottawa South86726
Ottawa—Vanier96031
Ottawa West—Nepean86626
Oxford185428
Parkdale—High Park294328
Parry Sound—Muskoka174933
Perth—Wellington145432
Peterborough97417
Pickering—Scarborough
East
115436
Prince Edward—Hastings86626
Renfrew—Nipissing—
Pembroke
48215
Richmond Hill193843
St. Catharines156619
St. Paul's344323
Sarnia—Lambton185923
Sault Ste. Marie76825
Scarborough—Agincourt135334
Scarborough Centre145927
Scarborough—Guildwood135532
Scarborough—Rouge River344026
Scarborough Southwest156025
Simcoe—Grey117118
Simcoe North106426
Stormont—Dundas—South
Glengarry
67122
Sudbury115039
Thornhill274825
Thunder Bay—Rainy River87319
Thunder Bay—Superior
North
284824
Timmins—James Bay53659
Toronto Centre253837
Toronto—Danforth224533
Trinity—Spadina254233
Vaughan422335
Welland86922
Wellington—Halton Hills116424
Whitby—Oshawa185922
Willowdale195525
Windsor—Tecumseh186517
Windsor West12799
York Centre205624
York—Simcoe165232
York South—Weston174637
York West141967

Manitoba

RidingClementHarperStronach
Brandon—Souris47422
Charleswood—St. James56728
Churchill37125
Dauphin—Swan River26731
Elmwood—Transcona27721
Kildonan—St. Paul68113
Portage—Lisgar57421
Provencher48610
Saint Boniface47323
Selkirk—Interlake57817
Winnipeg Centre106723
Winnipeg North67421
Winnipeg South67618
Winnipeg South Centre106426

Saskatchewan

RidingClementHarperStronach
Battlefords—Lloydminster08910
Blackstrap48017
Churchill River2899
Cypress Hills—Grasslands2908
Palliser47719
Prince Albert18613
Regina—Lumsden—Lake
Centre
67419
Regina—Qu'Appelle38215
Saskatoon—Humboldt87914
Saskatoon—Rosetown—
Biggar
48411
Saskatoon—Wanuskewin2908
Souris—Moose Mountain46829
Wascana66925
Yorkton—Melville58411

Alberta

RidingClementHarperStronach
Athabasca28315
Calgary East48610
Calgary North Centre68113
Calgary Northeast47125
Calgary—Nose Hill58313
Calgary South Centre78013
Calgary Southeast48511
Calgary Southwest4906
Calgary West58312
Crowfoot1927
Edmonton—Beaumont37721
Edmonton Centre47917
Edmonton East28414
Edmonton—Leduc38611
Edmonton—St. Albert28811
Edmonton—Sherwood Park58214
Edmonton—Spruce Grove28316
Edmonton—Strathcona37719
Lethbridge2917
Macleod28711
Medicine Hat1927
Peace River28415
Red Deer2908
Vegreville—Wainwright18910
Westlock—St. Paul18415
Wetaskiwin1945
Wild Rose2909
Yellowhead18911

British Columbia

RidingClementHarperStronach
Abbotsford3934
Burnaby—Douglas98110
Burnaby—New Westminster157510
Cariboo—Prince George28513
Chilliwack—Fraser Canyon26668
Delta—Richmond East66727
Dewdney—Alouette78112
Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca48610
Fleetwood—Port Kells68015
Kamloops—Thompson38512
Kelowna18415
Kootenay—Columbia1918
Langley77815
Nanaimo—Alberni4888
Nanaimo—Cowichan38710
Newton—North Delta37423
New Westminster—
Coquitlam
11808
North Okanagan—Shuswap3898
North Vancouver68410
Okanagan—Coquihalla37918
Port Moody—Westwood—
Port Coquitlam
186319
Prince George—Peace River18712
Richmond18910
Saanich—Gulf Islands58510
Skeena—Bulkley Valley38214
Southern Interior38413
South Surrey—White Rock
—Cloverdale
48214
Surrey North37720
Vancouver Centre105634
Vancouver East66529
Vancouver Island North38810
Vancouver Kingsway117118
Vancouver Quadra107416
Vancouver South147511
Victoria107614
West Vancouver—
Sunshine Coast
5914

Yukon

RidingClementHarperStronach
Yukon66232

Northwest Territories

RidingClementHarperStronach
Western Arctic95339

Nunavut

RidingClementHarperStronach
Nunavut172856

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian Alliance</span> Canadian political party

The Canadian Alliance, formally the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance, was a centre-right to right-wing federal political party in Canada that existed under that name from 2000 to 2003. The Canadian Alliance was the new name of the Reform Party of Canada and inherited many of its populist policies, as well as its position as the Official Opposition in the House of Commons of Canada. The party supported policies that were both fiscally and socially conservative, seeking reduced government spending on social programs and reductions in taxation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter MacKay</span> Former Canadian Member of Parliament

Peter Gordon MacKay is a Canadian lawyer and politician. He was a Member of Parliament from 1997 to 2015 and has served as Minister of Justice and Attorney General (2013–2015), Minister of National Defence (2007–2013), and Minister of Foreign Affairs (2006–2007) in the Cabinet of Canada under Prime Minister Stephen Harper. MacKay was the final leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, and he agreed to merge the party with Stephen Harper's Canadian Alliance in 2003, forming the Conservative Party of Canada and making MacKay one of the co-founders of the current conservative wing of Canadian politics.

The Conservative Party of Canada, colloquially known as the Tories or simply the Conservatives, is a federal political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main right-leaning parties, the Progressive Conservative Party and the Canadian Alliance, the latter being the successor of the Western Canadian–based Reform Party. The party sits at the centre-right to the right of the Canadian political spectrum, with their federal rival, the centre-left Liberal Party of Canada, positioned to their left. The Conservatives are defined as a "big tent" party, practising "brokerage politics" and welcoming a broad variety of members, including "Red Tories" and "Blue Tories".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scott Brison</span> Canadian politician

Scott A. Brison is a former Canadian politician from Nova Scotia. Brison served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the riding of Kings-Hants from the 1997 federal election until July 2000, then from November 2000 to February 2019. He was the first openly gay MP to sit as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party. In 2003, just days after the Progressive Conservatives and the more socially conservative Canadian Alliance voted to merge into the Conservative Party of Canada, Brison crossed the floor to join the Liberal Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deborah Grey</span> Canadian politician (born 1952)

Deborah Cleland Grey, is a retired Canadian member of Parliament from Alberta for the Reform Party of Canada, the Canadian Alliance, and the Conservative Party of Canada. She was the first female federal leader of the Opposition in Canadian history. She currently serves on the advisory board of the Leaders' Debates Commission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belinda Stronach</span> Canadian politician

Belinda Caroline Stronach is a Canadian businesswoman and philanthropist, and was a Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons of Canada from 2004 to 2008. Originally elected as a Conservative, she later crossed the floor to join the Liberals. From May 17, 2005, to February 6, 2006, Stronach was the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and Minister responsible for Democratic Renewal in the government of Paul Martin. After leaving politics, she served as the executive vice-chairman of Magna International, Canada's largest automotive parts manufacturer, until December 31, 2010.

The Unite the Right movement was a Canadian political movement which existed from around the mid-1990s to 2003. The movement came into being when it became clear that neither of Canada's two main right-of-centre political parties, the Reform Party of Canada/Canadian Alliance (CA) and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (PC), was independently capable of defeating the governing Liberal Party. The objective of the movement, therefore, was to merge the two parties into a single party. The goal of uniting the right was accomplished in December 2003 with the formation of the Conservative Party of Canada.

The Canadian Alliance, a conservative political party in Canada, held two leadership elections to choose the party's leader. The first was held shortly after the party's founding in 2000, and the second was held in 2002. The party merged with the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003 to form the Conservative Party of Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Craig Chandler</span> Canadian businessman, lobbyist and political activist

Craig B. Chandler is a Canadian businessman, lobbyist, and political activist. He is co-founder and CEO of the Progressive Group for Independent Business (PGIB). He was a candidate at the federal 2003 Progressive Conservative leadership convention, a candidate for Member of Parliament in Ontario, candidate for Member of the Legislative Assembly in Alberta, and candidate for Ward 12 City Councillor in Calgary, Alberta.

The following is a timeline of the Canadian federal election, 2004. More on the election in general is available in the article 2004 Canadian federal election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Reynolds (Canadian politician)</span> Canadian politician

John Douglas Reynolds is a former Canadian politician. He was the member of Parliament for the riding of West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country in the House of Commons of Canada from 1997 to 2006 and a former Federal Opposition Leader. He had also been an MP in the 1970s as well as a provincial politician in British Columbia in the 1980s and 1990s.

Robert William "Bob" Runciman is a Canadian politician and former provincial Leader of the Opposition in the Ontario Legislature. First elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in 1981, he held the seat continuously for Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario for the next 29 years. On January 29, 2010, he was appointed to the Senate of Canada as a Conservative, where he served until August 10, 2017.

Rick Borotsik is a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served as Mayor of Brandon from 1989 to 1997, was a member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1997 to 2004, and was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba in 2007. Borotsik is a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba.

Susan R. Kadis is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. She was the Liberal Member of Parliament for Thornhill in the House of Commons of Canada from 2004-08.

The 2003 Progressive Conservative leadership election was held on May 31, 2003, to elect a leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada. Peter MacKay was elected as leader to replace former Prime Minister Joe Clark, who then retired as party leader. In the end, five candidates emerged as challengers for the leadership by the convention date. Two other candidates had participated in the race but both withdrew as contestants before the vote. Quebec Member of Parliament (MP) André Bachand withdrew his candidacy from the race due to financial concerns and backed Peter MacKay. Former Cabinet Minister and Quebec MP Heward Grafftey also withdrew his candidacy from the race due to health concerns and backed David Orchard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Herron (New Brunswick politician)</span> Canadian politician

John Herron is a Canadian politician and Red Tory who served as the member of Parliament (MP) for the riding of Fundy Royal from 1997 to 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2006 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election</span>

The 2006 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election was prompted by outgoing Prime Minister Paul Martin's announcement that he would not lead the Liberal Party of Canada into another election, following his party's defeat in the 2006 federal election in Canada. The party's biennial convention, already scheduled to occur from November 29 to December 1, 2006, in Montreal's Palais des congrès, was followed by the party's leadership convention at the same venue occurring December 2 to December 3, 2006. As the winner, Stéphane Dion led the Liberal Party into the 2008 federal election.

This article covers the history of the Conservative Party of Canada.

References

  1. Rachel Décoste (October 12, 2008). "How Much Does it Cost to be a Liberal These Days?". Huffingtonpost.ca. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
  2. "Conservative leadership race kicks off with $50,000 entrance fee and $5M spending cap". National Post. March 8, 2016. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
  3. "Harper wins Conservative leadership". CBC News, March 22, 2004.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Who Supports Whom in Tory Race:". The Hill Times. March 15, 2004.
  5. Tom Flanagan, Harper's Team. Montreal & Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2007, pg. 134
  6. "Alliance members vote 95.9% in favour of merger". CBC News, December 5, 2003.
  7. "MacKay slams Brison for joining Liberals". CBC News, December 10, 2003.
  8. "Stronach jumps into Conservative leadership race". CBC News, January 20, 2004.