Staggering 675,000 members signed up to choose next Conservative leader, party says

The party said it sent a preliminary voter list to candidates on Thursday and the final number is still subject to change as candidates review the validity of memberships.

About 675,000 members have signed up to vote for a new leader of the Conservative Party of Canada — a staggering number that the Tories believe sets an all-time record for any federal political party.

The party said it sent a preliminary voter list to candidates on Thursday. The final number is subject to change, as leadership hopefuls will now be able to challenge the validity of any of those sign-ups or push for names to be added to the list.

Candidates have until the end of Monday to issue these challenges, which the party stressed must be “substantiated.” They will be reviewed by the party’s chief returning officer, whose decisions can be appealed to a dispute resolution committee before the voter list is finalized later in July.

However, the party said some 6,500 non-compliant sales have already been cut according to the Conservatives’ internal rules and those of the Canada Elections Act.

These include memberships that were purchased for different addresses but using the same credit card or those bought with prepaid cards or corporate accounts.

Ian Brodie, chair of the leadership election organizing committee, said Thursday there are now more members of the Conservative party than people in Hamilton, Ont.

“Canadians are responding to the leadership race in unprecedented numbers. We have crushed all records for prior political participation in Canada,” he said.

To compare, in 2020, when former leader Erin O’Toole was elected in the Conservatives’ last leadership race, the party boasted an eligible voting base of 270,000.