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Tory leadership candidate says he’s out of the race if deadlines don’t move

Mar 19, 2020 | 9:55 AM

OTTAWA — Conservative leadership candidate Rudy Husny is calling off his campaign, saying it is just not right to be asking people for money during a public health emergency.

His announcement comes as a third candidate has been added to the ballot for the contest, Toronto lawyer Leslyn Lewis.

The deadline for candidates to get on the ballot by raising $300,000 in fees and getting 3,000 signatures is less than a week away.

Despite repeated calls from some candidates for the deadlines to be extended or the race postponed outright, so far the party has refused to budge.

Husny says that if the party wants to disqualify him from running because he’s refusing to campaign amid the COVID-19 pandemic, he’ll leave the race with no regrets.

In addition to Lewis, two other candidates are on the ballot: Erin O’Toole and Peter MacKay.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 19, 2020.

The Canadian Press