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Conservative Party Leadership

O’Toole wins after third ballot in Conservative leadership race

Aug 23, 2020 | 11:19 PM

OTTAWA – Erin O’Toole is the new leader of the federal Conservative party, winning the race after a third round of counting that came hours later than expected.

Peter MacKay placed second, after having come out on top in the first round.

Nearly 270,000 party members were eligible to vote in the race, and upwards of 175,000 ultimately cast a ballot.

The result came in the wee hours of Monday, as machines tasked with slicing envelopes malfunctioned and several thousand ballots had to be replicated by hand under the close eye of scrutineers throughout Sunday evening.