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Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario leadership elections

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This page lists the results of leadership elections within the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (known as the Conservative Party of Ontario before 1942).

Contents

Before 1920, leaders of the Conservative Party were usually chosen by caucus. In 1914, William Hearst was selected at a meeting of the province's executive council (or cabinet) as James Whitney, the previous leader, had died while holding the office of Premier of Ontario.

All of the party's leadership races before 1990 were determined by delegated conventions. The leadership races of 1990, 2002 and 2004 were determined by a weighted vote of all party members, with each constituency contributing an equal number of "votes" to the total. The 1990 race was decided in one round, while the 2002 race took two. For the 2004 election, the party introduced a preferential balloting system, such that party members would only be required to vote one time.

1920 Conservative Party leadership convention

(Held on December 2, 1920.)

  • Howard Ferguson won on first ballot
  • Earl Lawson
  • George Stewart Henry

    • (Note: The vote totals were not announced.)

    When Ferguson resigned as Premier in 1930, he selected George Henry as his replacement. Henry was subsequently confirmed as party leader at a special Meeting on June 24, 1931.

    1936 Conservative Party leadership convention

    (Held on May 28, 1936 at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto.)

    First ballot:

  • Earl Rowe 782
  • George A. Drew 480
  • William James Stewart 157
  • Leopold Macaulay 90
  • Wilfrid Heighington 70
  • Adam Acres 47
  • Arthur Ellis 10

    • Second ballot:

  • Earl Rowe 1,005
  • George A. Drew 660

    • 1938 Conservative Party leadership convention

    (Held on December 9, 1938, at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto.)

  • George A. Drew 796
  • Earl Lawson 413
  • Wilfrid Heighington 41
  • Norman Rawson 22

    • 1949 Progressive Conservative leadership convention

    (Held on April 27, 1949.)

  • Leslie Frost 842
  • Leslie Blackwell 442
  • Kelso Roberts 121
  • Dana Porter 65

    • 1961 Progressive Conservative leadership convention

    (Held on October 25, 1961.)

    First ballot:

  • Kelso Roberts 352
  • John Robarts 345
  • Robert Macaulay 339
  • James Allan 332
  • A.W. Downer 149
  • Matthew Dymond 148
  • George Wardrope 45

    • Second ballot:

  • John Robarts 423
  • Kelso Roberts 385
  • Robert Macaulay 363
  • James Allan 324
  • A.W. Downer 104
  • Matthew Dymond 93

    • Third ballot:

  • John Robarts 498
  • Kelso Roberts 380
  • Robert Macaulay 372
  • James Allan 344
  • A.W. Downer 93

    • Fourth ballot:

  • John Robarts 533
  • Kelso Roberts 419
  • Robert Macaulay 377
  • James Allan 336

    • Fifth ballot:

  • John Robarts 746
  • Kelso Roberts 479
  • Robert Macaulay 438

    • Sixth ballot:

  • John Robarts 976
  • Kelso Roberts 633

    • 1971 Progressive Conservative leadership convention

    (Held on February 12, 1971.)

    January 1985 Progressive Conservative leadership convention

    (Held in Toronto on January 26, 1985.)

    First ballot:

  • Frank Miller 591
  • Dennis Timbrell 421
  • Larry Grossman 378
  • Roy McMurtry 300

    • Second ballot (McMurtry supports Grossman):

  • Frank Miller 659
  • Larry Grossman 514
  • Dennis Timbrell 508

    • (Note: These figures were confirmed by a recount.)

    Third ballot (Timbrell supports Grossman):

  • Frank Miller 869
  • Larry Grossman 792

    • November 1985 Progressive Conservative leadership convention

    (Held on November 16, 1985.)

    First ballot:

  • Larry Grossman 752
  • Dennis Timbrell 661
  • Alan Pope 271

    • Second ballot:

  • Larry Grossman 848
  • Dennis Timbrell 829

    • 1990 Progressive Conservative leadership convention

    (Held on May 12, 1990.)

  • Mike Harris 7,175
  • Dianne Cunningham 5,825

    • (the non-weighted vote totals were: Harris 8,661, Cunningham 7,189)

    The 1990 vote was the first held on the basis of one member one vote with votes weighted so that each riding had equal weight.

    2002 Progressive Conservative leadership convention

    (Held on March 23, 2002.)

    First ballot:

  • Ernie Eves 4,257
  • Jim Flaherty 3,031
  • Tony Clement 1,354
  • Elizabeth Witmer 1,197
  • Chris Stockwell 448

    • (Note: After the first ballot, Clement and Witmer both withdrew from the contest and supported Ernie Eves. Their names remained on the ballot for at least a part of the second round, however.)

    Second ballot:

  • Ernie Eves 5,623
  • Jim Flaherty 3,898
  • Tony Clement 561
  • Elizabeth Witmer 216

    • (It is not clear if the non-weighted vote totals were released to the public. 44188 party members voted on the first ballot, 34,608 on the second.)

    2004 Progressive Conservative leadership convention

    (Held on September 18, 2004.)

    First ballot:

  • John Tory 4,535.13 (45%)
  • Jim Flaherty 3,274.92 (33%)
  • Frank Klees 2,265.96 (22%)

    • 5,039 electoral votes needed to win

    (the non-weighted vote totals were Tory 12,132, Flaherty 7,951, Klees 5,240)

    Second ballot:

  • John Tory 5,390.86 (54%)
  • Jim Flaherty 4,664.14 (46%)

    • 5,028 electoral votes needed to win

    (the non-weighted vote totals were Tory 18,037, Flaherty 14,353)

    2009 Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario leadership convention

    (Held on June 27, 2009, in Markham, Ontario)

    First Ballot

    Movement: Hillier eliminated and endorses Hudak; prior to balloting Hillier asked his supporters to make Hudak their second choice.

    Second Ballot

    Does not include votes that were spoiled because no second choice was indicated.

    Movement: Elliott eliminated

    Third Ballot

    Does not include votes that were spoiled because no second or third choice was indicated.

    2015 Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario leadership election

    Results announced in Toronto on May 27, 2015

    Ballot Count

    References

    Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario leadership elections Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA