Patrick Brown alleges that political corruption played a role in his disqualification from the Conservative Party of Canada leadership race, a move that came after allegations that his campaign violated election finance rules.
In his first television interview since being ousted by the Leadership Election Organizing Committee (LEOC), Brown denied any wrongdoing, denouncing what he called “anonymous allegations” and telling CTV News Channel’s Power Play host Evan Solomon , who believes Pierre Poilievre’s supporters on the committee are behind the move.
“When I say this is politically corrupt, 150,000 Canadians, many for the first time, have joined the Conservative Party and taken their vote away from them,” Brown said, referring to new party members his campaign says had signed up since they entered. . this spring’s race.
“I am shocked that they have taken such extraordinary measures to rob party members of a democratic election based on an anonymous tip,” he said, adding that he did not feel he had enough time or information about the allegations. made to respond appropriately, and indicating that his team is evaluating their options to challenge the move.
However, Conservative Party Chairman Rob Batherson later confirmed that the accusations “did not come from anyone affiliated with any other campaign”, which seems to suggest that the concerns raised come from those who previously helped try to convert the current mayor. of Brampton into the next federal Conservative leader.
Pressed for details, Batherson declined to elaborate, saying the ball is now in the court of Elections Canada to assess and “interview the sources of the allegations.”
Committee Chairman Ian Brodie announced Brown’s disqualification Tuesday night, citing “serious allegations of wrongdoing” by the Brown campaign.
“Information provided to date by the Patrick Brown campaign has not satisfied concerns about its compliance with our Rules and Procedures and/or the Canada Elections Act.” read the statement. The decision to disqualify him was made after an 11-6 split vote of LEOC members.
“We regret having to take these steps, but we have an obligation to ensure that all candidates and campaign teams abide by both our Party Rules and federal law. None of these issues have any impact on the integrity of the vote itself,” the statement said. he said she.
Despite growing calls for transparency, the party has refused to go into specific details of the allegations, citing the potential impact on investigations. Brown told Solomon that he was told by his campaign that he is involved in allowing a corporation to pay for work done by a campaign member.
“But [there was] there is no information about who he was or who that corporation was, so it is impossible to answer a ghost,” he said.
Yaroslav Baran, who handles media communications for the current leadership contest, told CTV National News on Wednesday that “numerous” allegations had been filed.
“Some of it relates to the rules of the contest, the rules set by the leadership election organizing committee that set up the party, but more recently, material was presented that went further and spoke of potential violations of election law. ,” he said.
Baran also directly refuted Brown’s claim that his team was unaware of the allegations.
“The party has been very transparent and forthright with the campaign in question… The party has approached the campaign numerous times, given them numerous generous opportunities to explain what this was all about,” he said.
“They, unfortunately for them, chose not to take those opportunities. They knew exactly what this was all about, exactly what the material was about, and they chose not to take the opportunities to give any kind of plausible and satisfactory explanation.” Explanation.”
The party also confirmed Wednesday that because ballot packets have already begun shipping to the estimated 675,000 members prior to the winner’s announcement on Sept. 10, Brown’s name will continue to appear on what will be a preferential ballot.
Pierre Poilievre declined CTV News’ request for an interview about Brown’s ouster and the claims he has made. His campaign released a statement Wednesday morning saying Brown’s disqualification was the “latest chapter in a career defined by numerous scandals.”
“This is not the first time Patrick has been disqualified from running for public office for reasons of ethical impropriety. In fact, he was disqualified from running as a local candidate by the Ontario PC Party. For years, Patrick’s conduct has shown that He is the type of person who will say and do anything to win,” campaign spokesman Anthony Koch said in a statement.
The two campaigns have had fierce back-and-forth exchanges during the race so far, with both sides alleging different kinds of wrongdoing.
Poilievre’s camp had previously accused Brown’s team of refunding membership fees for those who signed up using its online portal.
Jean Charest, now one of five contenders in the race, along with Poilievre, Scott Aitchison, Roman Baber and Leslyn Lewis, sent a message to her supporters on Wednesday morning asking for answers.
In the email, communications director Michelle Coates Mather said the revelations from “both sides of the issue are deeply troubling” and that members deserve further clarification.
“LEOC must guarantee the integrity of the process. Party members deserve the truth. We need to understand what the allegations are, how the Patrick Brown campaign responded, and why LEOC took such drastic action. Transparency is paramount,” he said.
On Wednesday night, Brown’s legal adviser sent a notice to the Conservative Party to say he intends to appeal the decision.
“To be clear, Mr. Brown has committed absolutely no misconduct,” the notice says.
However, on Wednesday night, Batherson said the game’s rules “do not allow an appeal of a disqualification decision.”
With files from Evan Solomon and Rachel Aiello of CTV News