Tory tensions rising as PC leadership race nears

As the Progressive Conservative party prepares to formally launch its leadership race, tensions within party ranks over the rules of the game are coming to the surface.

On Friday, Tory leadership candidate Jason Kenney suggested the rules for the Progressive Conservative leadership race could be overhauled, but the party said the opportunity to revise the voting system is closed.

In turn, a Calgary constituency association president accused the party’s executive director of bias against Kenney.

The flashpoint was the selection process for next March’s delegated leadership convention, which requires that five of the 15 delegates elected from each riding be members of the local constituency association board.

Kenney repeated his opposition to what he calls a “two-tier membership” system and said the mandatory inclusion of board members on the slate should be reviewed at the party’s policy conference and general meeting scheduled for November.

“If the delegates at the convention have the ability to reconsider this, I hope they do,” Kenney told reporters at a news conference where Calgary-West MLA Mike Ellis announced he was endorsing him for leader.

Ellis said he too is opposed to the “10 and 5” rule and his constituency association board had passed a motion that all party members in the riding be considered board members at large for the purposes of the slate election. Kenney said other Tory boards are considering taking similar action.

Interim PC leader Ric McIver — another potential leadership candidate who is unhappy with the delegate selection rules — has already suggested that party members could alter the system at the general meeting.

But PC party executive director Troy Wason said Friday the party’s constitution gives the board of directors the responsibility to set the rules for leadership contests, as happened in this case.

Changing that would require a constitutional amendment but the deadline for submitting such proposals falls 60 days ahead of the general meeting. Wason said no proposed amendments were delivered to the party by the Sept. 6 cut-off date.

“To say he hopes the rules for the contest can be changed, that time has past,” said Wason in response to Kenney, adding that any motions from the floor on the issue at the meeting will be out of order.

“I would say right now, the issue is closed.”

Wason also said the Calgary-West motion violates the constituency association’s own constitution, which caps board members at 60 and requires that potential directors consent to their election to the board.

But Tyler Shandro, president of the Calgary-West board, said Wason was weighing in on an area outside of his jurisdiction and if there is a problem with the motion it should be dealt with by the chief returning officer of the leadership contest.

He accused Wason of being openly biased against Kenney, who is running on a platform of uniting the PCs with the Wildrose in a new “Conservative Party of Canada.”

“He’s so worried about what Jason may or may not be able to do,” said Shandro, who finished second in the election for the PC party’s president this year.

“He’s so interested in trying to be Machiavellian in this process.”

Shandro said he is not backing Kenney and will support Calgary lawyer Doug Schweitzer if he gets in the PC leadership race.

But Wason denied he is biased against Kenney — or any other potential candidate — in either his words or actions.

He said that if Shandro has a problem with him, he should take his concerns to the party’s board of directors.

“My job is to protect the party,” said Wason.

“My job as executive director is to make sure the party keeps going forward until the board of directors decide they want to put in a new executive director.”

The PC leadership contest officially starts on Oct. 1. Kenney was the first candidate to declare for the race while former Tory cabinet minister Donna Kennedy-Glans has also indicated she will run.

A number of other potential candidates are also mulling a run, including MLAs Sandra Jansen and Richard Starke and Edmonton city councillor Michael Oshry.

jwood@postmedia.com