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Canada  

Scheer named CPC leader

Andrew Scheer, a longtime Saskatchewan MP and former Speaker of the House of Commons, has been narrowly elected the new leader of the federal Conservative party.

The nail-biting process of winnowing the field went down to the final 13th ballot before Scheer, 38, was declared the winner with 51 per cent of the available points, edging out longtime front-runner Maxime Bernier.

Bernier had led throughout the previous 12 ballots, but finished a close second with 49.05 per cent.

"What a campaign this has been," Scheer told the crowd as he acknowledged and thanked Bernier – who appeared to be fighting back tears of disappointment – and his other leadership rivals for their efforts and hard work.

"Time away from your families and your everyday lives – what a sacrifice this has been for all of you," Scheer said.

"We have all grown because of your hard work ... you have each brought your passion and what you believe in to the centre stage, and I plan to ensure the very best of those ideas are brought forward ... to help us win in 2019."

Candidates were scored not by votes, but by points: every riding in the country was allocated 100 points, and each candidate received a number of points depending on their share of votes in that riding.

Bernier is a longtime Quebec member of Parliament, but support in his home province wasn't a sure thing, given his profuse opposition to the supply management system that regulates some of the province's most lucrative agricultural industries.

After the first ballot, he had captured just 48 per cent of support from his own riding of Beauce, with rival Scheer nabbing a surprisingly high 47 per cent.

Deepak Obhrai, Andrew Saxton, Rick Peterson, Kevin O'Leary, Chris Alexander, Steven Blaney and Lisa Raitt were some of the earliest casualties as early-ballot results were announced, while Kellie Leitch, Pierre Lemieux and Michael Chong fell off in subsequent rounds.

"I'm a free market guy so I like competition," Bernier said earlier, after he was seen exchanging a nervous laugh with Scheer after the results of one of the ballots. "It's a tough competition."

Gone in the 9th ballot was controversial MP Kellie Leitch, the former cabinet minister and orthopedic surgeon whose key campaign pledge to screen newcomers for Canadian values saw her dominate early media coverage of the race, only to fade from prominence as the vote grew nearer.



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