Press Room

Ottawa, Oct. 14, 2021 – Campaign Life Coalition (CLC) decries the Conservative Party's decision to suspend National Councillor Bert Chen for 60 days over the latter's petition to remove Erin O'Toole as party leader. CLC, which recruited more than 26,000 members in the 2020 CPC leadership race, is calling once again for O'Toole to step down, warning that only ousting O'Toole can save the party from an inevitable implosion similar to the federal PC Party's meltdown in 1993. Trying to silence a critic of O'Toole's disastrous leadership will not save the party.

The Conservative caucus was prudent in voting last week to give themselves the power to remove the leader and initiate a leadership review. Now, it must follow through at a future caucus meeting by calling a vote to oust O'Toole.

“O’Toole has already failed to win a very winnable election because of his foolish strategy of steering the party to the left, including by incessantly pushing his pro-abortion and socially liberal views which showed disrespect towards the party’s base,” said Jeff Gunnarson, National President of Campaign Life Coalition. “The CPC cannot win the next election with this failed leader at the helm. Chen should be applauded, not suspended." 

“O’Toole’s Liberal-lite platform caused the Conservatives to lose two seats in the House of Commons and resulted in a collapse of over 500,000 votes compared to what the party earned in 2019 under Andrew Scheer,” Gunnarson added.  

Campaign Life Coalition warns MPs that leaving O’Toole in place for the next election would result in an even more significant loss than what they just suffered. 

“If O’Toole is not replaced, I predict we’ll witness a repeat of the 1993 election in which the PC Party of Canada was almost annihilated, becoming a rump of just two seats due to the rise of Preston Manning’s Reform Party which offered a more authentically conservative alternative to the PCs,” said Jack Fonseca, CLC’s Director of Political Operations. 

"If O’Toole’s hand remains on the wheel, it’ll be the greatest gift Maxime Bernier could ever have wished for. The PPC will win a pile of seats, all at the expense of the CPC. Liberals will get a fourth term as a result of the vote-splitting. Ousting O’Toole and replacing him with a genuine conservative who respects the socially conservative base is the only winning solution for the CPC.” 

About Campaign Life Coalition   

Campaign Life Coalition is a national, non-profit organization involved in political action and advocacy for legal and cultural change in Canada with respect to protecting human life & the family. For more info visit www.campaignlifecoalition.com.  

Media Contacts  
Jeff Gunnarson, President, Campaign Life Coalition, 519-835-8201, [email protected]  
Jack Fonseca, Political Operation Director, Campaign Life Coalition, 647-638 5433, [email protected]  
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