Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown tabs Stephen Harper campaign chair to co-chair Conservative leadership run

Thestar.com
March 28, 2022

Patrick Brown is looking west as he builds his campaign team in a bid to become the next leader of the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC).

On Wednesday (March 23), Brown announced former Vancouver Conservative MP John Reynolds as his national campaign co-chair. Reynolds, who once served as interim leader of the now-defunct Canadian Alliance party, was also campaign co-chair for former prime minister Stephen Harper’s successful 2004 Conservative leadership campaign.

Reynolds’ appointment comes just days after Brown announced Calgary Nose Hill MP Michelle Rempel Garner as his other national campaign co-chair.

“Mayor Brown is a true Conservative with a record of achievement in government to prove it. He will restore fiscal sanity in Ottawa, champion religious freedom, and give Justin Trudeau the fight of his life. Under Mayor Brown, we will win the next election and Canada will be better for it,” Reynolds said in a release.

Brown, who was elected mayor of Brampton in 2018 after serving at all three levels of government in Barrie, Ont. between 2000 and 2018 -- including as leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservative party -- announced his candidacy to replace Erin O’Toole as CPC party leader during an event in Brampton on March 13.

Ontario candidates have traditionally struggled to gain traction with Conservative party voters during leadership campaigns in Western Canada. His campaign chair selections are clearly aimed at attracting those voters.

Brown could best be described as a “Red Tory” and has been traditionally more moderate in his political views. Both Reynolds and Rempel Garner lean further right than Brown and will likely help him bridge the apparent gap between the more moderate and right-wing factions of the party that has existed for years.

“With the leadership and guidance of Michelle and John, we are building a strong, hopeful and passionate team that will grow the Conservative Party to an election victor,” Brown said in a statement.

“Michelle and John represent the best of our party -- new ideas and new energy fused with decades of experience and a deep understanding of our party’s rich heritage. I am fortunate to have them leading our growing team,” he added.

Brown, who highlighted a need for Conservatives to unify during his campaign launch speech, released a Western Canada platform along with his announcement of Rempel Garner as campaign co-chair.

In it, he promises equal representation in Western Canada based on population and commits to “fix the unjust equalization program,” which sees funds collected through federal taxes distributed among Canadian provinces. Brown is also promising to support the energy sector and provide more infrastructure funding to western provinces.

Brown hasn’t yet released his platform for country’s central, northern and eastern regions.