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FRIDAY,MARCH6,2020 | THEGLOBEANDMAILO NEWS | A

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney
has endorsed Erin O’Toole for the
Conservative Party’s next leader.
The endorsement from a
prominent Western Conservative
is significant in a race that fea-
tures no well-known contenders
west of Ontario.
“We need a leader who is com-
petent and principled,” Mr. Ken-
ney wrote in an e-mail to all Con-
servative Party members Thurs-
day announcing his support for
Mr. O’Toole.
“A leader who won’t run away
from conservative principles un-
der pressure from the media or
the Left.”
In the e-mail, Mr. Kenney
stressed the need for the Conser-
vatives’ next leader to unite the
party, speak French, win in sub-
urban Ontario and “fight for a
fair deal for Western Canada.”
“I know that we can rely on
Erin to be that strong leader,” Mr.
Kenney wrote.
Mr. O’Toole has represented
the Greater Toronto Area riding
of Durham since 2012. He is one
of eight people running to re-
place Conservative Leader An-
drew Scheer and is considered a
front-runner, along with former
cabinet minister Peter MacKay.
When both Mr. O’Toole and
Mr. MacKay were already in the
leadership race, Mr. Kenney was

still lobbying for others to run.

He first urged former interim

leader Rona Ambrose to jump in

and, when she declined, he pub-

licly advocated for former cabi-

net minister John Baird to run.

Mr. Kenney worked alongside

Mr. MacKay in cabinet from 2008

to 2015. Mr. O’Toole joined them

in cabinet in 2015.

In his e-mail to party mem-

bers, Mr. Kenney took direct aim

at Mr. MacKay as he explained

why he was supporting Mr.

O’Toole.

“No one will have their deeply

held beliefs dismissed as ‘stink-

ing albatrosses’ under Erin

O’Toole’s leadership,” Mr. Ken-

ney wrote – a nod to comments

made by Mr. MacKay about the

negative impact social-conserva-

tive issues had on Mr. Scheer

during the fall election cam-

paign.

“The Conservative Party of

Canada must choose a Leader

who is true blue,” Mr. Kenney

said.

Mr. Kenney isn’t just lending

his name to the candidate, he’s

also encouraging a vast network

of organizers and supporters

across the country to join the

team, according to a source with

Mr. O’Toole’s campaign, whom

The Globe and Mail is not identi-

fying so they could speak about

internal matters.

Mr. Kenney hails from the

Prairies, but has spent years

building up the Conservative

base in urban centres and in

multicultural communities

across Canada.

In a statement, Mr. MacKay’s

spokeswoman, Julie Vaux, said

“he respects the Premier’s

choice.”

“As the next Prime Minister,

he will work with Premier Ken-

ney and every other Premier

across this country, regardless of

who they endorse. He made it

very clear this week in Alberta

that he would fight for the in-

terests of Albertans,” Ms. Vaux

said.

On Wednesday, Mr. MacKay

announced that he had raised $1-

million in the first six weeks of

his campaign. So far, of the eight

candidates, only Mr. MacKay and

Mr. O’Toole have met the re-

quirements to secure a spot on

the final ballot. The others have

until March 25 to raise $300,

and collect 3,000 signatures.

Conservatives will elect their

new leader on June 27.

Speaking to The Globe at an

event in Calgary earlier this

week, Mr. MacKay had said he

was hoping to meet with the Al-

berta Premier while in the prov-

ince this week.

“I worked with Jason for a long

time,” Mr. MacKay said. “He and I

go back a long way.”

On Wednesday, Mr. Kenney’s

office only said according to his

calendar, the Premier was not

meeting with Mr. MacKay.

With a report from

Kelly Cryderman

KenneybacksO’TooleinConservativeleadershiprace

DurhamMPErinO’ToolespeaksatafederalConservativeleadershipforuminHalifaxlastmonth.Mr.O’Toole,

who has represented his Greater Toronto Area riding since 2012, is one of eight candidates for party leader.

ANDREWVAUGHAN/THECANADIANPRESS

AlbertaPremiertouts

MPasstrongleaderwho

willdefendpartyvalues

MARIEKEWALSHOTTAWA

OTTAWAThe officer in charge of
human resources at the Cana-
dian Armed Forces says women
need to make up 30 per cent of
the ranks to bring about a real
culture change in the military.
Vice-Admiral Haydn Edmund-
son says the military already

faces a tough challenge meeting

its target of having 25 per cent

women in uniform by 2026.

He says the military is looking

at ways to recruit and retain

more women as it strives to

reach that goal, which was first

set by chief of the defence staff

General Jonathan Vance in 2016.

But Vice-Adm. Edmundson

says 25 per cent is the bare

minimum the military wants to

have in terms of female repre-

sentation and that more would

be needed to bring about lasting

change to its historically male-

centred culture.

Military commanders have

emphasized the need to change

the culture in the Forces in

recent years in response to

concerns about systemic sexual

misconduct, as well as the need

to increase recruitment and

better conduct missions that

involve interacting with local

populations. Women repre-

sented 15.9 per cent of all mil-

itary staff in 2019, compared

with 15 per cent when Gen.

Vance issued his order.

THECANADIANPRESS

CANADIANMILITARYNEEDSTOBEMADEUPOF30PERCENTWOMENFORREALCULTURECHANGETOTAKEPLACE,VICE-ADMIRALSAYS