Patrick Brown, a candidate for the Conservative Party of Canada leadership race, has been disqualified, according to a statement released by the party on Tuesday.
Brown currently serves as the mayor of Brampton, Ont. In the statement, Ian Brodie, chair of the Leadership Election Organizing Committee (LEOC), states that Brown was disqualified after the chief returning officer investigated allegations against the Brown campaign of violating the financial provisions of the Canada Elections Act. Read more: Patrick Brown not ruling out city politics return if ‘Pierre was going to win’ The chief returning officer asked Brown’s campaign for a written response and withheld the interim membership list from his campaign, according to the statement. “The information provided to date by the Patrick Brown campaign did not satisfy concerns about their compliance with our Rules and Procedures and/or the Canada Elections Act,” writes Brodie. “The Chief Returning Officer has therefore recommended to LEOC that LEOC disqualify Patrick Brown and earlier tonight LEOC agreed to do so.” Brodie added the Conservatives will be sharing the information regarding Brown’s alleged violations with Elections Canada. “Throughout the investigation into these allegations, the Chief Returning Officer and I have done our best to be fair to the Patrick Brown leadership campaign and provide them with the time they need to substantively refute these allegations,” states Brodie. “We regret having to take these steps but we have an obligation to ensure that both our Party’s rules and federal law are respected by all candidates and campaign teams.