The Conservative Party of Canada (CPC), on Monday, elected Erin O’Toole, a former cabinet minister and armed forces veteran, to be its new leader.
Erin O’Toole, 47, was born in Montreal. He enrolled in the RCAF when he was 18 and attended the Royal Military College. He is bilingual and replaces Andrew Scheer, who failed to unseat Trudeau in the elections last year.
The CPC leadership results had been expected around evening time on Sunday, but were delayed by more than five hours after a technical issue. The final result came out just after 1 a.m. on Monday morning.
The CPC leadership victory triggered another debate on social media. The #hashtag #TakeBackCanada became the top trend on Twitter as many on social media began discussing the purpose of this campaign message.
The CBC reported today, that previously considered an affable moderate, O’Toole seemed the candidate most willing in this race to speak to the Conservative id. His goal, he said, was to “take back Canada” — Who took it? How was it taken? On whose behalf would it be taken back? — and he pledged to fight the “radical left” and “cancel culture.” He billed himself as the “true blue Conservative.”
In his victory speech, O’Toole reached out to left-leaning voters, saying there was room for them in the Conservative Party.
Social media commentators had questions to ask, “Again, who exactly is Erin O’Toole “taking Canada back” from? Other Canadians? Immigrants? Liberals? “The radical left”? Who has stolen Canada in his opinion. I’d like to see a him truthfully answer that without hiding behind double speak. #cdnpoli”
Others on Twitter have been comparing O’Toole to U.S. President Donald Trump, saying that the two have similar values, “They chose “Take Canada Back” because “Make Canada Great Again” was going to make their intentions too obvious? Canadians need to be vary or Erin O’Toole will be our version of Trump in the White House.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted a message and wrote, “Congratulations on being elected leader of the Conservative Party, @ErinOTooleMP – I look forward to working together on the issues that matter most to Canadians across the country, and on making sure they have the support they need.”
