Harper wins Conservative leadership

Last Updated Sat, 20 Mar 2004 17:34:39

TORONTO - Former Alliance leader Stephen Harper has won a first-round
victory to become the first leader of the Conservative Party of Canada.

Results were tallied for 308 ridings across the country, and each riding
was worth 100 points. With 282 ridings reporting, Harper won 54 per cent of
the points. Former Magna International CEO Belinda Stronach was second with
36 per cent and former Ontario cabinet minister Tony Clement was last with
10 per cent.

Harper had a strong showing in British Columbia, the Prairies and Ontario,
while Stronach was ahead of her two rivals in a number of ridings in
Atlantic Canada.

The number of points needed to win is 15,400.1. Conservatives were asked to
rank the three candidates by preference, rather than marking an X beside
just one of the names.

In a keynote speech at the Toronto convention, Alberta Premier Ralph Klein
said the party, formed when the Canadian Alliance and Progressive
Conservatives merged, would run a fiscally responsible government.

He also said the united conservative party would mend the Liberals'
"broken relationship" with the United States. But he saved his
harshest criticism for the sponsorship scandal. "[The Liberals]
actually think they own the country, that it is a commodity that can be
bought and sold," he said. "You can't buy and sell Canada with
our own money."


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