The Conservative Leadership Race Kicks-Off

April Fifth, 2016 saw the first entrant of the Conservative Party of Canada leadership race. The Hon. K. Kellie Leitch P.C., M.P. (Simcoe-Grey) declared her intention to stand for leader. On Thursday she is to be followed by The Hon. Maxime Bernier P.C., M.P. (Beauce). This is surely a good start for the Tories. Leitch is young, smart and by all accounts very capable. Bernier represents a strong libertarian faction within conservatism and as a bleu with a family pedigree in Quebec he could very easily make a serious challenge for the leadership.  I'll wait until the field has filled before pronouncing my verdict on who to support but, thus far, on day one, the signs are very encouraging for the Conservative Party to rebuild and compete for Government in contrast to the NDP which seems likely to enter a period of internecine warfare after the weekend.