Newly disqualified Conservative Party leadership candidate Patrick Brown is alleging political corruption for his ousting from the race over allegations his campaign broke election financing rules.
In an exclusive, sit-down interview on CTV News Channel Wednesday, Brown told Power Play host Evan Solomon he believes Pierre Poilievre supporters on the leadership election committee are behind the move.
Chair of the committee Ian Brodie announced Brown’s disqualification late Tuesday evening, referencing “serious allegations of wrongdoing” by Brown’s campaign.
“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,” reads the statement.
It does not specify details of the allegations.
“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. None of these problems has any impact on the integrity of the vote itself,” the statement said.
Pierre Poilievre’s campaign reacted to the news Wednesday morning by stating that it’s the “latest chapter in a career defined by numerous scandals.”
“This is not the first time Patrick has been disqualified from running for public office for reasons of ethical impropriety. In fact, the Ontario PC Party disqualified him from running as a local candidate. For years, Patrick’s conduct has demonstrated that he is the kind of person that will say and do anything to win,” a statement from campaign spokesperson Anthony Koch said.
The statement said that only the leadership election committee and Brown’s campaign have a comprehensive understanding of the situation at hand.
However, Brown told Solomon that his team hasn’t been made aware of the specific allegations.
“We don’t even know what the allegation is. It’s an anonymous allegation being made. How do you respond to a phantom allegation? We’ve asked for information the party wouldn’t give,” he said.
More to come…
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