The following are given passages.
Passage 1:
Franck Biancheri
Franck Biancheri (11 March 1961 – 30 October 2012) was the founder of the Newropeans European political party and the leader from June 2006.  The party planned to run for campaigns in the 2009 elections to the European Parliament with representatives in all member states simultaneously.
Biancheri had previously founded the largest student association in Europe, European Students' Forum (AEGEE) in 1985 and the think tank LEAP/Europe2020 in 1998.

Biography
Biancheri was born in Nice, France.  He lived in Cannes, and had one daughter.
From 1991, through several networks including the Promotheus-Europe group, he contributed to enhance relationship between the European Union and several parts of the world (Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, the Arabic world, South America, Asia, and North America) 
In 1997, at Blair House, during an EU-US summit in Washington, he launches TIESWeb, the first transatlantic web portal dedicated to dialog between European and American civil societies.In 2003 he was among the top twenty "heroes" for being a "French champion of European unity" in a poll by Time Europe.
From 2006, he was the scientific coordinator of the Leap2020 think tank.
Biancheri died on 30 October 2012.  He had been seriously ill from cancer for four years.
Passage 2:
Jean-Pierre Sueur
Jean-Pierre Sueur (born 28 February 1947) is a member of the Senate of France, representing the Loiret department.  He is a member of the Socialist Party.
Passage 3:
Confederation of Regions Party of Canada
The Confederation of Regions Party (CoR) was a right-wing federal political party in Canada founded in 1984 by Elmer Knutson. It was founded as a successor to the Western Canada Federation (West-Fed), a non-partisan organization, to fight the Liberal Party of Canada. The CoR aimed to fill the void on the right of the political spectrum left by the decline of the Social Credit Party of Canada and the growing unpopularity among westerners of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada under the leadership of Brian Mulroney.
The party also attracted significant support as a protest vote against official bilingualism among some voters who were not necessarily ideologically opposed to mainstream Canadian political parties on other issues. The party proposed dividing Canada into four 'regions', western Canada, Atlantic Canada, Ontario and Quebec, each with an equal number of seats in the House of Commons of Canada.In the 1984 federal election, it nominated 55 candidates, who won 65,655 votes in total, or 0.52% of the popular vote across the country.  The party took 2.2% of the vote in Alberta and peaked with 6.7% in Manitoba.
In the 1988 federal election, its 51 candidates won 41,342 votes, 0.31% of the popular vote.  One of its candidates was Paul Fromm, leader of the far-right groups Citizens for Foreign Aid Reform and Canadian Association for Free Expression. (See also: Confederation of Regions Party candidates, 1988 Canadian federal election).
The party's greatest success came in New Brunswick, where its provincial wing, the New Brunswick Confederation of Regions Party, held the status of official opposition from 1991 to 1995. After the demise of CoR, many former supporters joined the Reform Party of Canada.

Provincial wings
The CoR captured about 2% of the vote in provincial elections in the 1988 Manitoba election and the 1990 Ontario election.

Alberta
The CoR's Alberta wing nominated candidates in the 1986 provincial election and the 1993 provincial election.  In 1986, the party nominated 6 candidates, who won a total of 2,866 votes, or 0.40% of the total.  In 1993, the party nominated 12 candidates, who won 3,556 votes, or 0.36% of the total.
On 17 June 1996, the Chief Electoral Officer of Alberta, cancelled the registration of the Confederation of Regions Party of Alberta and the party was struck from the Register of Alberta Political Parties because the party failed to comply with the registration requirements of the Election Finances and Contributions Disclosure Act. The COR Party was struck from the register because two conflicting groups in the party claimed different persons were officers of the party. The party presented different addresses of record. The conflicting groups had different interpretations of the COR Party Constitution. As the Chief Electoral Officer did not have the authority to resolve such issues, he referred the participants in the dispute to the courts. Neither side in the dispute applied to the courts in an effort to resolve the problem, and the party did not run any candidates 1997 election nor any election since.

Manitoba
New Brunswick
Ontario
Party program
The party program was set out in a website that aimed to re-establish CoR as a federal political party. Grammatical, punctuation and formatting errors have been left intact.

COR wants to become a nationwide Federal Party, and wishes to represent all Canadians who want to live in a true democracy, restore Canada's prosperity and rebuild its National Institutions.We want to become an egalitarian, populist party slightly to the right of center in the political spectrumWe aspire to be the elected representative of all Canadians who embrace these views about their nation.A Canada that follows a policy of "CANADA FIRST"A Canada that practices true democracy, where individual rights are paramount, majority rule is applied, minorities are protected by law and all citizens are equalA Canada that teaches its people about their true history, celebrates their contributions, achievements and sacrifices and takes pride in its unique heritage and traditionA Canada that is viewed by all as a land of "the true north, strong and free"A Canada whose multi-racial and multi-cultural heritage is acknowledged but where Canadian nationality is neither divided or hyphenated and where one official language and one legal system based on common law serves to unite its peopleWe believe that Canada has evolved into four economic, geographic, commercial and political regions which, has the potential to become one strong and united nation once Canadians have been allowed to draft and ratify a true Constitution for Canada at a constituent assemble of elected delegates.COR (whose name is derived from its belief) believes that in such a "CONFEDERATION of REGIONS" EACH REGION SHOULD BE FREE TO DEVELOP ITS POTENTIAL TO THE FULL WHILST COMPLEMENTING THE CANADIAN NATION AS A WHOLEWe believe that during the last 25 years Canadians have been unable to change things because of the political and economic bankruptcy of old line parties who encourage the enshrinement of flawed vision of Canada's future, a politically imposed Canadian Constitution, the greed of big business and the existence of an "establishment" consists of institutionalized elites who strive to retain power by maintaining the status quo and perpetuating myths about Canada's past.Our goals have been shaped by events of our times such as the latest recession that our politicians were eventually obliged to acknowledge and the presence of an ever growing number of homeless and hungry Canadian men, women and children who are now walking the streets and roads of this land in search of personal pride and dignity and a restored sense of what is means to be a Canadian.Our policies have also been influenced by the cavalier attitude of the present government with regard to how its spends the taxpayer's dollar, its contempt for the nation's ever increasing national debt and its inability to address the rising unemployment that is eroding the foundations of Canadian society and which is now impacting negatively on Canadians from all walks of life.THE OVERRIDING GOAL OF THE POLICIES IS TO RESTORE CANADIAN PROSPERITY AND BUILD CANADIAN DEMOCRACY.

See also
List of political parties in Canada
Passage 4:
Party leaders of the United States Senate
The positions of majority leader and minority leader are held by two United States senators and members of the party leadership of the United States Senate. They serve as the chief spokespersons for their respective political parties holding the majority and the minority in the United States Senate. They are each elected as majority leader and minority leader by the senators of their party caucuses: the Senate Democratic Caucus and the Senate Republican Conference.
By Senate precedent, the presiding officer gives the majority leader priority in obtaining recognition to speak on the floor of the Senate. The majority leader serves as the chief representative of their party in the Senate, and is considered the most powerful member of the Senate. They also serve as the chief representative of their party in the entire Congress if the House of Representatives, and thus the office of the speaker of the House, is controlled by the opposition party. The Senate's executive and legislative business is also managed and scheduled by the majority leader.                                                       
The assistant majority leader and assistant minority leader of the United States Senate, commonly called whips, are the second-ranking members of each party's leadership. The main function of the majority and minority whips is to gather votes of their respective parties on major issues. As the second-ranking members of Senate leadership, if there is no floor leader present, the whip may become acting floor leader.

Current floor leaders
The Senate is currently composed of 49 Republicans, 48 Democrats, and 3 independents; all the independents caucus with the Democrats.
The current leaders are Senators Chuck Schumer (D) of New York and Mitch McConnell (R) of Kentucky. The current assistant leaders, or whips, are Senators Dick Durbin (D) of Illinois and John Thune (R) of South Dakota.

History
By at least 1850, parties in each chamber of Congress began naming chairs, and while conference and caucus chairs carried very little authority, the Senate party floor leader positions arose from the position of conference chair. Senate Democrats began the practice of electing their floor leaders in 1920 while they were in the minority. John W. Kern was a Democratic senator from Indiana. While the title was not official, the Senate website identifies Kern as the first Senate party leader, serving in that capacity from 1913 through 1917 (and in turn, the first Senate Democratic leader), while serving concurrently as chairman of the Senate Democratic Caucus. In 1925, the Republicans (who were in the majority at the time) also adopted this language when Charles Curtis became the first (official) majority leader, although his immediate predecessor Henry Cabot Lodge is considered the first (unofficial) Senate majority leader.
The United States Constitution designates the Vice President of the United States as president of the Senate. The Constitution also calls for a president pro tempore, to serve as the presiding officer when the president of the Senate (the vice president) is absent. In practice, neither the vice president nor the president pro tempore—customarily the most senior (longest-serving) senator in the majority party—actually presides over the Senate on a daily basis; that task is given to junior Senators of the majority party. Since the vice president may be of a different party from the majority and is not a Senate member subject to discipline, the rules of procedure of the Senate give the Vice President no power beyond the presiding role. For these reasons, it is the majority leader who, in practice, manages the Senate. This is in contrast to the House of Representatives, where the elected speaker of the House has a great deal of discretionary power and generally presides over votes on legislative bills.

List of party leaders
The Democratic Party first selected a leader in 1920. The Republican Party first formally designated a leader in 1925.

See also
Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives
President pro tempore of the United States Senate
Vice President of the United States (President of the United States Senate)
Party divisions of United States Congresses
List of political parties in the United States

Notes
Passage 5:
Inky Mark
Inky Mark (Chinese: 麥鼎鴻; pinyin: Mài Dǐnghóng; born November 17, 1947) is a Canadian politician and a former member of the House of Commons of Canada, representing the Manitoba riding of Dauphin—Swan River—Marquette. Mark was a member of the Conservative Party of Canada, although he frequently criticized and took positions opposite the party and its leader, Stephen Harper. Mark ran in the 2015 federal election, noting that he is now a Green Party of Canada member but that he would still run as an independent. He lost significantly.

Early life
Mark was born in Taishan, China, and moved to Manitoba as a child. Mark's father and grandfather had emigrated from China to Canada some time previously, but were unable to bring their families with them as a result of provisions in the Chinese Immigration Act of 1923. Mark accompanied his mother when she fled China in 1953, and subsequently settled with his family in the Manitoba community of Gilbert Plains.

Education
Mark has a Bachelor of Arts from Brandon University and a Bachelor of Education degree from the University of Manitoba. Before entering political life, he worked as a high school teacher and small businessman. Mark also has a certificate in broadcasting and started a master's degree in education program, although he did not graduate.

Political career
Municipal politics
Mark's political career started when joined the Board of Directors of the Dauphin First United Church. He was subsequently elected to the Dauphin town council in 1991, and became the town's mayor in 1994.

Federal politics
Mark was first elected to the House of Commons in the federal election of 1997, running as a candidate of the Reform Party in the riding of Dauphin—Swan River. From 1997 to 2000, Mark was one of only three Chinese-Canadian MPs in the House of Commons.
The Reform Party dissolved itself in 2000 in favour of the Canadian Alliance, and Mark ran as a candidate of the new party in the federal election which followed.On September 12, 2001, Mark left the Canadian Alliance caucus to sit as a member of the Democratic Representative Caucus, in alliance with the Progressive Conservative Party.
The DRC came to an end on April 10, 2002, when Stephen Harper replaced Day as Canadian Alliance leader.  Every other member of the DRC requested to be re-admitted to the Alliance; Mark did not join them, but instead decided to sit as an "Independent Conservative", with the intention of rejoining the Progressive Conservatives at their annual party convention later in the year; he had been a Progressive Conservative before the early 1990s.  Mark formally joined the Progressive Conservatives on August 27, 2002.
In December 2003, the Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservative Party formally merged to create the new Conservative Party of Canada.  Mark supported the merger, and formally joined the new party's caucus on February 2, 2004. Mark was easily re-elected in the Canadian federal election of 2004.
In 2005, Mark alleged that Treasury Board President and Liberal MP Reg Alcock offered him an ambassadorship if he were to resign his seat. Alcock responded by saying, "Frankly, if I was going to recruit somebody, I'd go a little higher up the gene pool." Mark called this comment racist and filed a complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Commission. As the CHRC does not publish its investigations, it is not possible to know the outcome of this case.

Criticism and complaints
While a sitting MP, Mark gained a reputation as "an outsider" within the Conservative caucus.  Mark is and has been an outspoken critic of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the Prime Minister's Office, and several sitting and former Conservative MPs. He frequently complained that Harper was controlling, and he responded by refusing to attend Conservative events. Mark has called Harper a "fascist" and complained that he runs a "top-down dictatorship". He says that the Central Intelligence Agency is controlled by the United States' Republican Party, and that the Republican Party installed Stephen Harper as the Canadian Prime Minister in order to sell out Canada to the United States.
Following the announcement of his resignation, Mark complained that the nomination race for his successor was rigged, and allowed Robert Sopuck to be acclaimed without competition.Following his resignation as an MP, Mark stepped up his criticisms of the Harper government. He complained that the nomination race for the Conservative candidate following the resignation of Labrador MP Peter Penashue was rigged because Harper "wants a candidate he can control". He also complained that the nomination race to replace Merv Tweed was rigged, and that the eventual successor, Larry Maguire, was just a "rubber stamp" for Harper. Mark was featured prominently in the book Tragedy in the Commons, where almost every chapter quoted Mark's complaints about the way Harper's government was run.
Mark complained that the Conservatives' Constituent Information Management System (CIMS) was a secretive database used to track and control Canadians' information and voting preferences, and said that Harper could simply "switch off" this system to punish an MP.

Parliamentary work
For his tenure as an MP, Mark was always a "backbencher".In 2001, as the Alliance's parliamentary critic for Immigration, Mark was responsible for expressing his party's position on the Liberal government's Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, which he did during the immigration controversy involving the Sklarzyk family who, as a result of an administrative error, was deported from Canada to Poland in May 2001. He also contributed to the parliamentary committee's work in drafting the final version of the bill, and was generally regarded by MPs from all parties as having made several constructive criticisms to the legislation.
However, on June 13, 2001, Mark's position on the bill was undercut by Canadian Alliance leader Stockwell Day, who delivered a speech in parliament supporting tighter restrictions against refugee claimants and reduced opportunities for rejected claimants to appeal to the Refugee Board.  Day's comments diverged from Mark's stated position on several particulars, and his speech was regarded as very surprising by many other MPs in the House of Commons. For example, Liberal MP Steve Mahoney referred to Day's comments as "treachery" towards Mark, for which he was ruled out of order by the Speaker.
In 2005, Mark's private members' Bill C-331 (Internment of Persons of Ukrainian Origin Recognition Act) was passed by the House of Commons and Senate of Canada, eventually resulting in the establishment of the Endowment Council of the Canadian First World War Internment Recognition Fund, supporting educational and commemorative projects recalling Canada's first national internment operations of 1914–1920.

Federal resignation and return to municipal politics
Mark announced in June 2009 that he would be resigning before the next federal election. On August 16, 2010, he announced that he would step down as an MP on September 15 to campaign for another term as mayor of Dauphin. However, he lost to Eric Irwin.

Return to federal politics and switch to Green Party of Canada
Mark announced on November 13, 2014, that he would be running as an independent candidate for the 2015 federal election in Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, which includes nearly all of his old riding. Mark announced that he is now a member of the Green Party of Canada, but would still seek election in 2015 as an independent candidate. Mark finished a distant fourth behind Sopuck, garnering only eight percent of the vote.

Electoral record
^  Change is from the total of Progressive Conservative and Canadian Alliance votes in the 2000 election. 

Note: Canadian Alliance vote is compared to Reform Party vote in 1997 election.
Passage 6:
Yane Yanev
Yane Yanev (Bulgarian: Яне Янев, born 22 April 1971) is a Bulgarian politician, leader of the center-right opposition party Order, Law and Justice and a member of the Bulgarian National Assembly. Known as an "anti-corruption hawk" that has brought to light many political scandals, Yanev is one of the most famous political players to emerge in Bulgaria in the past decade.
His stated political mission is the adoption of a new constitution, to replace the one adopted in the early 1990s with the fall of the former communist regime. Yanev has stated that he believes only such a "far-reaching and radical change" will allow Bulgaria to end the period of transition from communism to a law-abiding, democratic society. Following repeated threats concerning his life and health a Bulgarian-Israeli team has assumed twenty-four-hour security over the leader of RZS Yane Yanev, the press center of the party declared.

Early life
Yanev was born in Sandanski, a town in southwestern Bulgaria known for its agreeable climate and recreational resorts. He is son to Georgi Yanev and grandson to Yane Yanev (in whose honor he was named), both known as resistance figures to the communist regime. His grandfather served as mayor of the village Malak Tzalin for 11 years.
Yanev attended the local school in Sandanski and in 1990 entered the Agricultural University of Plovdiv, from which he matriculated with a degree in Agro-Engineering in 1994. He also pursued a master's degree in Economics and Management from the University of Plovdiv in 1992 to 1995.
During his student days he was active in student politics and was a member of the Students National Organization (Independent).

Political involvement
Coming from a family long involved in agrarian politics, in his third year of university Yanev became a member of the National Alliance – Bulgarian Agricultural People's Union, and the chairman of its advisory board to the parliamentary group. He rose to prominence within the party and by the time Ivan Kostov became prime minister in 1997, he was a sought-after figure. After declining offers of positions in government, Yanev found himself in a hostile political environment that forced his resignation from politics.
He then worked as Chairman of the Board of Directors for the canned food and beverage company Kustendilski Plod.
In 2000 he returned to political involvement through the Agricultural People's Union and became the party chairman. He rose to national prominence in the early years of the decade by exposing to the public the fact the former King had abused his powers as Prime Minister (2001–2005) by privatizing state property that was formerly used by his family before the overthrow of the monarchy in 1946. Yanev also investigated abuses under the King's Minister of Finance Milen Velchev.
Yanev oversaw the transformation of the party in 2005 to Order, Law and Justice, maintaining the position of Secretary General in charge of overall organization, whilst the titular chairman position was given to former constitutional judge Georgi Markov. Following a failure to make significant electoral gains in the 2006 presidential elections, Markov resigned his position and Yanev unified the two posts under himself as chairman.

Member of Parliament
In June 2005 Yanev was elected as a member of the 40th National Assembly from the region of Blagoevgrad as part of the Union of Democratic Forces, and was a member of the committees on Agriculture and Forests, and Environment and Water.
In July 2009 Yanev retained his position in the 41st National Assembly. He is currently Chairman of the Bulgaria-Israel Friendship Committee. From July to December 2009, he also served as Chairperson of the Anti-Corruption, Conflict of Interests and Parliamentary Ethics Committee, a member of the Control Committee of the State Agency for National Security, and a member of the Advisory Board on National Security to the President of the Republic.

Personal life
Yanev announced his plans to be married by the end of 2010 during a live television interview on the popular talk show "Ivan & Andrei".
Passage 7:
2017 Conservative Party of Canada leadership election
The 2017 Conservative Party of Canada leadership election was held on May 27, 2017.  Party members chose Andrew Scheer as leader, replacing Stephen Harper, who led the Conservative Party of Canada as its leader from 2004 following the merger of the Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservative parties. Harper led the party through five federal elections: the party increased its seat count in the House of Commons in 2004, formed two minority governments in 2006, and 2008, and then a majority government in 2011. Following the defeat of the party in the 2015 federal election on October 19, Harper tendered his resignation as party leader. In a statement, Conservative Party President John Walsh said he had spoken to Harper, "and he has instructed me to reach out to the newly elected parliamentary caucus to appoint an interim Leader and to implement the leadership selection process."259,010 party members were eligible to vote in the leadership contest. 141,000 members cast a vote. According to raw voting figures, Scheer received 62,593 votes on the final ballot compared to 55,544 votes for Bernier with 23,000 voters who had voted in the first round ranking neither Scheer or Bernier in their ranked ballot. Votes were apportioned among ridings so that each riding was allocated 100 points, regardless of the number of voters, resulting in 17,222.20 points (50.95%) for Scheer and 16,577.80 points (49.05%) for Bernier.Subsequent to the election, fourth placed candidate Brad Trost and his campaign were fined $50,000 by the Conservative Party of Canada for allegedly leaking the party's membership list to the National Firearms Association. Trost denied that he or any of his staff leaked the list. On February 11, 2019, the Conservative Party released a statement from its Leadership Election Organizing Committee (LEOC) which concluded: "In short, LEOC does not believe there is evidence that the Trost Campaign was responsible for leaking of the membership list...." The fine was therefore removed from the Brad Trost Campaign. Trost went on to lose renomination as the party candidate for his riding during the 43rd Federal election on March 10, 2018, to Corey Tochor, former speaker of the Saskatchewan Legislature.Criticism has been raised about how the party memberships were handled, with some prominent members saying they never received a ballot, even after contacting the party about it.In addition, the result of the leadership race and party handling was questioned by some supporters of such as runner-up Maxime Bernier and  fifth place candidate Kellie Leitch due to discrepancies in the final ballot count, specifically a gap between the number of ballots cast and the announced result - a 7,466 vote discrepancy, which is greater than Andrew Scheer's 7,049 votes margin of victory in the final round. There was criticism over the exact role of the accounting firm Deloitte during the voting process - a deal revealed that Deloitte was not specifically tasked with auditing the vote but "observe" the counting process. It was also reported that some of  Brad Trost's supporters contravened the Elections Act and party membership rules by offering incentives to vote. Dimitri Soudas, a former Stephen Harper aide, pointed out that it violated election rules and it benefited Scheer's campaign but the ballots have been destroyed so the results stood.Many considered Scheer's victory as an upset, given Bernier's consistent frontrunner status in the polls.

Interim leadership
Conservative Party president John Walsh's letter to caucus stated that only Members of Parliament (MPs) would vote for the interim leader, but Conservative Senators pointed out that the party constitution states that the entire parliamentary caucus votes. The caucus allowed senators to vote, declining to adopt the provisions of the Reform Act that would have only allowed MPs to vote.The caucus chose Rona Ambrose, MP for Sturgeon River—Parkland, Alberta and former Minister of Health, as interim leader at its first meeting on November 5, 2015, in a vote by preferential ballot. Ambrose, as the interim leader, also served as Leader of the Official Opposition in the Parliament of Canada until a permanent leader was chosen. She defeated Candice Bergen, Diane Finley, Mike Lake, Rob Nicholson, Erin O'Toole, and the joint ticket of Denis Lebel and Michelle Rempel in the caucus vote.Under the party's constitution, Ambrose, as the interim leader, could not run for the permanent position.

Leadership election timing
Following Harper's resignation, debate emerged within the Conservative Party regarding the timing of the leadership election. Some members of the party's national council called for a leadership convention as early as May 2016 according to Maclean's magazine. However, interim leader Rona Ambrose has said there is a consensus among the party's caucus that the leadership election shouldn't be rushed and should be held sometime in 2017. In a December 2015 interview, Ambrose said the party would take its time allowing all members, including those not already involved in politics, to build a strong candidacy. "If we take a little extra time, that will mean we'll have a better leadership race."The Conservative Party's Leadership Election Organizing Committee (LEOC) met at Toronto's Albany Club January 15–17, 2016 to discuss the process for the Party to elect its next leader. Among its decisions, LEOC selected May 27, 2017, for Conservative Party members to elect their next leader.

Rules and voting system
Only party members in good standing at 5pm Eastern Time on March 28, 2017, were allowed to vote. The fee for a party membership was raised from $15 to $25, an increase that was reversed on April 23, 2016, after criticisms that the move was "elitist". Membership fees could only be paid via personal cheque or credit card. Cash payments were not permitted. This new requirement was intended to prevent the election being dominated by new members, and to prevent anyone other than the individual member, such as a candidate's campaign, from signing up scores of members and paying the membership fees in cash out of campaign funds. Despite this, the Conservative Party confirmed irregularities with 1,351 memberships connected to prepaid credit cards that it subsequently struck from its membership roll.Voting was on a one member one vote basis using a ranked ballot; however votes were calculated so that each electoral district had equal weight with each electoral district allocated 100 points. Candidates were assigned a point total based on his or her percentage of the vote in each electoral district. To win, a candidate must receive at least 16,901 points which would be a majority.To register, candidates must:
be members of the party for at least six months (can be waived),
submit nomination forms signed by 300 party members from at least 30 electoral districts in at least seven different provinces and territories,
pay a $50,000 non-refundable entrance fee, half of which must be paid when filing nomination with the other half due by the close of nominations on February 24, 2017.
pay an additional $50,000 compliance deposit, by December 31, 2016, or when filing nomination for those who register in 2017, which is refundable provided the candidate complies with campaign rules.
and fill out a 40-page questionnaire that asks for:
references,
criminal background and credit checks,
agreement with basic party principles,
a list of social media accounts,
questions about possible controversial positions the candidate has taken in the past, and
questions about affiliations and personal associations and behaviour that may be problematic.A party committee reviewed the candidate's nomination form and may disqualify a potential candidate. Candidates are allowed to spend a maximum of $5 million on their campaigns.

Timeline
October 19, 2015 – Federal election results in defeat of Conservative government. As Harper spoke to supporters in Calgary, making no reference to his future, a statement was released by the party announcing Harper's resignation as party leader and his request that an interim leader be chosen to lead the party in parliament until a leadership election can be held.
November 4, 2015 – Harper resigns as prime minister; Liberal government led by Justin Trudeau sworn in.
November 5, 2015 – Conservative caucus held its first meeting since the 2015 federal election and chose former health minister Rona Ambrose interim leader of the party.
December 4–5, 2015 – National Council meets, 20-member Leadership Election Organization Committee appointed, including seven members of the National Council and MP Diane Finley, all of whom have pledged to be neutral during the leadership campaign; Dan Nowlan is appointed the committee's chair.
January 15–17, 2016 – The Leadership Election Organization Committee meets at the Albany Club in Toronto to decide on the date of the leadership vote, the deadline for candidates to be nominated, campaign spending limits, the entrance fee for candidates and the appeals process for any disputes.
May 26–28, 2016 – Conservative Party national policy convention, held at the Vancouver Convention Centre, voted on policy resolutions and elected the party president and other officials. An attempt to change the party constitution to allow the party's interim leader, Rona Ambrose, to seek the permanent leadership is defeated.
September 12, 2016 – Former Foreign Minister Peter MacKay, who had been leading public opinion polls as the most popular potential leader, announces that he will not be a candidate for the party's leadership.
November 2, 2016 – Only those who have registered as candidates by this date, including having paid at least $25,000 of the candidate deposit, are permitted to participate in the first leadership debate, to be held the following week. 12 candidates meet this deadline.
November 9, 2016 – First of five official leadership debates organized by the LEOC, held in Saskatoon.
November 13, 2016 – Leadership debate organized by the Carleton Conservative Association, held in Greely, Ontario
December 6, 2016 – Second official debate held in Moncton in English and French.
December 31, 2016 – Deadline for candidates who filed their nomination papers in 2016 to have paid $50,000 compliance fee.
January 17, 2017, 6:30 pm – Third official debate held in Quebec City in French at the Quebec Convention Centre. The themes covered will be government and taxes.
February 4, 2017 – Leadership debate organized by the Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia was held in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The first debate involving well-known businessman Kevin O'Leary.
February 24, 2017, 5pm ET (UTC-5) – Nomination period closes; deadline for candidates to pay any remaining balance of entrance fee.
February 24, 2017 – Leadership debate organized by the Manning Centre for Building Democracy, held in Ottawa, Ontario
February 28, 2017 – Fourth official debate, held in Edmonton at the Maclab Theatre in English and French.
March 28, 2017, 5pm ET (UTC-4) – Members who have joined by this date are eligible to vote.
April 26, 2017 – Presumed frontrunner Kevin O'Leary withdraws from the election and endorses Maxime Bernier; as O'Leary has withdrawn after the deadline, his name remains on the ballot. Final leadership debate is held.
April 28, 2017 – Voting by mail-in ranked ballot begins.
May 26, 2017, 5pm ET (UTC-5) – Deadline for mail-in ballots to be received.
May 27, 2017 – In-person voting at Toronto Congress Centre and 14 polling stations across the country until 4 pm ET (UTC-5). Advance and in-person ballots counted; results announced.

Full results
Provincial summary
Debates
Registered candidates
Candidates who have paid their entrance fee and compliance deposit and filed their nomination papers:

Chris Alexander
BackgroundChris Alexander, 54, is the former Minister of Citizenship and Immigration (2013–2015), Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of National Defence (2011– 2013) and the former MP for Ajax—Pickering, Ontario (2011–2015). Prior to entering politics, he served as a member of Canada's foreign diplomatic service, most notably in the Canadian Embassy in Moscow and as the Canadian Ambassador to Afghanistan from 2003 to 2005. From 2005 to 2009 he held the post of Deputy Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General for Afghanistan.  In addition to English, he is fluent in both French and Russian languages.
Date campaign announced: October 12, 2016
EndorsementsFormer MPs: (1) Yuri Shymko (Parkdale, 1978–1979)PoliciesChris Alexander has 40 detailed published policies that fall into three main categories: New Economy, New Country and New Role. These policies include how Canada should approach: employment, taxation, innovation, families, education, competitiveness, energy self-reliance, cities, agriculture, poverty, homelessness, First Nations peoples, the Métis, refugees, the Monarchy, justice, health care, protecting wilderness, forestry, mining, international diplomacy, terrorism, democratic reform, cyber-security, Canadian culture, northern development, and national defence.He believes that immigration is the key to "economic growth." Is proposing to increase immigration to 400,000 a year including 40,000 refugees and calling for doubling defence spending and "for an accelerated push to settle all outstanding land claims and to sign treaties with First Nations communities that would empower them to govern themselves". Was prominent in the Conservative government's handling of the Syrian refugee crisis and in the government's promise during the 2015 election to create a telephone tip line to report so-called "barbaric cultural practices." As minister, he was criticized over delays in meeting the government's commitment to resettle Syrian refugees.

Maxime Bernier
BackgroundMaxime Bernier, 60, was the MP for Beauce, Quebec (2006–2019) and was the Shadow Minister of Innovation (2015—2016). He served in the Harper government as Minister of State for Small Business and Tourism (2011–2015), Minister of Foreign Affairs (2007–2008), and Minister of Industry (2006–2007), Bernier is considered an advocate of limited government and has been compared to a Libertarian. He has been nicknamed "Mad Max", the "Bloc-buster", or the "Albertan from Quebec" by his Ottawa colleagues. Prior to entering federal politics in 2006, Bernier, a lawyer by training, was vice-president of the Standard Life of Canada Insurance company, MEI, and manager of corporate and international relations at the Commission des valeurs mobilières du Québec.
Date candidacy announced: April 7, 2016
Policies
Running a campaign based on individual freedom, personal responsibility, respect and fairness. Expects support around the ideas/policies he is placing in the campaigns.
Calls for smaller government, lower taxes everywhere, paying down the national debt, increasing investments, increase pipeline developments, and opening up markets. Opposes bailout to any corporation, and use of "corporate welfare" (business subsidies). Supports the decriminalization/legalization of marijuana Wants to allow MPs to vote their conscience and get rid of omnibus bills.
Phasing control of Canada Health Transfer to the provinces for health care by replacing it with a health transfer point systems, encourage provinces to move away from a single-payer healthcare system to a two-tier healthcare system, balance the budget within two years then reduce the number of tax brackets from five to three, increase basic exemption from $11,474 to $15,000 being paid by "boutique" tax credits. Supports abolishing capital gains taxes, and lowering corporate taxes to 10% by getting rid of corporate welfare.
Opposes a "Canadian values" test on the basis that it is logistically ineffective to fight terrorism. Abolish the Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications Commission, privatizing Canada Post Corporation, phasing out supply management on dairy and poultry, and expanding free trade. Ending inter-provincial barriers as a priority.
He also wants to "break" Quebec's maple syrup cartel and wants to allow foreign ownership for the airline industry. He wants to "streamline the process for hiring specialized workers abroad". He wants to put more emphasis on economic immigration and "slightly reduce" family reunification class immigration.  More privately sponsored refugee and fewer government sponsored. Reform temporary foreign worker programs. Bernier believes first nation communities need to be consulted before the Indian Act needs to be "abolished, or changed." Opposes federal control overreaching into other jurisdictions. Create stricter foreign aid standards and phase out development aid.

Steven Blaney
BackgroundSteven Blaney, 58, was the Shadow Minister of Public Works and Government Services (2015–2016) for the Conservative Opposition, and is the former Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness (2013–2015), Minister of Veterans Affairs (2011–2013). He is the MP for Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, Quebec (2015–present) and Lévis—Bellechasse, Quebec (2006–2015).

Date campaign announced: October 23, 2016
Endorsements
MPs:
Senators: (2)Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu (Quebec),
Jean-Guy Dagenais (Quebec)Provincial politicians:
Municipal politicians:
Former MPs:
Former Senators:
Former provincial politicians:
Former municipal politicians:
Other prominent individuals:
Organizations:
Media:
Policies
Supports banning the wearing of the niqab while voting, taking the citizenship oath, or by federal public servants, even if such a ban would require invoking the notwithstanding clause of the Constitution in order to override the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Also advocates testing of would be citizens on "their understanding and appreciation of Canada's core principles." He wants to "beef up" screening. The number of immigrants he wants to bring in will be based upon labour-market studies.

Michael Chong
BackgroundMichael Chong, 51, is the MP for Wellington—Halton Hills, Ontario (2004–present) and was the Deputy Shadow Minister of the Environment (2015–2016). He was Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and Youth (2006) and Minister of Sport (2006). Chong resigned from the Harper cabinet in 2006 to protest the government's recognition of the Québécois as a nation within Canada. As a backbench MP he advocated democratic reforms in Parliament to limit the power of the Prime Minister's Office and party leaders over their caucuses and individual MPs and introduced the Reform Act to give caucuses the option of the power to remove party leaders, elect caucus chairs, and expel or readmit MPs, and elect interim leaders. He was a member of the Progressive Conservative Party at the time of the merger.
Date campaign announced: May 16, 2016
Policies
Advocates modernizing democratic institutions and strengthening the independence of MPs and parliamentary committees.
Calls for the privatization of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's (CMHC) mortgage insurance and securitization business, a measure he says will make housing more affordable in Canada.
Supports introducing a revenue neutral carbon tax. Chong's plan would phase in a carbon tax over a decade, while immediately cutting taxes by $18 billion and getting rid of green regulations and subsidies.
Believes that Canada needs an evidence-based immigration policy that would put economic interests at the forefront. He has criticized face-to-face values screening as a divisive tactic.

Kellie Leitch
BackgroundKellie Leitch, 52, was the MP for Simcoe—Grey, Ontario (2011–2019) and Shadow Minister of Health (2015–2016). In the Harper cabinet, she was Minister of Labour and the Status of Women (2013–2015). She is an orthopaedic pediatric surgeon at SickKids Hospital and an associate professor at the University of Toronto.
Date campaign announced: April 6, 2016
Policies
Supports the decriminalization, but not legalization, of marijuana. Opposes a national tax on carbon emissions. Has suggested screening prospective immigrants using a "Canadian values" test. Described Donald J. Trump's win of the American presidency as an "exciting message and one that we need delivered in Canada as well." Urged by hundreds of health professionals to honour her medical oath and work against Canada's controversial asbestos industry, remained silent on the issue. Calls for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation to be defunded and dismantled with the exception of the provision of emergency services to rural and remote parts of Canada.

Pierre Lemieux
BackgroundPierre Lemieux, 60, is the former MP for Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, Ontario (2006–2015). In the Harper government he was the Parliamentary Secretary for Official Languages (2007–2008), Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture (2008–2015), and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs (2015).
Date campaign announced: August 22, 2016
Endorsements
MPs:
Senators:
Provincial politicians:
Municipal politicians:
Former MPs:
Former Senators:
Former provincial politicians:
Former municipal politicians:
Other prominent individuals:
Organizations: (3)Campaign Life Coalition
Canadian Taxpayers Federation Generation Screwed project,
Right NowPolicies
Running as a social conservative, highlighting his opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage. Lemieux does not believe that screening potential immigration candidates to Canada would make Canada any safer. In March 2017, Pierre Lemieux received a rating of C− from the Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights for his policies on firearms ownership in Canada.

Deepak Obhrai
BackgroundDeepak Obhrai, 73, was the MP for Calgary Forest Lawn, Alberta (2015–2019), and represented Calgary East, Alberta (1997–2015), was Shadow Minister of International Development (2015–2016), and was the Dean of the Conservative Caucus. In the Harper government he was the Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs (2006–2015). Obhrai was a member of the Canadian Alliance at the time of the merger.

Date campaign announced: July 14, 2016
Endorsements
MPs:
Senators:
Provincial politicians:
Municipal politicians:
Former MPs: (2)Corneliu Chisu (Pickering—Scarborough East, 2011–2015)
Joe Daniel (Don Valley East, 2011–2015)Former Senators:
Former provincial politicians:
Former municipal politicians:
Other prominent individuals:
Organizations: (1)Canadian Taxpayers Federation Generation Screwed projectMedia:
Withdrawn Endorsements: (2)Julian Fantino (Former MP for Vaughan, 2010–2015)
Martin Shields (MP for Bow River)Policies
Advocates a more inclusive party. Had promised to withdraw in favour of Peter MacKay if he were to run. He wants to increase the number of privately sponsored refugees and cut the number of government-sponsored refugees.

Erin O'Toole
BackgroundErin O'Toole, 50, is the MP for Durham, Ontario (2012–present) and was Shadow Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness (2015–2016) for the Conservative Party in Opposition. Previously, he served as Minister of Veterans Affairs (2015).
Date campaign announced: October 14, 2016 
Policies
O'Toole policies wants to give tax credits for youth underemployment and student debt. He wants to restructure temporary foreign worker and provincial nominee programs.

Rick Peterson
BackgroundRick Peterson, 61, is a venture capitalist, party fundraiser, the principal of Peterson Capital, and a former candidate for leadership of the British Columbia Conservative Party. He was a member of the Progressive Conservatives at the time of the merger.
Date campaign announced: October 18, 2016
Endorsements
MPs:
Senators:
Provincial politicians:
Municipal politicians:
Former MPs: (1)Bill Clarke (Vancouver Quadra, 1973–1984)Former Senators:
Former provincial politicians:
Former municipal politicians:
Other prominent individuals: (3)Brian Day (Canadian Medical Association President, 2006–2008)
Karen Mortfield (Press Secretary to the Ontario PC Leader, 1990–1993)
Mark Mullins (Former Fraser Institute President)Organizations: (1)Canadian Taxpayers Federation Generation Screwed projectPolicies
Advocates a flat federal income tax rate of 15% and eliminating corporate income taxes and raising the GST to 9%. Supports boosting terrorist surveillance and enhance security screening for immigrants.
Advocates offering citizenship to almost 250,000 skilled workers a year by 2022, triple today's levels, and to 35,000 business people, more than five times today's level while freezing refugee integration to the levels of Harper Era.
Would reform health care provincial transfer payments and equalization payments.
Calls for Canada Revenue Agency to withdraw from Quebec and to transfer the administration and collection of the income tax in the province to Revenue Quebec.
Would take Canada out of the UN firearms marking scheme and to allow open carry of restricted firearms in the bush. Received a rating of C− from the Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights for his policies and a rating of C from the National Firearms Association.

Lisa Raitt
BackgroundLisa Raitt, 55, was the MP for Milton, Ontario (2015–2019), previously Halton, Ontario (2008–2015) and the former Shadow Minister of Finance (2015–2016), Minister of Transport (2013–2015), Minister of Labour (2010–2013), Minister of Natural Resources (2008–2010), President and CEO of the Toronto Port Authority (2002–2008). Stepped down from shadow cabinet on October 14, 2016, to prepare for leadership bid.
Date campaign announced: November 2, 2016
 
Policies
Opposes Leitch's proposal to screen immigrants for "anti-Canadian values". She will "introduce balanced budgets, repeal carbon pricing legislation and prioritize the development of Canada's natural resources."Firearms policy.  In March 2017, Raitt received a rating of C+ from the Canadian Coalition for Firearms Rights for her policies on firearms ownership in Canada.  In April, she received a rating of D from the National Firearms Association.

Andrew Saxton
BackgroundAndrew Saxton, 59, is the former Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance (2013–2015), Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board and for Western Economic Diversification (2011–2013), MP for North Vancouver (2008–2015), former chief executive officer of King George Financial Corporation.
Date campaign announced: October 18, 2016
Endorsements
MPs:
Senators:
Provincial politicians:
Municipal politicians:
Former MPs: (3)Joyce Bateman (Winnipeg South Centre, 2011–2015)
John Duncan (Vancouver Island North, 1993–2006, 2008–2015)
John Fraser (Vancouver South, 1972–1993; Speaker of the House of Commons, 1986–1993)Former Senators: (1)Noël Kinsella (New Brunswick, 1990–2014; Speaker of the Senate, 2006–2014)Former provincial politicians:
Former municipal politicians:
Other prominent individuals:
Organizations: (1)Canadian Taxpayers Federation Generation Screwed projectMedia: (1)David Holmes Black (Black Press Owner)Policies
Saxton's campaign is an economic platform. He plans on lowering taxes and balancing the budget.

Andrew Scheer
BackgroundAndrew Scheer, 44, Opposition House Leader (2015–2016), MP for Regina—Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan (2004–present), Speaker of the House of Commons (2011–2015). Scheer was a member of the Canadian Alliance at the time of the merger.

Date campaign announced: September 28, 2016
 
Policies
Running as an "unapologetic" Conservative who can unite all wings of the party. He is "committed" to lower taxes, fiscal responsibility, and "compassion". Scheer believes that there should be a "more robust screening process." Scheer is pro-life, but doesn't intend to bring any legislation on the topic. Scheer advocates for immigration based process, economic indicators, and "what our society needs."

Brad Trost
BackgroundBrad Trost, 49, was the MP for Saskatoon—University, (2015–2019) and Saskatoon—Humboldt (2004–2015) previously. He was appointed Official Opposition Critic for Canada-U.S. Relations (2015–2016) following the 2015 election. Prior to election, Trost worked as an exploration geophysicist (prospector) in natural resources extraction in the north. He was also an active participant in his family's mixed grain, oilseeds and beef cattle farm operation. In his first Parliament, he founded the Conservative Party Energy Caucus and pushed for the re-creation of the Standing Committee on Natural Resources. He has served on the Standing Committees on International Trade and on Industry, and was elected vice-chair of the Canada-U.S. Parliamentary Association.
Date campaign announced: August 16, 2016
Endorsements
MPs:
Senators:
Provincial politicians:
Municipal politicians:
Former MPs: (2)Leon Benoit (Vegreville—Wainwright, 1993–2015),
Maurice Vellacott (Saskatoon—Wanuskewin, 1997–2015)Former provincial politicians:
Former municipal politicians:
Other prominent individuals:
Organizations: (2)Campaign Life Coalition,
Canadian Taxpayers Federation Generation Screwed projectMedia:
Policies
Running as a social conservative, opposes a carbon tax, transgender bathrooms, tax increases generally, assisted suicide and abortion, deficit financing, and legalization of marijuana. Has been outspoken against abortion and against same-sex marriage and argued unsuccessfully at the 2016 Conservative policy convention to retain the party's definition of marriage as "the Union of one man and one woman". Advocates privatization of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Withdrawn candidates
Tony Clement
BackgroundTony Clement, 62, is the MP for Parry Sound—Muskoka, Ontario (2006–2019) and has been Shadow Minister of Foreign Affairs (2015–2016), President of the Treasury Board (2011–2015), Minister of Industry (2008–2011), Minister of Health (2006–2008), and a 2004 leadership candidate, placing third. He was an MPP in the Ontario legislature (1995–2003) and a provincial cabinet minister (1997–2003) under Premiers Mike Harris and Ernie Eves. Clement also ran for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario in 2002, placing third.
Date campaign announced: July 12, 2016
Date withdrawn: October 12, 2016
Endorsements
MPs:
Senators: (1)Leo Housakos (Quebec; Speaker of the Senate, 2015)Provincial politicians:
Municipal politicians:
Former MPs: (1)Brad Butt (Mississauga—Streetsville, 2011–2015)Former Senators:
Former provincial politicians: (1)Gary Mar (Alberta MLA for Calgary Nose Creek, 1993–2004, and Calgary-Mackay, 2004–2007)Former municipal politicians: (1)Stephen Sparling (Halton Regional Councillor for Oakville, 1991–2000)Other prominent individuals: (2)Sandra Buckler (Director of Communications, Prime Minister's Office 2006–2008),
John Capobianco (FleishmanHillard National Lead)Organizations:
Media:
Other information
Said he would bring in coherent environmental policies in the wake of the Paris climate change accord, end government subsidies to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Withdrew after he was unable to meet fundraising targets he'd set for his campaign.
Later endorsed Maxime Bernier.

Daniel Lindsay
BackgroundDaniel Lindsay, 60, president of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba, radiologist, has done five tours as a civilian medical specialist with the Canadian Armed Forces, including in Kandahar, Afghanistan.
Date campaign announced: May 25, 2016
Date withdrawn: December 28, 2016
Endorsements
MPs:
Senators: (1)Betty Unger (Alberta)Provincial politicians:
Municipal politicians:
Former MPs:
Former Senators:
Former provincial politicians:
Former municipal politicians:
Other prominent individuals:
Organizations:
Media:
Other information
Withdrew after he was unable to fundraise enough money to meet December 31 deadline for paying the party the $50,000 leadership campaign compliance fee. Later endorsed Erin O'Toole.

Kevin O'Leary
Kevin O'Leary, 68, is a businessman, investor, journalist, writer, financial commentator and Emmy award-winning television personality.

Policies
O'Leary supported using a "big stick" federally in order to bring provincial governments in-line with federal policies, cutting waste in military spending, supports a peacekeeping role for the military, cutting carbon emissions through criminal sanctions rather than a carbon tax, supports current immigration policy but also wishes to "fast-track" the citizenship applications of skilled immigrants, asserted he would support LGBTQI people, legalize marijuana and defend reproductive rights.
Date campaign announced: January 18, 2017
Date withdrawn: April 26, 2017
Other information
O'Leary withdrew from the election despite polls showing he was the frontrunner. He stated that while he believed he could win the leadership election, he would be unable to defeat Justin Trudeau in the next federal election due to his inability to speak French fluently and his lack of support in Quebec. He endorsed Maxime Bernier. As his withdrawal took place after the deadline, O'Leary remained on the final leadership ballot.

Adrienne Snow
BackgroundAdrienne Snow, 49, Toronto-based communications consultant, former director of policy for National Foundation for Family Research and Education. Former executive director of Centre for the Study of Civic Renewal. Announced on August 23, 2016, that she intended to be a candidate but failed to register and announced in January that she was ending her campaign.
Date campaign announced: August 23, 2016
Date withdrawn: January 4, 2017

Declined
Rona Ambrose – Interim Leader of the CPC and Leader of the Official Opposition (2015–2017), MP for Sturgeon River—Parkland (2015–2017) and Edmonton—Spruce Grove, Alberta (2004–2015), Minister of Health (2013–2015), Minister of Public Works and Government Services (2010–2013), Minister of Labour (2008–2010), Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs (2007–2008), Minister of the Environment (2006–2007). Ambrose is barred from running for permanent leader due to her position as interim leader and has declined interest in the permanent position.
John Baird – MP for Ottawa West—Nepean, Ontario (2006–2015), Minister of Foreign Affairs (2011–2015), Leader of the Government in the House of Commons (2010–2011), Minister of the Environment (2007–2008, 2010–2011), Minister of Transport (2008–2010), President of the Treasury Board, (2006–2007), Ontario Progressive Conservative Party MPP (1995–2005) and provincial cabinet minister (1999–2003).
Candice Bergen – Opposition House Leader (2016–2020), Shadow Minister of Natural Resources (2015–2016), State for Social Development (2013–2015), MP for Portage—Lisgar, Manitoba (2008–present).
Paul Calandra – Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister of Canada and for Intergovernmental Affairs (2013–2015), MP for Oak Ridges—Markham, Ontario (2008–2015) Endorsed Scheer.
Jean Charest – Premier of Quebec (2003–2012), Leader of the Quebec Liberal Party (1998–2012), Leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (1993–1998), Deputy Prime Minister of Canada (1993), Minister of the Environment (1991–1993), MP for Sherbrooke (1984–1998)
Christy Clark – Premier of British Columbia (2011–2017), Leader of the B.C. Liberal Party (2011–2017)
Gérard Deltell – Quebec lieutenant and Shadow Finance Minister (2016–present), Shadow Minister of Employment and Workforce Labour (2015–2016), MP for Louis-Saint-Laurent, Quebec (2015–present), Quebec MNA for Chauveau (2008–2015) and leader of the Action démocratique du Québec (2009–2012). Endorsed O'Toole.
Ed Fast – Shadow Minister for the Environment (2015–present), MP for Abbotsford, British Columbia (2006–present), Minister of International Trade (2011–2015). Endorsed O'Toole.
Doug Ford – former Toronto city councillor (2010–2014) and mayoral candidate (2014).
Daniel Fournier – real estate development and investor.
Jason Kenney – Chair of Shadow Cabinet Committee on Strategic Operations (2015–2016), MP for Calgary Midnapore, Alberta (2015–2016) and Calgary Southeast, Alberta (1997–2015), Minister of National Defence (2015), Minister for Multiculturalism (2013–2015), Minister of Employment and Social Development (2013–2015), Minister of Citizenship and Immigration (2008–2013)
Bernard Lord – Premier of New Brunswick (1999–2006), Leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick (1997–2006)
Peter MacKay – MP for Central Nova, Nova Scotia (2004–2015) and Pictou—Antigonish—Guysborough, Nova Scotia (1997–2004), Minister of Justice and Attorney General (2013–2015), Minister of National Defence (2007–2013), Minister of Foreign Affairs (2006–2007), Leader of the Progressive Conservative Party (2003)
Caroline Mulroney – investment management executive, daughter of former prime minister Brian Mulroney.
Mark Mulroney – head of capital equity markets at the National Bank of Canada, son of former prime minister Brian Mulroney.
James Moore – MP for Port Moody—Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam, British Columbia (2000–2004) and Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam, British Columbia (2004–2015), Minister of Industry (2013–2015), Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages (2008–2013). Elected as a Canadian Alliance MP in 2000.
Michelle Rempel – Shadow Minister of Immigration (2015–present), MP for Calgary Nose Hill, Alberta (2015–present) and Calgary Centre-North, Alberta (2011–2015), Minister of Western Economic Diversification (2013–2015)
Brad Wall – Premier of Saskatchewan (2007–2018), Leader of the Saskatchewan Party (2004–2018).
Dianne Watts – Shadow Minister of Infrastructure & Communities (2015–present), MP for South Surrey—White Rock, British Columbia (2015–present), Mayor of Surrey (2004–2015) Endorsed O'Toole.

Opinion polling
Some of the polls below were conducted before nominations for the leadership closed and therefore include potential candidates for the leadership race. Rona Ambrose, as interim leader, is ineligible to run for the permanent leadership unless there is a change to the party's constitution.

Conservative Party members
Conservative Party supporters
All Canadians
See also
2017 United Conservative Party leadership election
2017 New Democratic Party leadership election
Passage 8:
Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu
Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu (born February 12, 1949) is a Canadian politician and victim's rights activist, who was appointed to the Senate of Canada on January 29, 2010 on the advice of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, representing the province of Quebec under the banner of the Conservative Party of Canada.

Career
Boisvenu is the founding president of the Murdered or Missing Persons' Families' Association, which he founded after the 2002 kidnaping, forcible confinement, rape and murder of his daughter Julie.
In 2006, the Association that he leads won a battle for the rights of victims of crime with the adoption of Bill 25 by the National Assembly of Quebec. This bill provides better compensation for victims of crime.He is also co-founder of the Le Nid centre, a shelter for abused women in Val-d'Or, and of a camp for underprivileged youth in Estrie.Professionally, Boisvenu is a former provincial civil servant in Quebec, and was regional director for the Department of Recreation, Game and Fisheries and for the Department of the Environment before becoming Deputy Minister for the Department of Regions.Boisvenu has a bachelor's degree in educational psychology from the Université de Montréal and a master's degree in administration from L'École nationale d'administration publique in Quebec City.Boisvenu serves on the following  committees: Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs; Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications and the Standing Committee on National Security and Defence.
He sponsored both government and private Members’ bills: Bill C-37 (Increasing Offenders’ Accountability for Victims Act); Bill C-23 (Eliminating Pardons for Serious Crimes Act); Bill C-310 (An Act to amend the Criminal Code-trafficking in persons), Bill C-316 (An Act to amend the Employment Insurance Act - incarceration); Bill C-293 (An Act to amend the Corrections and Conditional Release Act-vexatious complainants); Bill C-452 (An Act to amend the Criminal Code - exploitation and trafficking in persons) and Bill C-479 (An Act to bring Fairness for the Victims of Violent Offenders]).
On February 24, 2015, he introduces Bill C-32 ([An Act to Enact the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights and to amend certain Acts).
In February 2012, Boisvenu, a key Conservative spokesman on crime issues, stated that convicted murderers should be given the choice of suicide rather than spending life in jail. He retracted the statement after it sparked controversy and later issued an apology "if his comment offended people whose close ones committed suicide".In June 2013, it was reported that a Senate ethics complaint was filed against Boisvenu. The complaints relate to Boisvenu using his position of senator to influence the clerk of the Senate and another Senator to arrange a job and time off for his assistant, with whom he had a romantic relationship. Furthermore, objections were raised because of Boisvenu's six-month delay in complying with a previous ethics order.In June 2014, Senate ethics officer Lyse Ricard found that Boisvenu had acted inappropriately by renewing his assistant's contract while the two were involved in a relationship, and that he also violated the code by promising her a two-week period of sick leave between jobs. He then contacted Senate clerk Gary O'Brien and Senate leader David Tkachuk in a bid to have the time off counted as sick leave and not vacation time. However, Ricard concluded that Boisvenu was responsible for "an error of judgment made in good faith" and did not recommend he be sanctioned. In 2012, there were media reports that, after his divorce, Boisvenu continued to charge the Senate for $20,000 in out-of-town living expenses, even though he had left his home in Sherbrooke, Quebec, and was living in Gatineau, Quebec.Boisvenu resigned from the Conservative caucus in June 2015 after learning that he is the subject of an RCMP investigation into his expense claims. He was readmitted to the Conservative caucus on November 22, 2016 after the RCMP decided not to lay charges against the Senator.

Alleged links to the far-right
In 2017, it was reported that Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu was a member of Facebook group for "PEGIDA Quebec" and the group for La Meute. Although Boisvenu actively participated in both groups, he later said joined one group "by accident" and the other "out of curiosity". He initially insisted he would remain a member, but later left the two groups. Conservative Senator Leo Housakos distanced himself from Boisvenu: "In the case of Mr. Boisvenu, it seems that he's decided to endorse certain organizations that are blatantly racist, and unfortunately that doesn't represent at all who we are in the Conservative caucus."In 2019, Boisvenu was found to be actively participating in the far-right Facebook groups "Canadian Coalition of Concerned Citizens (C4)" and Yellow Vests Canada.In May 2018, and again in February 2019, Boisvenu gave an interview on YouTube Channel "Le Stu-Dio", which promotes far-right conspiracy theories, including the 9/11 truther movement.

Personal life
Boisvenu founded the "Murdered or Missing Persons' Families' Association" after the 2002 kidnapping, forcible confinement, rape and murder of his daughter Julie. Boisvenu then began advocating for the rights of victims of crime, especially for the families of murdered or missing persons. In 2004, he co-founded with three other fathers of missing or murdered women, the association.
In 2005, his second daughter, Isabelle, died in a car accident.
Passage 9:
Congress of the New Right
The Congress of the New Right (Polish: Kongres Nowej Prawicy, Nowa Prawica or just KNP) is an economically libertarian, socially conservative and Eurosceptic political party in Poland. The party was founded on 25 March 2011 by Janusz Korwin-Mikke, from the merger of the Liberty and Lawfulness (WiP) with several members of the Real Politics Union (UPR). The former leader Korwin-Mikke was ousted from the party in 2015, upon revelations that he had fathered 2 children out of wedlock. The party assumed the official name Congress of the New Right on 12 May 2011.

History
The political organisation KNP was founded by supporters of Liberty and Lawfulness leader, Janusz Korwin-Mikke, who finished fourth in the 2010 Polish presidential election, receiving 2.5% votes (over 400,000). Taking advantage of his rising popularity, a group of political activists derived from both the former party of Janusz Korwin-Mikke, the Real Politics Union, and the Liberty and Lawfulness (dissolved three days earlier), came together on 9 October 2010 to form a new party: the "Real Politics Union – Liberty and Lawfulness". The new party took part in the 2010 local Polish elections, represented by commissioner Tomasz Sommer . The committee put forward candidates in thirteen voivodeships. The "Congress of the New Right" equaled the results of its leader in two voivodeships, Lesser Poland (2.69%) and Mazovia (2.32%). In terms of overall country-wide votes, the party concluded the election at seventh place. The committee had candidates for the position of mayor in some main cities in Poland in the same 2010 elections. Janusz Korwin-Mikke ended fourth in the mayoral election in Warsaw, gaining 3.90% of the eligible votes. Afterwards, the new party, the Congress of the New Right was founded on 25 March 2011, a day after the "Real Politics Union – Liberty and Lawfulness" had ceased to exist.

Activity
The first meeting of the new party was held on 16 April 2011 in the Palace of Culture and Science. Over 2,000 sympathizers attended the meeting, including notable people like Krzysztof Rybiński, Andrzej Sośnierz, Krzysztof Bosak, Romuald Szeremietiew, Stanisław Michalkiewicz or Tomasz Sommer. One month later, "Congress of the New Right" was formally acknowledged on 12 April 2011 as a new name of the party.
The Congress registered an electoral committee under the name "Nowa Prawica - Janusz Korwin Mikke" for the upcoming 2011 parliamentary elections. The National Election Committee ("Państwowa Komisja Wyborcza", PKW) accepted the party in 21 of 41 electoral districts, refusing the Congress to enlist for the rest on the grounds of not delivering a 'list of supporters' on time. The decision was generally received as controversial. The PKW rejected to submit motives of the refusal despite being constitutionally obliged to do so. This move effectively denied the Congress of the New Right access to the Polish Parliament as it effectively had to receive twice the votes of the constitutional threshold of five percent in order to be elected to the Polish Parliament. The party could not put forward candidates in most of the largest cities in Poland, including Warsaw, where Janusz Korwin-Mikke was denied enlistment. Representatives of other parties (UPR, LPR and others) were put on the lists of the Congress of the New Right. In the elections to the Polish Senate the party was allowed to put forward candidates on 10 out of 100 electoral districts (the number of electoral districts differ for the Polish Parliament and the Polish Senate). The elections were disastrous for the party as it received merely 1.06% votes (151 837), a result that placed it at seventh place. Therefore, none of the party's candidates were voted into the Senate.
On 9 January 2013 The KNP Youth Section was officially founded. Access is granted to both young adults as well as those who have not reached the age of majority (18).
In the 2015 party's leader Janusz Korwin-Mikke, along with party's MP Przemysław Wipler and MEP Robert Iwaszkiewicz split into Liberty, whose leader became Janusz Korwin-Mikke.
In the parliamentary election in 2015 KNP stood for the Sejm from the lists of Kukiz'15, gaining 1 MP.

Aims
KNP is against interfering with the current election system. It calls for enacting a new libertarian-minded constitution, reduction of the size of the Polish Parliament and forming a State Council, which would replace the Parliament as the legislative branch. KNP is also in favor of more regional autonomy.The party's main priorities are lowering taxes (including the abolition of income tax) and reducing the national debt by cutting down social programs and allowing the economy to flourish.KNP is for the total decriminalisation of using and producing drugs.KNP is for establishing a presidential system instead of the current parliamentary system.
KNP opposes same-sex marriage.The party is for the restoration of capital punishment.[10]The party supports Polish withdrawal from the European Union and wants to maintain the Polish zloty and to make it a gold-based currency.
KNP is anti-abortion only allowing in case of risk for the mother's life.

Election results
Sejm
Senate
Presidential
Regional assemblies
European Parliament
Footnotes
Further reading
Bachrynowski, Szymon (2015). "Between Europe and Russia: The Foreign Policy of Janusz Korwin-Mikke's New Right in Poland". The Polish Quarterly of International Affairs (2): 135–144.
Szczerbiak, Aleks (10 June 2014). "The Congress of the New Right is the latest anti-establishment party to have success in Poland, but it may struggle to secure long-term support". EUROPP — European Politics and Policy blog. London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

External links
Official website (in Polish)
Passage 10:
Patrick Brown (politician)
Patrick Brown may refer to:

Patrick Brown (cricketer) (born 1998), English cricketer
Patrick Brown (ice hockey) (born 1992), American ice hockey player
Patrick Brown (journalist), British-Canadian journalist with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Patrick Brown (Canadian politician) (born 1978), Canadian politician and mayor of Brampton, Ontario, Canada
Patrick Brown (Northern Irish politician), Northern Irish politician
Patrick Brown (photographer) (born 1969), Australian photojournalist, recipient of World Press Award 2018
Sleepy Brown (Patrick Brown, born 1970), American R&B singer, songwriter, and record producer
Patrick O. Brown (born 1954), American professor of biochemistry at Stanford University
Patrick (Bischoff) Brown (born 1978), American engineer, producer and studio owner
Patrick Brown (American football) (born 1986), American football offensive tackle
Patsy Brown (Patrick A. Brown, 1872–1958), Irish-American maker of the uilleann pipes

See also
Pat Brown (disambiguation)
Patrick Browne (disambiguation)
Sir Patrick Broun, 1st Baronet (c. 1630–1688), of the Broun baronets
Brown (surname), a surname of English and Scottish origin

Answer the question based on the given passages. Only give me the answer and do not output any other words.

Question: Who is the federal leader of the party that Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu is a member of?



Answer: Andrew Scheer