Brampton Mayor Brown to make announcement as Conservative leadership race heats up

Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown is set to make an announcement this weekend as speculation swirls around a possible bid for the leadership of the federal Conservative party.

Brown is slated to make “an important announcement” on Sunday at Brampton’s Queen’s Manor Event Centre at around 11 a.m., according to reports on CP24.

The Brampton mayor has been rumoured to join the leadership race after Conservative MPs voted to remove former leader Erin O’Toole after just 18 months as leader in a secret ballot last month.

On Wednesday, Brown told reporters he would “make a decision in the coming days given the fact that the race has already started.”

“But you’ll have to stay tuned, and I’ll have an update on that for you on that very soon,” he added.

So far there are four candidates in the CPC race – Ottawa-area MP Pierre Poilievre, Haldimand-Norfolk MPP Leslyn Lewis, former Quebec Premier Jean Charest and Independent MPP for Toronto York Centre Roman Baber.

Lewis came in third in the 2020 leadership race and saw heavy backing from the party’s social conservative members and those in Western Canada.

Baber was elected as an MPP in the Ontario Progressive Conservative caucus but was booted by Premier Doug Ford after speaking out against COVID-19 lockdowns in January 2021. He was also barred from running for the party in Ontario’s upcoming election in June.

Mayor Brown previously told insauga.com publisher Khaled Iwamura that he is considering a run for the CPC leadership but couldn’t commit to a decision until details of the race were finalised.

Brown became mayor of Brampton in 2018 and has previous experience in Ottawa as MP for the riding of Barrie for three terms.

He was also leader of the Progressive Conservative Party on Ontario before being replaced by Doug Ford over allegations of sexual misconduct.

Just this week a defamation lawsuit filed by Brown against against CTV News was settled out of court, with the broadcaster saying it “regrets” including “factually incorrect” details in the story that broke the allegations against Brown.