Contenders for federal Conservative leadership engage in first official debate
SASKATOON – Candidates vying to replace Stephen Harper as leader of the federal Conservatives are about to face off in the first of five official leadership debates organized by the party.
A dozen people have registered for the race and are expected to participate in the debate in Saskatoon tonight.
The list includes Conservative MPs Lisa Raitt, Maxime Bernier, Steven Blaney, Michael Chong, Kellie Leitch, Deepak Obhrai, Erin O’Toole, Andrew Scheer and Brad Trost.
Others who have officially joined are former immigration minister Chris Alexander, former MP Andrew Saxton and Dr. Daniel Lindsay.
One topic likely to come up is the question of Canadian identity: Leitch has said would-be immigrants and refugees should be screened for anti-Canadian values and Blaney has said he would set up a royal commission to explore the issue.
The Conservatives are to elect their new leader May 27.
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