Caroline Mulroney, the Toronto lawyer and daughter of former prime minister Brian Mulroney, is running to become the leader of Ontario's Progressive Conservative Party.
Mulroney confirmed the news, which has been rumoured for over a week, in a series of interviews Sunday afternoon at a hockey arena in north Toronto. She took questions from reporters between watching her two boys play on their Triple A teams.
The 43-year-old mother of four said despite the recent turmoil within the party after the sudden resignation of former leader Patrick Brown, the Tories can come together and win the June 7 provincial election.
"After 15 years of Liberal government we need a fresh change," she said. "People are tired. They want a new government. They want something new. So, I decided to put my name forward."
Deflecting criticism
Mulroney believes she's the candidate to unite the disparate wings of the PC family, despite never having held elected office.
"I am committed to making sure that we deliver this change," she said. "People deserve a government that cares about them. As I've been knocking on doors, I know that I can be that leader and provide that leadership to the party."
After taking a quick break between interviews to snack on french fries her husband, Andrew Lapham, brought by, Mulroney got down to business, addressing the criticisms which have already been levelled at her.
"That means they're nervous," she said of her competitors in the race. "I can't control what other campaigns do. All I can do is make sure I can run a campaign that's true to the kind of person that I am."
Former prime minister Brian Mulroney arrives for a charity event in Toronto in 2010, with his son Mark, left, and daughter Caroline, right. (Darren Calabrese/Canadian Press)
Mulroney has already been criticized for spending part of her life outside of Canada — she attended Harvard and New York University — but she says the attacks don't hold up.
"That's just a misstatement of fact," she said. "I've lived the majority of my life in Canada and Ontario."
Just hours after confirming she was in the race, Mulroney received a key endorsement from another rumoured candidate. Former Postmedia executive Rod Phillips said he will not seek the leadership and will throw his support behind Mulroney.
"Caroline and I, like many of our Party's candidates across Ontario, represent a new generation of inclusive and accountable leadership for the Progressive Conservative Party," Phillips, who's also the PC candidate for Ajax, said in a statement. "Caroline will unite our party and lead us to victory in June, and I look forward to working closely with her to achieve that."
"We have the opportunity to choose a determined, fresh and dynamic leader, in Caroline Mulroney. @C_Mulroney has my enthusiastic support, because she will unite our party and lead us to victory" #PCPOLdr @OntarioPCParty pic.twitter.com/5Hws8rfgFf — Rod Phillips (@RodPhillips01) February 4, 2018
Mulroney also weighed in on some of the most difficult issues facing the Tories as they try to regroup following Brown's resignation. She intends to consult party members about the PC platform — the so-called People's Guarantee — but says it's too early to say if she'd want to make changes to the document.
"I'll make sure we're open to conversations, but it's Day One of my campaign," she said.
Mulroney said she will stick to the PC pledge to cancel the Ontario government's cap-and-trade climate change plan, but hinted that she will keep the Tory platform's carbon tax, which funds most of the spending in the plan.
"This is something the federal government is imposing on all of the provinces," she said. "We have a choice to let them keep the revenue and administer it or we can make sure that we ... put the money back in people's pockets. I think we would be better suited to doing that than the Liberals are."
Mulroney also said she will not reopen the divisive debate about the Liberal government's sex education curriculum update.
Diverse career
Politics is just the latest move in a diverse career for Mulroney, who was acclaimed as a Progressive Conservative candidate in the riding of York-Simcoe, north of Toronto, last August.
In 2014, she was appointed to the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority to help oversee the development of a $4-billion second border span between the two cities.
In 2011, Mulroney co-founded the Shoebox Project, a non-profit that collects and distributes gifts to women who are homeless or at risk.
Prior to announcing her political plans, she served as vice-president of Toronto-based BloombergSen Investment Partners, and used to work at a venture debt fund.
Mulroney is photographed in Ottawa, alongside completed shoeboxes filled with personal items, to be given to women in shelters over the holiday season through her Shoebox Project initiative on Dec. 2, 2013. (Justin Tang/Canadian Press)
"It wasn't her plan to seek the leadership. She was very, very focused on the riding and on the community and that's where her efforts went," said Peter Van Loan, a legislator with the federal Conservative Party who acted as an adviser to Mulroney.
Though new to politics, Mulroney has shown herself to be hardworking and genuine, which has won her support in the community — even among those who may judge her based on the family name, Van Loan said.
"She has intrinsic strengths and intrinsic talents of her own, whatever her name may be," he said.
Mulroney's lack of political experience will likely be her biggest challenge, particularly against more seasoned candidates.
But Kathy Brock, a policy expert and political science professor at Queen's University in Kingston, said it could also play in her favour, bringing some freshness to the Tories at a time where their interim leader has vowed to clear out the "rot" from the party.
"This is one of the ways in which being more of a newcomer ... might actually be an advantage, given what the Conservatives are going through," Brock said.
Brown and former party president Rick Dykstra resigned within days of each other after being confronted with allegations of sexual misconduct, which they deny. The allegations have not been independently verified by The Canadian Press.
Mulroney's entry into the race means there will now be two high-profile women competing for the Tory reins, which could bolster the party's image, Brock said. Former Tory legislator Christine Elliott threw her hat in the ring in the last week.
Mulroney will join Christine Elliott as the second high-profile woman to contend for leadership of a the Ontario PCs after former leader Patrick Brown exited following sexual misconduct reports. (Justin Tang, Frank Gunn/Canadian Press)
"That might be the type of thing that they need to get over the incident with Dykstra and Patrick Brown. It just gives them a new focus and new energy and it makes them look a little more current with the times," Brock said.
Toronto politician Doug Ford, brother of the city's late former mayor Rob Ford, is also in the running.
Candidates have until Feb. 16 to register, and the new leader will be announced March 10.
Caroline Mulroney, the Toronto lawyer and daughter of former prime minister Brian Mulroney, is running to become the leader of Ontario's Progressive Conservative Party.
Mulroney confirmed the news, which has been rumoured for over a week, in a series of interviews Sunday afternoon at a hockey arena in north Toronto. She took questions from reporters between watching her two boys play on their Triple A teams.
The 43-year-old mother of four said despite the recent turmoil within the party after the sudden resignation of former leader Patrick Brown, the Tories can come together and win the June 7 provincial election.
"After 15 years of Liberal government we need a fresh change," she said. "People are tired. They want a new government. They want something new. So, I decided to put my name forward."
Deflecting criticism
Mulroney believes she's the candidate to unite the disparate wings of the PC family, despite never having held elected office.
"I am committed to making sure that we deliver this change," she said. "People deserve a government that cares about them. As I've been knocking on doors, I know that I can be that leader and provide that leadership to the party."
After taking a quick break between interviews to snack on french fries her husband, Andrew Lapham, brought by, Mulroney got down to business, addressing the criticisms which have already been levelled at her.
"That means they're nervous," she said of her competitors in the race. "I can't control what other campaigns do. All I can do is make sure I can run a campaign that's true to the kind of person that I am."
Former prime minister Brian Mulroney arrives for a charity event in Toronto in 2010, with his son Mark, left, and daughter Caroline, right. (Darren Calabrese/Canadian Press)
Mulroney has already been criticized for spending part of her life outside of Canada — she attended Harvard and New York University — but she says the attacks don't hold up.
"That's just a misstatement of fact," she said. "I've lived the majority of my life in Canada and Ontario."
Just hours after confirming she was in the race, Mulroney received a key endorsement from another rumoured candidate. Former Postmedia executive Rod Phillips said he will not seek the leadership and will throw his support behind Mulroney.
"Caroline and I, like many of our Party's candidates across Ontario, represent a new generation of inclusive and accountable leadership for the Progressive Conservative Party," Phillips, who's also the PC candidate for Ajax, said in a statement. "Caroline will unite our party and lead us to victory in June, and I look forward to working closely with her to achieve that."
"We have the opportunity to choose a determined, fresh and dynamic leader, in Caroline Mulroney. @C_Mulroney has my enthusiastic support, because she will unite our party and lead us to victory" #PCPOLdr @OntarioPCParty pic.twitter.com/5Hws8rfgFf — Rod Phillips (@RodPhillips01) February 4, 2018
Mulroney also weighed in on some of the most difficult issues facing the Tories as they try to regroup following Brown's resignation. She intends to consult party members about the PC platform — the so-called People's Guarantee — but says it's too early to say if she'd want to make changes to the document.
"I'll make sure we're open to conversations, but it's Day One of my campaign," she said.
Mulroney said she will stick to the PC pledge to cancel the Ontario government's cap-and-trade climate change plan, but hinted that she will keep the Tory platform's carbon tax, which funds most of the spending in the plan.
"This is something the federal government is imposing on all of the provinces," she said. "We have a choice to let them keep the revenue and administer it or we can make sure that we ... put the money back in people's pockets. I think we would be better suited to doing that than the Liberals are."
Mulroney also said she will not reopen the divisive debate about the Liberal government's sex education curriculum update.
Diverse career
Politics is just the latest move in a diverse career for Mulroney, who was acclaimed as a Progressive Conservative candidate in the riding of York-Simcoe, north of Toronto, last August.
In 2014, she was appointed to the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority to help oversee the development of a $4-billion second border span between the two cities.
In 2011, Mulroney co-founded the Shoebox Project, a non-profit that collects and distributes gifts to women who are homeless or at risk.
Prior to announcing her political plans, she served as vice-president of Toronto-based BloombergSen Investment Partners, and used to work at a venture debt fund.
Mulroney is photographed in Ottawa, alongside completed shoeboxes filled with personal items, to be given to women in shelters over the holiday season through her Shoebox Project initiative on Dec. 2, 2013. (Justin Tang/Canadian Press)
"It wasn't her plan to seek the leadership. She was very, very focused on the riding and on the community and that's where her efforts went," said Peter Van Loan, a legislator with the federal Conservative Party who acted as an adviser to Mulroney.
Though new to politics, Mulroney has shown herself to be hardworking and genuine, which has won her support in the community — even among those who may judge her based on the family name, Van Loan said.
"She has intrinsic strengths and intrinsic talents of her own, whatever her name may be," he said.
Mulroney's lack of political experience will likely be her biggest challenge, particularly against more seasoned candidates.
But Kathy Brock, a policy expert and political science professor at Queen's University in Kingston, said it could also play in her favour, bringing some freshness to the Tories at a time where their interim leader has vowed to clear out the "rot" from the party.
"This is one of the ways in which being more of a newcomer ... might actually be an advantage, given what the Conservatives are going through," Brock said.
Brown and former party president Rick Dykstra resigned within days of each other after being confronted with allegations of sexual misconduct, which they deny. The allegations have not been independently verified by The Canadian Press.
Mulroney's entry into the race means there will now be two high-profile women competing for the Tory reins, which could bolster the party's image, Brock said. Former Tory legislator Christine Elliott threw her hat in the ring in the last week.
Mulroney will join Christine Elliott as the second high-profile woman to contend for leadership of a the Ontario PCs after former leader Patrick Brown exited following sexual misconduct reports. (Justin Tang, Frank Gunn/Canadian Press)
"That might be the type of thing that they need to get over the incident with Dykstra and Patrick Brown. It just gives them a new focus and new energy and it makes them look a little more current with the times," Brock said.
Toronto politician Doug Ford, brother of the city's late former mayor Rob Ford, is also in the running.
Candidates have until Feb. 16 to register, and the new leader will be announced March 10.
Mulroney, the 43-year-old daughter of former prime minister Brian Mulroney, received a major boost Sunday when potential rival Rod Phillips endorsed her candidacy.
“It’s been 15 years of Liberal government and people are sick and tired. They really want something completely new, something different.”
“I’m the candidate that’s new, who’s fresh and can offer a new perspective on how we can get Ontario back on track,” the Harvard-educated lawyer told the Star on Sunday.
Caroline Mulroney jumps into the Progressive Conservative leadership race Monday hoping to be an agent of change for a troubled party.
Further plunging the party into chaos, PC party president Rick Dykstra, another former Tory MP, quit on Jan. 28 over allegations of sexual assault.
With a June 7 election looming, the Tories are scrambling to pick a new chief after ex-leader Patrick Brown resigned Jan. 25 amid allegations of sexual misconduct involving teenage girls when he was an MP.
Unlike Elliott and Ford, who want to scrap the PC carbon tax, Mulroney will stick with the party’s centrist “People’s Guarantee” manifesto unveiled last November.
She will square off in the March 10 leadership contest against former MPP Christine Elliott, runner-up to Brown in the 2015 leadership, and former Toronto councillor Doug Ford.
While both Brown and Dyktra have denied the accusations, which have not been proven in court, the Tories have been feverishly doing damage control.
Interim leader Vic Fedeli, who has promised to clean up “the rot” in the Tories, revealed Saturday there are 127,743 party members — that’s 72,481 fewer than the 200,224 Brown boasted about on Jan. 13.
Sources say once additional duplicates and fraudulent memberships are rooted out, the tally will be closer to 75,000 members.
In an interview at a Downsview arena while one of her sons played hockey, Mulroney stressed “this party is filled with people with integrity.”
Asked if the Tories can recover from a tumultuous week and a half, Mulroney insisted: “I know that we’re well-positioned.”
“These are things that happen within political parties and it’s hard, but the daily life of the people of Ontario is still the same. The realities that they face are still the same as they were two weeks ago,” she said, suggesting the Tories’ woes are more of an obsession within “the political bubble” of Queen’s Park than people’s doorsteps.
“People want us . . . to win this election,”
Ford, meanwhile, has derided her as part of the “party elite.”
“I don’t know Caroline Mulroney. I think she lived in the United States for the last 20 years, so I haven’t had the opportunity to meet her,” he said last week.
Mulroney, who is running for the Conservatives in York-Simcoe, noted she has resided in Ontario for most of her life and moved to Toronto 12 years ago.
“I did live in the United States, but he’s wrong — we did meet. We sat next to each other at a dinner about 10 years ago and I remember having a conversation with him. I remember listening to him. I am a great listener, obviously, because I remember it,” she said wryly.
“If he wants to run a campaign like that, that’s not the kind of campaign I want to run. That’s not the kind of person that I am. I want to see the best in people.”
The mother of four was hopeful that her sending her four kids to private school would not become political fodder — given that public education is the province’s second largest funding commitment after heath care.
“I believe every parent should be able to make the choice that’s best for them and their children,” she said, adding she wouldn’t revive the private school tax credits the Tories imposed while in office in 2003.
“As premier, I will advocate and work hard to make sure that our public education system is the strongest in the world,” she said.
“The Liberals can try to attack me. The problem is that this is not about that. This is about their record and making sure that they’re held to account for what they’ve done.”
Like Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the son of Pierre Trudeau, Mulroney said she was mindful of the political advantages of a famous father.
“Name recognition is something that is a good thing as a rule,” she said.
“But my father left office when I was 19 years old and I have spent the last 25 years of my life studying hard, working hard, starting a charity, and raising my family, so that’s who I am. I’m Caroline and I’m running this campaign.”
Having grown up at 24 Sussex Drive, Mulroney is well aware of the impact politics can have on the children and spouses of candidates.
When she was 17 years old, Frank, an Ottawa satirical magazine, held a mock “Deflower Caroline Mulroney Contest” that sparked outrage across the country for its misogyny.
She said such episodes — as well as the highs and lows of her father’s political career — have steeled her.
“I’m prepared for that. My husband is prepared for that. I think because both my mother and father lived it I am in a good position to feel well-supported. I have people to go to when the days are a little bit more difficult.”
Vying to be the first female Ontario PC leader, Mulroney said it would be “fantastic” to face off against Wynne and NDP Leader Andrea Horwath in the spring campaign.
One person she does not wish to see at Queen’s Park is Brown.
“He made the right decision by stepping aside as party leader,” she said, praising the women who came forward with allegations against him.
“It’s important that women feel they’re able to come forward and feel safe when they come forward. It takes a lot of bravery to do that and I admire them.”
