Local PC MPP Monte McNaughton 'excited' for party growth under Brown's leadership
A local Conservative MPP was pleased to see Patrick Brown become the new leader of the Ontario PC Party.
At a convention held Saturday, it was announced Brown was voted into the position left vacant from Tim Hudak.
Monte McNaughton, the representative for Lambton-Kent-Middlesex, initially ran for the job himself but dropped out of the race in early April to throw his support behind Brown.
"It was clear as this leadership race was unfolding that Patrick had the energy and ability to bring thousands of new members to our party, people who have never belonged to our party," McNaughton said. "I'm most excited about that — to see the party grow."
The Ontario PCs had 10,000 members before the leadership race began, he said. Party officials said 76,587 members were eligible to vote during the two days the polls were open this past week.
Brown, 36, was not the perceived front-runner. It was his opponent, Whitby-Oshawa MPP Christine Elliot and wife of late MP Jim Flaherty, who was favoured throughout the campaign. But McNaughton said he had a better picture of how things were shaping up across the province.
"Patrick visited Windsor about a dozen times. He was in northern Ontario about 10 or 11 times throughout the leadership campaign. I just saw his work ethic and the ability to sign up new members in communities where people just didn't belong to the Ontario PC Party," he said.
In the end, Brown defeated Elliot by more than 2,500 votes.
McNaughton told CBC's Afternoon Drive he felt that members wanted change within the party, and Brown was the one who could provide that.
"Patrick represented change and essentially, that's what one the day on Saturday," he said.
Brown announced Monday that he plans to resign from his federal seat this Wednesday. He has not yet revealed which riding he will seek election in.