The selection of Patrick Brown by the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party last week, if nothing else, shows that hard work still pays dividends.
Brown, who shocked favourite Christine Elliott, had support of only 28 MPPs in the party caucus.
Two of those were Chatham-Kent-Essex MPP Rick Nicholls and Lambton-Kent—Middlesex MPP Monte McNaughton.
Nicholls supported Brown from the very start while McNaughton later threw his support behind the current Barrie MP who must find a provincial seat before the next election.
It’s been quite a while since southwestern Ontario could consider itself in the position of kingmaker, even if it’s just for a party leadership.
Brown simply outworked Elliott, selling thousands of memberships during the campaign and refusing to let his underdog status deter him.
Elliott, who finished third in a 2009 leadership bid, had the blessing of former leader and Ontario Premier Bill Davis; the last torchbearer of the Big Blue Machine which ruled Ontario for more than 40 years.
Brown surprised the pundits by marshaling support from across all regions of the province, including Northern Ontario and the GTA.
The prevailing school of political thought has been that there are two Ontario’s – that of the greater Toronto area and the rest of us.
If Brown has been able to bridge that divide, it will make the PC trip back from the political wilderness that much easier.
The fact that he reputedly signed 40,000 new PC memberships, increasing the party total from 10,000 to 76,000 in ten months, indicates there is strong support for change within the public.
Brown now faces the daunting task of reforming and uniting a party which seemed poised to win last year’s election until it self-destructed under the inept leadership of Tim Hudak.
The infighting of previous elections has to be eliminated before he can be considered a viable candidate to lead the province.
