Jean Charest confirms he's running to lead the Conservative Party
CBC
Former Quebec premier Jean Charest is officially making the leap back into federal politics, setting the stage for clashes over ideology and style within the Conservative Party.
Charest called the Conservative Party president Wednesday afternoon to say he is running for the leadership, according to his campaign organization.
On Thursday night in Calgary, Charest will meet with supporters at a brewery to kick off his national tour. On Friday he'll head to Vancouver.
News of Charest's run has divided opinion within the party. Supporters call him a proven leader who can unite the country. Opponents say his track record on taxation and carbon pricing, and his embrace of the long gun registry, place him outside the party's values.
Charest, who is running under the slogan "built to win", is entering the race more than a month after his primary opponent announced his intentions. Ontario MP Pierre Poilievre put out a video Feb. 5 saying he wants to be Canada's next prime minister.
Another Ontario MP, Leslyn Lewis, announced Tuesday that she would also be running for the leadership.
Polievre is widely considered to be the front-runner. He and his team have been slamming Charest for over a week, saying he is a Liberal and comparing him to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Charest did lead the Quebec Liberal Party while premier from 2003 to 2012. Charest's supporters have argued the provincial party is a coalition and there was no direct equivalent of the federal Conservatives at the provincial level.
Charest was also a cabinet minister in Brian Mulroney's government in the 1980s and 1990s and leader of the now defunct Progressive Conservative party.
The former premier can expect challenges over his policy track record and questions about whether he's the right person for the moment.
While Poilievre enjoys a strong social media following, Charest has no social media presence at all. His campaign says he'll launch social media accounts within the week.
Charest left office in 2012 with a cloud over his administration. The Quebec Liberal Party was facing numerous allegations of corruption. Late last month, however, an investigation into the party's financing quietly ended without any charges being laid.
Charest went on to work in the private sector after his time in politics. His work at McCarthy Tetrault included providing strategic advice to companies to help them lobby governments.
The Globe and Mail has reported that work included advising Chinese telecom company Huawei on the Meng Wanzhou case and 5G networks.
2 women who died trying to save turtle on road in Chatham-Kent, Ont., remembered for love of animals
It was a shock to Dorothy Suliga when she learned that her mother, Teresa Suliga, and her aunt, Elizabeth Seremak, had been struck and killed by a vehicle on a rural road in Chatham-Kent.