Conservatives cool their heels, eye 2017 leadership vote

Familiar, experienced Conservatives will take theirplaces on the opposition benches this week in the House of Commons, butbehind them is a party that is exhausted, in organizational limbo,and only slowly beginning to plan for a leadership race.

A consensus has begun to emerge inside the caucus that the partyshould take time to regroup and put off a leadership vote untilearly 2017.

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Recent signals that Ontario MP Kellie Leitch was on theverge of announcing her candidacy went over poorly among wearycolleagues and party members, insiders say.

"People are just tired and nobody wants it to start now," saidone longtime Conservative activist who has ties to a potentialcontestant but was not authorized to speak publicly.

That's not to say that leadership interests won't play out overthe year to come.

The party has decided to proceed with its regular convention thisMay in Vancouver and the principal task there will be to elect newparty officials, including a president.

Party moves on without Harper

It will also be the first Conservative convention since itsinaugural policy gathering in 2005 where Stephen Harper and his teamwill not be pulling the levers a power vacuum the ambitious willlook to fill.

The convention and its internal elections have the potential tobecome a surrogate fight between contestants for control of theparty, or at the very least, a showcase for them.

"It will be the battle of the hospitality suites," said oneOntario Conservative who requested anonymity due to the early stageof the process.

The party's current national council meets this week to decidethe membership of the all-important leadership organizing committee,which will set the rules for the race.

Currently, only the partypresident, vice-president and secretary sit on the committee and itneeds to be expanded.

Committee members are supposed to be neutral, but there will bescrutiny of who is appointed and any perceived loyalties they mighthave.

Former Harper aide Tom Flanagan has chronicled the battles thecampaign waged with the inaugural leadership committee during the2004 race, on everything from levies on donations to the window oftime for voting.

Flanagan wrote that draft rules "reinforced oursuspicion that the committeewas being influenced by advisershostile to Harper."

Conservatives saddled with debt

The Conservative apparatus will also need to deal with the stickyissue of post-election debt.

Although Elections Canada will be sending millions of dollars inrebates to parties for money spent during the election, raisingfunds after a loss and under an interim leader is not easy.

Meanwhile, Rona Ambrose has the task of having to rebuild fromscratch a leader's office that was virtually deserted after thefederal election as the people around Harper scattered.

Veteran Parliament Hill hand Garry Keller was appointed her chiefof staff and Ambrose has also selected a shadow cabinet with ampleexperience in the Commons, including potential leadership candidatessuch as Lisa Raitt, Tony Clement and Michelle Rempel.

Still, many Conservative staffers have no experience inopposition, and they will have to get used to doing their own
research on policy, writing speeches for the Commons and digging updirt on the government often by using the access to informationsystem that they often tried to hobble while in power.

Former cabinet minister Chuck Strahl, who left federal politicsin 2011, has been recruited to help train rookie MPs.

Ambrose's first hurdle, winning the interim leadership, may turnout to the easiest part.

Rona Ambrose chosen as Conservative interim leader

9 years ago

Duration 2:22

Edmonton MP says former leader Stephen Harper spoke to the party's caucus, the CBC's Catherine Cullen reports