2004 Conservative Party of Canada leadership election
← 2003 (PC)
2002 (CA)		 March 20, 2004 2017 →
 
Candidate Stephen Harper Belinda Stronach Tony Clement
Popular vote 67,143 22,286 7,968
Percentage 68.9% 22.9% 8.2%
Points 17,296 10,613 2,887
Percentage 56.2% 34.5% 9.4%
Results by Canadian electoral district
Leader before election

John Lynch-Staunton (interim)

 Elected Leader

Stephen Harper

2004 Conservative leadership election
ConventionMetro Toronto Convention Centre, Toronto
Won byStephen Harper
Ballots1
Candidates3
Entrance FeeC$100,000[1]
Spending limitC$2.5 million[2]
Progressive Conservative leadership elections
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The 2004 Conservative Party of Canada leadership election took place on March 20, 2004, in Toronto, Ontario, and resulted in the election of Stephen Harper as the first leader of the new Conservative Party of Canada. The Conservative Party was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, in December 2003.

Stephen Harper, the former leader of the Canadian Alliance, was elected on the first (and only) ballot. Tony Clement, a former Ontario Progressive Conservative health minister, and Belinda Stronach, the former Chief Executive Officer of Magna International, were the other candidates on the ballot.[3]

The leader was selected by a system in which each of the party's riding associations was allocated 100 points, which were allocated among candidates in proportion to the votes that he or she received. This system was selected as a condition of the merger, to prevent the far larger Canadian Alliance membership base from overwhelming that of the Progressive Conservatives.

Members voted using ranked ballots. If no candidate won a majority of votes in the first round, the ballots supporting the candidate with the smallest number of votes would be re-distributed according to the voters' second preferences. Subsequent rounds were not needed, however, because Stephen Harper won in the first round.

Candidates

Tony Clement

42, Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario Member of Provincial Parliament for Brampton South (1995–2003), provincial Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (2001–2003), provincial Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing (1999–2001), provincial Minister of the Environment (1999–2000), provincial Minister of Transportation (1997–1999), third place candidate in Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario leadership election (2002)

Caucus Endorsements

Stephen Harper

This article is part of
a series about
Stephen Harper
Prime Minister of Canada
Policies and events
Elections
Leader of the Conservative Party
2004 leadership election
Leader of the Canadian Alliance
Stephen Harper's signature

44, Reform Party of Canada MP for Calgary West (1993–1997), Canadian Alliance MP for Calgary Southwest (2002–), Leader of the Canadian Alliance (2002–2003), President of the National Citizens Coalition (1998–2002)

Caucus Endorsements

Belinda Stronach

37, CEO of Magna International (2001–)

Caucus Endorsements

Announced they would not run

Results

Results by round
Candidate 1st round
Votes cast % Points allocated %
Stephen Harper 67,143 68.9% 17,296 56.2%
Belinda Stronach 22,286 22.9% 10,613 34.5%
Tony Clement 7,968 8.2% 2,887 9.4
Total 97,397 100% 30,796 100%

Points needed to win: 15,401

Each of 308 ridings had 100 points which were distributed by proportional representation according to votes cast by party members in the riding.

Votes
Harper
 
 68.94%
Stronach
 
 22.88%
Clement
 
 8.18%
Points
Harper
 
 56.16%
Stronach
 
 34.46%
Clement
 
 9.37%

The actual vote totals remained confidential when the leadership election results were announced; only the point totals were made public at the time, giving the impression of a race that was much closer than was actually the case. Three years later, Harper's former campaign manager, Tom Flanagan, published the actual vote totals, noting that, among other distortions caused by the equal-weighting system, "a vote cast in Quebec was worth 19.6 times as much as a vote cast in Alberta".[5]

Total expenses

Timeline

December 2003

January 2004

March 2004

Breakdown by province

Points allocated by candidate (rounded)
Province Clement Harper Stronach Total
Newfoundland and Labrador 102 231 369 702
Prince Edward Island 41 85 272 398
Nova Scotia 110 409 582 1,101
New Brunswick 51 461 492 1,004
Quebec 452 2,506 4,538 7,496
Ontario 1,672 6,035 2,891 10,598
Manitoba 72 1,029 299 1,400
Saskatchewan 51 1,141 208 1,400
Alberta 81 2,380 346 2,807
British Columbia 230 2,878 492 3,600
Yukon 6 62 32 100
Northwest Territories 9 53 39 101
Nunavut 17 28 56 101
Total 2,894 17,298 10,616 30,808

Breakdown by riding

Newfoundland and Labrador

Riding Clement Harper Stronach
Avalon 27 22 51
Bonavista—Exploits 12 36 53
Humber—St. Barbe—Baie
Verte 		3 45 52
Labrador 0 50 50
Random—Burin—St.
George's 		13 31 56
St. John's North 30 26 45
St. John's South 17 21 62

Prince Edward Island

Riding Clement Harper Stronach
Cardigan 11 11 77
Charlottetown 9 33 58
Egmont 9 23 68
Malpeque 12 18 69

Nova Scotia

Riding Clement Harper Stronach
Cape Breton—Canso 9 23 68
Central Nova 6 24 70
Dartmouth—Cole Harbour 16 48 36
Halifax 13 38 49
Halifax West 15 44 41
Kings-Hants 6 37 57
North Nova 6 37 57
Sackville—Eastern Shore 10 51 39
South Shore—St. Margaret's 16 31 53
Sydney—Victoria 9 25 67
West Nova 4 51 45

New Brunswick

Riding Clement Harper Stronach
Acadia-Bathurst 6 5 90
Beauséjour 2 50 48
Fredericton 7 64 29
Fundy 9 56 36
Madawaska—Restigouche 1 26 73
Miramichi 3 35 63
Moncton—Riverview—
Dieppe 		7 50 43
St. Croix—Belleisle 4 71 25
Saint John 9 45 47
Tobique—Mactaquac 3 59 38

Quebec

Riding Clement Harper Stronach
Abitibi—Témiscamingue 0 44 56
Ahuntsic 0 35 65
Alfred-Pellan 5 37 58
Argenteuil—Mirabel 0 63 38
Beauce 0 22 78
Beauharnois—Salaberry 23 14 63
Beauport 4 46 50
Berthier—Maskinongé 3 18 80
Bourassa 0 46 54
Brome—Missisquoi 4 59 37
Brossard—La Prairie 8 29 63
Chambly—Borduas 3 15 82
Charlesbourg 3 23 74
Charlevoix—Montmorency 0 20 80
Châteauguay—Saint-
Constant 		2 7 91
Chicoutimi—Le Fjord 0 64 36
Compton—Stanstead 15 43 43
Drummond 2 27 71
Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-
Madeleine 		0 50 50
Gatineau 3 32 66
Hochelaga 0 0 100
Honoré-Mercier 0 4 96
Hull—Aylmer 11 40 44
Jeanne-Le Ber 12 26 62
Joliette 0 40 60
Jonquière—Alma 0 29 71
Lac-Saint-Louis 8 39 53
La Pointe-de-l'Île 7 13 80
LaSalle—Émard 6 33 61
Laurentides—Labelle 0 4 96
Laurier 31 26 43
Laval 4 72 24
Laval—Les Îles 9 34 57
Lévis—Bellechasse 0 35 65
Longueuil 0 33 67
Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-
Chaudière 		0 23 77
Louis-Hébert 7 20 73
Louis-Saint-Laurent 3 47 50
Manicouagan 2 19 79
Marc-Aurèle-Fortin 10 23 67
Matapédia—Matane 0 47 53
Mégantic—L'Érable 0 16 84
Montcalm 3 32 66
Mount Royal 25 50 25
Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—
Lachine 		4 40 56
Nunavik—Eeyou 0 40 60
Outremont 34 40 26
Papineau 17 36 47
Pierrefonds—Dollard 17 35 49
Pontiac 6 55 39
Portneuf 2 40 58
Quebec 5 25 69
Repentigny 6 59 35
Richelieu 14 52 33
Richmond—Arthabaska 0 21 79
Rimouski—Témiscouata 15 46 38
Rivière-des-Mille-Îles 9 45 45
Rivière-du-Loup—
Montmagny 		0 8 93
Rivière-du-Nord 11 56 33
Roberval 0 52 48
Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie 5 33 62
Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert 1 5 94
Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot 0 26 74
Saint-Jean 28 31 41
Saint-Lambert 2 30 67
Saint-Laurent—Cartierville 15 44 41
Saint-Léonard—Saint-
Michel 		0 5 95
Saint-Maurice—Champlain 0 53 47
Shefford 2 16 81
Sherbrooke 0 32 68
Terrebonne—Blainville 4 20 76
Trois-Rivières 0 39 61
Vaudreuil-Soulanges 12 72 16
Vercheres—Les Patriotes 0 12 88
Westmount—Ville-Marie 30 39 31

Ontario

Riding Clement Harper Stronach
Ajax-Pickering 12 57 32
Algoma—Manitoulin—
Kapuskasing 		8 64 28
Ancaster—Dundas—
Flamborough —Westdale 		11 67 21
Barrie 9 59 32
Beaches—East York 26 44 31
Bramalea—Gore—Malton 25 28 47
Brampton—Springdale 62 28 10
Brampton West 54 32 14
Brant 13 64 23
Burlington 12 60 27
Cambridge 11 64 25
Carleton—Lanark 6 67 27
Chatham-Kent—Essex 8 66 26
Clarington—Scugog—
Uxbridge 		7 68 24
Davenport 29 41 30
Don Valley East 16 62 22
Don Valley West 24 51 25
Dufferin—Caledon 14 56 30
Eglinton—Lawrence 37 39 24
Elgin—Middlesex—London 12 57 31
Essex 8 72 20
Etobicoke Centre 17 59 24
Etobicoke—Lakeshore 22 51 26
Etobicoke North 20 43 37
Glengarry—Prescott—
Russell 		5 72 23
Grey—Bruce—Owen Sound 7 68 24
Guelph 19 56 25
Haldimand—Norfolk 10 67 23
Haliburton—Kawartha
Lakes— Brock 		6 67 28
Halton 17 64 19
Hamilton Centre 10 57 33
Hamilton East—Stoney
Creek 		7 56 37
Hamilton Mountain 16 74 11
Huron—Bruce 13 52 35
Kenora 9 51 40
Kingston and the Islands 16 62 23
Kitchener Centre 12 61 28
Kitchener—Conestoga 6 70 24
Kitchener—Waterloo 15 60 25
Lanark—Frontenac—
Lennox and Addington 		7 72 21
Leeds—Grenville 5 69 27
London—Fanshawe 12 68 20
London North Centre 11 67 21
London West 9 76 15
Markham—Unionville 40 40 20
Middlesex—Kent—Lambton 11 62 26
Mississauga—Brampton
South 		56 32 12
Mississauga East—
Cooksville 		15 54 31
Mississauga—Erindale 21 51 28
Mississauga South 18 60 22
Mississauga—Streetsville 28 51 21
Nepean—Carleton 5 69 26
Newmarket—Aurora 7 37 57
Niagara Falls 9 69 22
Niagara West—Glanbrook 8 71 21
Nickel Belt 6 34 60
Nipissing—Timiskaming 4 62 34
Northumberland—Quinte
West 		16 64 20
Oak Ridges—Markham 18 53 29
Oakville 15 65 20
Oshawa 15 60 25
Ottawa Centre 9 65 26
Ottawa—Orléans 6 65 29
Ottawa South 8 67 26
Ottawa—Vanier 9 60 31
Ottawa West—Nepean 8 66 26
Oxford 18 54 28
Parkdale—High Park 29 43 28
Parry Sound—Muskoka 17 49 33
Perth—Wellington 14 54 32
Peterborough 9 74 17
Pickering—Scarborough
East 		11 54 36
Prince Edward—Hastings 8 66 26
Renfrew—Nipissing—
Pembroke 		4 82 15
Richmond Hill 19 38 43
St. Catharines 15 66 19
St. Paul's 34 43 23
Sarnia—Lambton 18 59 23
Sault Ste. Marie 7 68 25
Scarborough—Agincourt 13 53 34
Scarborough Centre 14 59 27
Scarborough—Guildwood 13 55 32
Scarborough—Rouge River 34 40 26
Scarborough Southwest 15 60 25
Simcoe—Grey 11 71 18
Simcoe North 10 64 26
Stormont—Dundas—South
Glengarry 		6 71 22
Sudbury 11 50 39
Thornhill 27 48 25
Thunder Bay—Rainy River 8 73 19
Thunder Bay—Superior
North 		28 48 24
Timmins—James Bay 5 36 59
Toronto Centre 25 38 37
Toronto—Danforth 22 45 33
Trinity—Spadina 25 42 33
Vaughan 42 23 35
Welland 8 69 22
Wellington—Halton Hills 11 64 24
Whitby—Oshawa 18 59 22
Willowdale 19 55 25
Windsor—Tecumseh 18 65 17
Windsor West 12 79 9
York Centre 20 56 24
York—Simcoe 16 52 32
York South—Weston 17 46 37
York West 14 19 67

Manitoba

Riding Clement Harper Stronach
Brandon—Souris 4 74 22
Charleswood—St. James 5 67 28
Churchill 3 71 25
Dauphin—Swan River 2 67 31
Elmwood—Transcona 2 77 21
Kildonan—St. Paul 6 81 13
Portage—Lisgar 5 74 21
Provencher 4 86 10
Saint Boniface 4 73 23
Selkirk—Interlake 5 78 17
Winnipeg Centre 10 67 23
Winnipeg North 6 74 21
Winnipeg South 6 76 18
Winnipeg South Centre 10 64 26

Saskatchewan

Riding Clement Harper Stronach
Battlefords—Lloydminster 0 89 10
Blackstrap 4 80 17
Churchill River 2 89 9
Cypress Hills—Grasslands 2 90 8
Palliser 4 77 19
Prince Albert 1 86 13
Regina—Lumsden—Lake
Centre 		6 74 19
Regina—Qu'Appelle 3 82 15
Saskatoon—Humboldt 8 79 14
Saskatoon—Rosetown—
Biggar 		4 84 11
Saskatoon—Wanuskewin 2 90 8
Souris—Moose Mountain 4 68 29
Wascana 6 69 25
Yorkton—Melville 5 84 11

Alberta

Riding Clement Harper Stronach
Athabasca 2 83 15
Calgary East 4 86 10
Calgary North Centre 6 81 13
Calgary Northeast 4 71 25
Calgary—Nose Hill 5 83 13
Calgary South Centre 7 80 13
Calgary Southeast 4 85 11
Calgary Southwest 4 90 6
Calgary West 5 83 12
Crowfoot 1 92 7
Edmonton—Beaumont 3 77 21
Edmonton Centre 4 79 17
Edmonton East 2 84 14
Edmonton—Leduc 3 86 11
Edmonton—St. Albert 2 88 11
Edmonton—Sherwood Park 5 82 14
Edmonton—Spruce Grove 2 83 16
Edmonton—Strathcona 3 77 19
Lethbridge 2 91 7
Macleod 2 87 11
Medicine Hat 1 92 7
Peace River 2 84 15
Red Deer 2 90 8
Vegreville—Wainwright 1 89 10
Westlock—St. Paul 1 84 15
Wetaskiwin 1 94 5
Wild Rose 2 90 9
Yellowhead 1 89 11

British Columbia

Riding Clement Harper Stronach
Abbotsford 3 93 4
Burnaby—Douglas 9 81 10
Burnaby—New Westminster 15 75 10
Cariboo—Prince George 2 85 13
Chilliwack—Fraser Canyon 26 66 8
Delta—Richmond East 6 67 27
Dewdney—Alouette 7 81 12
Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca 4 86 10
Fleetwood—Port Kells 6 80 15
Kamloops—Thompson 3 85 12
Kelowna 1 84 15
Kootenay—Columbia 1 91 8
Langley 7 78 15
Nanaimo—Alberni 4 88 8
Nanaimo—Cowichan 3 87 10
Newton—North Delta 3 74 23
New Westminster—
Coquitlam 		11 80 8
North Okanagan—Shuswap 3 89 8
North Vancouver 6 84 10
Okanagan—Coquihalla 3 79 18
Port Moody—Westwood—
Port Coquitlam 		18 63 19
Prince George—Peace River 1 87 12
Richmond 1 89 10
Saanich—Gulf Islands 5 85 10
Skeena—Bulkley Valley 3 82 14
Southern Interior 3 84 13
South Surrey—White Rock
—Cloverdale 		4 82 14
Surrey North 3 77 20
Vancouver Centre 10 56 34
Vancouver East 6 65 29
Vancouver Island North 3 88 10
Vancouver Kingsway 11 71 18
Vancouver Quadra 10 74 16
Vancouver South 14 75 11
Victoria 10 76 14
West Vancouver—
Sunshine Coast 		5 91 4

Yukon

Riding Clement Harper Stronach
Yukon 6 62 32

Northwest Territories

Riding Clement Harper Stronach
Western Arctic 9 53 39

Nunavut

Riding Clement Harper Stronach
Nunavut 17 28 56

See also

References

  1. ^ Rachel Décoste (October 12, 2008). "How Much Does it Cost to be a Liberal These Days?". Huffingtonpost.ca. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
  2. ^ "Conservative leadership race kicks off with $50,000 entrance fee and $5M spending cap". National Post. March 8, 2016. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
  3. ^ "Harper wins Conservative leadership". CBC News, March 22, 2004.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Who Supports Whom in Tory Race:". The Hill Times. March 15, 2004.
  5. ^ Tom Flanagan, Harper's Team. Montreal & Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2007, pg. 134
  6. ^ "Alliance members vote 95.9% in favour of merger". CBC News, December 5, 2003.
  7. ^ "MacKay slams Brison for joining Liberals". CBC News, December 10, 2003.
  8. ^ "Stronach jumps into Conservative leadership race". CBC News, January 20, 2004.
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