Lost in the shuffle of the Coronavirus, record deficits and ethics investigations, has been the race for a new leader for the Conservative Party of Canada.

Foothills MP, John Barlow, admits it hasn't been front page news lately, but the vote is coming up soon.

"Ballots will be out this week and we'll have a new leader picked on August 21st and it can't be soon enough. Obviously we have to hold this government to account. It's tough when you have an interim leader to get that attention."

Barlow says he's thrown his support behind veteran MP and former Progressive Conservative party leader, Peter MacKay.

He says MacKay is the strongest choice to take on Justin Trudeau and the Liberals.

"With Peter's brand and people know who he is. I like the vision and the positive campaign that he's run. I helped craft his agriculture policy. So, for him to reach out and ask me to do that meant a lot to myself and my team here."

Ballots for the mail-in only vote are going out to party members now, and must be back in the hands of party officials by Friday, August 21 at the latest.

Other candidates are MP's Erin O'Toole and Derek Sloan, along with Toronto Lawyer Leslyn Lewis.

There's no date set for an announcement of the winner as the party says they need to collect and properly count all the ballots, as they chose not to have a convention to stop large gatherings of people during the COVID-19 crisis.

 

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