(Photo: The Canadian Press)

By Sheldon Spackman

MEET AND GREET WEDNESDAY

Conservative leadership hopeful Peter MacKay visiting Red Deer

Feb 4, 2020 | 12:51 PM

One of the contenders for the leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) is coming to Red Deer.

On Wednesday, Peter MacKay will be at Glenn’s Family Restaurant in Gasoline Alley from 11:45 a.m.–12:30 p.m. The public event is being hosted by Red Deer-Lacombe MP Blaine Calkins.

According to the party website, the former Nova Scotia MP and long-time cabinet minister is one of two approved applicants for the leadership race at this time. The other is Erin O’Toole – a former member of the Canadian Armed Forces and current MP for the Toronto-area riding of Durham.

MacKay was an MP for the Progressive Conservative party from 1997-2003 before they merged with the Canadian Alliance. He later served in several cabinet posts under Prime Minister Stephen Harper before leaving federal politics in 2015.

Current party leader Andrew Scheer announced in December that he was stepping down but would stay on until a new leader was chosen.

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The deadline for potential candidates to enter the leadership race is Feb. 27, while the deadline for approved applicants and authorized contestants to meet all requirements is Mar. 25.

Others who have shared their intentions to seek the party leadership include MPs Derek Sloan, Richard Décarie and Marilyn Gladu, Alberta businessman Rick Peterson, and entrepreneur and political advisor Aron Seal.

Conservatives will choose a new leader June 27 in Toronto.