Tories' Leona Alleslev steps aside, endorses Peter MacKay

Photo: The Canadian Press

Toronto-area MP Leona Alleslev, the former deputy leader of the Conservative party, is endorsing Peter MacKay for the party's top job.

Alleslev resigned as deputy leader on Sunday, saying she wanted to engage more fully in the leadership race, now in its final weeks.

While in her letter she did not say who she intended to support, she made that clear in a social media post Monday morning.

Alleslev was elected as a Liberal in 2015, crossed the floor to the Tories in 2018 and was appointed deputy leader of the Conservative party after the 2019 election.

In recent months, she has steered an internal caucus effort to draft conservative-minded policies that would help the country recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Voting is underway to select Scheer's replacement and a winner is expected to be announced in late August.

"Canada faces an uncertain future. Canada needs a leader who has the experience and a plan to tackle the priorities of our time," Alleslev says online today.

"That is why Peter MacKay has my support."