Tony Wakeham wins PC leadership, setting stage for next election | CBC News
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Featured VideoTony Wakeham after his win of the leadership contest for the Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador.
On a rainy and grey Saturday evening in St. John’s, Tony Wakeham was pronounced the Progressive Conservative party’s new leader to resounding cheers.
Conservatives from all corners of the province gathered for the PC leadership convention, which took place at the Sheraton Hotel.
No candidate got the 50 per cent of points needed to win on the first round, which lead to a second ballot where Lloyd Parrott was dropped from the race, and Wakeham beat out fellow PC candidate Eugene Manning.
Wakeham, the Stephenville – Port au Port MHA, will now lead the PC party, taking over from interim leader David Brazil.
In his victory speech, Wakeham said they entered the convention as three separate teams but going forward they are united, “with a sole purpose of making the lives better for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.”
“And that’s why we’re going to start first thing on Monday when we’re back in the House of Assembly,” said Wakeham.
When the provincial legislature resumes sitting, Wakeham will be in his new role. He says the issues his party will focus on will be familiar ones.
“We really have to focus our attention on the same issues. We really have to bring forward the issues that are a concern to people,” he said, minutes after the election results were declared.
“Healthcare is still a major challenge. We’ve got the cost of living a major challenge. We’ve got affordability of housing, a major challenge.”
Wakeham says he would like to see the House of Assembly sit for longer next time. He added that there needs to be a change in how the House of Assembly does business.
This was Wakeham’s second bid to become party leader, losing to Ches Crosbie in 2018.
Message of unity
Voting for the new leader started on Oct. 4 — taking place online and by phone — and ended on Saturday at 5 p.m. NT. Shortly after, the results were announced.
More than 10,000 people signed up to support the PC party and were able to vote in this leadership race. Even before the convention kicked off, most registered voters had already cast their ballots. Ultimately, 92 per cent of eligible voters participated.
Manning and Parrott voiced no hard feelings over the results and threw their support behind Wakeham going forward.
Parrott also said he was excited about Manning’s political future and that he was confident in Wakeham’s leadership.
Manning said Wakeham and his team ran a good campaign and that he was confident the PC Party would form the next provincial government.
“We are here cheering on Tony Wakeham every step of the way. Can’t wait till he’s next premier,” said Manning.
Wakeham also voiced support for Manning’s political future and said that he’d love to see Manning as a candidate in the next provincial election.
Manning was asked if he would consider running if Brazil vacated his seat, but did not answer. He said they would be having a conversation soon about his political future.
When asked about the result of the leadership race, Manning said people are free to vote as they see fit.
“People think that the best leader of this party at this time is Tony Wakeham and I fully respect that, and I’m fully on board that Tony Wakeham will be the next premier of Newfoundland and Labrador.”
Brazil’s political future
Conception Bay East–Bell Island MHA David Brazil has been interim leader for two years, taking over after Ches Crosbie stepped down after being unseated in Windsor Lake by Liberal candidate John Hogan during the last provincial election.
“This was good for the party. It was exciting to go to a second ballot. To me, the party’s in a good place. We saw unity on the stage. You’re going to see it among the teams,” Brazil said.
He said the PC party is ready to “take government back” and he’s looking forward to Monday’s House of Assembly session.
On the question of his political future, Brazil wouldn’t say if he intended to run in the next election, but that he’d sit through the fall session and do his part. He also said he would speak with Wakeham on what role he could potentially play.
Brazil also spoke of his health struggles and that he’s in his sixties, adding “everyone has a shelf life.”
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