Leslyn Lewis' remarkable rise from virtual unknown to conservative prominence in one leadership race

EDMONTON — As Erin O’Toole ponders the future of the Conservative Party of Canada under his new leadership, he’ would be wise to give some serious thought to a role for Leslyn Lewis, the socially conservative lawyer from Toronto, who rose from obscurity to prominence in conservative circles, seemingly overnight.

Lewis, a commercial lawyer with a PhD, entered the leadership race as a virtually unknown political rookie. She had run once before, in 2015, and dabbled in provincial politics in Ontario. But she came out of Sunday night’s leadership voting results as a strong contender in the federal Conservative party, a woman of colour who can lend the party some diversity that it lacked. And Lewis, and her policies, resonated  — especially in Western Canada.

On the second round, she led in all four western provinces — Alberta, B.C., Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and was second in Ontario, Nova Scotia, and PEI. In the final count, she placed second — behind O’Toole — in Alberta and second — this time behind Peter MacKay — in the territories and the Maritimes. She was first in Saskatchewan. She didn’t speak French and so was a non-starter in Quebec.

On Monday, after the votes had been counted, Lewis received accolades from some prominent conservatives.

“Diversity of voices is important in politics,” said Michelle Rempel Garner, a Calgary Conservative member of Parliament. “She has a very impressive CV and I think it’s exciting we’re attracting candidates of her calibre to the party.”

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, who backed O’Toole, tweeted early Monday morning a photo of himself with Lewis, congratulating her on her “remarkable showing” in the race.

“Leslyn has broken through many barriers to become a significant voice in Canadian political life,” Kenney wrote.

Lewis — and for that matter, Derek Sloan, another rookie candidate — both performed well in the West. Both candidates also represented the social-conservative vote.

“I don’t think anyone would disagree that the Conservatives have that stodgy old white guy problem,” says Ben Woodfinden, a McGill University doctoral student who has written about the role of social conservatism within the Conservative party. “(Lewis’) young, she’s a woman, she’s an immigrant, she’s fairly religious, she’s a model of the kind of person they need to attract.”

Even minutes after the votes came in, Conservatives past and present were pointing to the fact that Lewis, a Black woman  who immigrated to Canada from Jamaica when she was five, could nearly rise to the leadership of the party.

“There’s a lot of optimism about me, because I represent the part of the party that they may not have seen before,” Lewis told the National Post in March. “I think that the Conservative party has to do better in reaching diverse communities … people see the party as too white and too male, and they don’t see diverse representation.”

Alberta and Saskatchewan can be reliably counted upon to vote Tory: Albertans elected Conservatives in every single riding but one in the 2019 federal election. In Saskatchewan, voters sent 14 Conservatives — every single seat — to Parliament, turfing longtime Liberal stalwart Ralph Goodale.

Rempel Garner says her read on why Lewis did so well in the West had to do with some of the earliest support she managed to find among established Conservatives.

“The caucus members that she picked up the support of were really good organizers and had a particularly motivated base within their own supporter constituency — motivated social conservative voters,” Rempel Garner told the Post Monday afternoon. “She had a message that resonated with those groups and they were able to sell memberships for her.”

But it wasn’t just the west, and it wasn’t just social-conservatives where Lewis made her mark. She had managed to quietly build a base of supporters that put her in a respectable third place showing behind O’Toole and Peter MacKay in a major political party leadership campaign.

As yet, it’s unclear what role, if any, that Lewis might have in the Conservative party. Lewis’ campaign told the Post on Monday she was travelling with family, and declined an interview request.