The newly appointed interim leader of Ontario’s Progressive Conservatives says he won’t make a bid for permanent leadership of the party.
Fedeli says he is focusing on dealing with infighting and fixing issues within the party ahead of the upcoming provincial election.
Fedeli says he plans to “root out the rot” from the party so that its candidates can enter the campaign with confidence.

“We really need a lot of work done within the party systems and structure itself. As leader, I have to take the steps now to put the new leader and the party in a better position to win in June. There’s a lot of things that need to be fixed. And the only way to do that is for me to be in the office to fix them and that’s how we’re going to defeat Kathleen Wynne and bring relief to Ontario families. You need a steady hand at the helm who can fix these systems. They’re in tough shape.”

The party has been in turmoil since last week when its leader Patrick Brown resigned in the face of sexual misconduct allegations, which he vehemently denies.
The party’s executive announced on Friday that there would be a leadership race before the spring election, overruling the caucus’s recommendation to have Fedeli stay at the helm.
The party has also been dealing with the departure of former president Rick Dykstra.
Fedeli says Lisa MacLeod will take over from him as the party’s finance critic while Lisa Thompson will become the party’s caucus chair and Lorne Coe will become the party’s education critic.

 

(files from Canadian Press)