Erin O'Toole ousted as leader of Canada's Conservative Party

Canada's Conservative members of Parliament ousted Erin O'Toole from his role as party leader Wednesday, The Globe and Mail reported.

MPs voted 73-45 to unseat O'Toole, according to two people who were present at the meeting and who spoke under condition of anonymity.

Per The Globe and Mail, O'Toole's ouster after only 17 months at the helm sets up the Conservative Party's "third leadership race since 2015."

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Conservative MP Bob Benzen, who supported O'Toole in the 2017 and 2020 leadership contests, called for the vote to remove O'Toole on Jan. 31.

"Mr. O'Toole campaigned in the leadership contest as a principled conservative voice that would united the party," Benzen wrote in a statement. "However, since Mr. O'Toole assumed the position of leader, there have been numerous instances of flip-flops and questionable judgement on Mr. O'Toole's part."

Among these instances, Benzen listed O'Toole's support for a carbon tax and his "[f]ailure to stand up for the charter rights of Canadians during the pandemic."

Benzen also noted that the Conservatives have lost seats during O'Toole's tenure as leader.

O'Toole was initially defiant, saying, "I'm not going anywhere and I'm not going back," the National Post reported.

With O'Toole gone, The Globe and Mail reports that possible contenders to replace him "include prominent Ottawa-area MP Pierre Poilievre and Ontario MP Leslyn Lewis."

Conservative MPs will elect an interim leader before Wednesday's meeting adjourns.