Conservative Party of Canada candidate Jean Charest accuses rival Pierre Poalever of exaggerating his membership, calling the claim “pierinflation.”
The former Quebec prime minister says Poilievre’s campaign claim that 311,958 Canadians have signed up to support his team so far is “an all-around”.
“With the pace at which it is evolving, we call it ‘Pierinflation’ in terms of enrollment. I think he has recruited members in Maine and New Hampshire, if you have to follow his logic … He continues to inflate numbers, no one believes in numbers, “he told CTV’s Question Period.
Charest would not say exactly how many memberships his base has gained, arguing that the number is irrelevant, as the competition ultimately boils down to a points system.
“You can have 10,000 members in one ride, it’s worth 100 points … If you have 100 members in another ride, it’s worth 100 points. That’s 100 points to drive, “he said.
“We based our campaign on a broad base of support across the country in all rides, because that’s the way the race was designed so that whoever wins has the widest base of support across the country.”
Patrick Brown is the only other contender to have published the number of his members so far in the race, noting 150,000.
Last week, Conservative Party Executive Director Wayne Benson said candidates were told to expect “well over” 600,000 members to vote to decide which one should take the party’s top post.
During the 2020 leadership race, the party counted 269,469 eligible voters.
Due to the record number of potential voters, the party said it was lagging “a few weeks behind in processing” the list of members to be able to send candidates before a new leader is elected on September 10th.
However, National Council President Robert Butterson confirmed in a separate interview for the CTV period in question that the timeframe is still applicable.
“We are more than prepared to carry out our internal audit, to carry out processing, making sure that there is a preliminary list of leadership campaigns to check and provoke, and then have this final list,” “On which we will be based, bulletins will be published,” he said.
Charest said he and other campaigns had called for an urgent interim list.
“If we don’t have access to the list of members so we can campaign, reach out and convince them, then what’s the point?” He said.
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