Rene Paige said that Ms. Grewal was “primarily a Progressive Conservative candidate.” The PC party’s nomination for the riding was also held in Sarnia.
The constituency was one of several around Ontario that were handed to the Conservatives after Kathleen Wynne and the Liberals were voted out of office in June of 2017.
“We have followed a plan and followed the rules that have been put in place by the Elections Ontario board of elections,” Paige said.
That board came under fire in late November after it awarded the nominations to Progressive Conservative candidates that were nominated a day earlier than the deadline.
Three electors who did not participate in the nomination contest because of the different deadlines say Elections Ontario’s board of elections incorrectly gave preferential treatment to two Progressive Conservative candidates in Toronto’s Trinity-Spadina riding. The three complained to the Ombudsman’s office, which has said that its investigators found no evidence of wrongdoing.
The independent review could be delayed if the investigation is contested by the complainants, but it appears only that a lawyer hired by the Ombudsman will actually have to make that determination. He is not able to unilaterally overturn a decision by the board of elections, which is composed of three members from two parties. That decision will either be upheld or overturned in writing by a chief electoral officer of Elections Ontario.
