Ryan Leef will be the Conservative Party of Canada candidate in the run for Yukon MP in the next federal elections, according to Leef and a member who attended the announcement.
By phone on March 16, Leef, a former Conservative Yukon MP from May 2011 to August 2015, confirmed that he was selected over past Yukon Party MLA Patrick Rouble in Whitehorse over the weekend.
Leef wasn’t immediately available for interview.
The announcement was made at the Sternwheeler Hotel and Conference Centre after the voting period on the evening of Saturday, March 15.
Information that went out to members and was provided to the News indicated candidate speeches were set to take place there from 12-12:30 p.m. and voting was open from 12:30-5 p.m.
The candidate forum wasn’t open to the media; it was for party members only, the News was told by someone involved in the party’s election process after arriving at the gathering. The News was asked to leave the event.
The News has requested a breakdown of the vote and voter turnout from the party’s head media office but didn’t get a response by publication.
The News reached out to ask Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre for comment on the new candidate.
Federal elections have yet to be called.
Contact Dana Hatherly at dana.hatherly@yukon-news.com
