Branden Leslie
MP
Leslie in 2023
Member of Parliament
for Portage—Lisgar
Assumed office
June 19, 2023
Preceded byCandice Bergen
Personal details
Born1989 or 1990 (age 33–34)[1]
Political partyConservative
Alma materCarleton University
Brandon University[2]
ProfessionManager

Branden Leslie MP is a Canadian politician who was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in a by-election on 19 June 2023. He represents Portage—Lisgar as a member of the Conservative Party of Canada.[3] Previously, he was a former Conservative political staffer and a policy and government relations manager with Grain Growers Canada.[4]

Career

Leslie previously served as former MP Candice Bergen's campaign manager,[5] was a former political staffer for the Conservatives and was a policy and government relations manager with Grain Growers Canada.[4]

On January 25, 2023, Leslie announced that he was running for the Conservatives nomination in Portage-Lisgar to succeed Bergen, the party’s former interim leader.[4] On April 28, Leslie was selected by members to become the party candidate defeating prominent candidates such as former Morden-Winkler MLA and former Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba cabinet minister Cameron Friesen and Lawrence Toet, the former MP for Elmwood—Transcona.[6] During the race, Leslie criticized Friesen for his role as Manitoba's health minister during the COVID-19 pandemic, arguing that Friesen slowed down the spread of the virus by implementing lockdowns.[6]

During the by-election, Leslie was challenged and defeated the far-right leader Maxime Bernier of the People’s Party of Canada.[5] Both he and Bernier were competing for the same voter base.[7] Leslie revealed that he is pro-life[8] and was captured on video saying that he would have voted against the ban on conversion therapy and supportive of the Freedom Convoy.[9] Leslie also revealed that he would not attend the World Economic Forum in Davos and criticized Bernier for attending the event as Stephen Harper's foreign affairs minister.[10] Leslie's campaign, in addition, circulated a flyer of Bernier wearing a Pride T-shirt implying that Bernier was pro-LGBTQ rights.[11][12] After being elected, Leslie was asked about the video and if he would keep those stances in parliament, Leslie said would "vote with the will of his constituents."[13]

Electoral result

Canadian federal by-election, June 19, 2023: Portage—Lisgar
Resignation of Candice Bergen
Party Candidate Votes%±%
ConservativeBranden Leslie20,25064.95+12.43
People'sMax Bernier5,35217.16−4.42
LiberalKerry Smith2,6668.55−2.40
New DemocraticLisa Tessier-Burch2,2087.08−6.30
GreenNicolas Geddert7042.26–
Total valid votes 31,18099.40
Total rejected ballots 1880.60−0.15
Turnout 31,36845.47−20.77
Eligible voters 68,988
Conservative hold Swing +8.42
Source: Elections Canada[14]

References

  1. ↑ Da Silva, Danielle (June 20, 2023). "Status quo at Manitoba polls". Winnipeg Free Press. Archived from the original on July 3, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Branden Leslie Profile". Linkedin. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  3. ↑ "Results coming in for federal byelections in Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec". CBC News. June 19, 2023. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 "Aspiring CPC candidate with farm roots says he's running to make impacts in agriculture". www.ipolitics.ca. Retrieved 2023-06-28.
  5. 1 2 "Branden Leslie holds on to Portage-Lisgar for federal Conservatives". Winnipeg. 2023-06-19. Retrieved 2023-06-20.
  6. 1 2 "Branden Leslie wins Conservative nomination for Portage-Lisgar". Winnipeg. 2023-05-01. Retrieved 2023-06-28.
  7. ↑ "Did Pierre Poilievre Pass His First Test? | The Walrus". 2023-06-20. Retrieved 2023-06-28.
  8. ↑ "Poilievre rallies Conservative support ahead of key vote for PPC's Bernier | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Retrieved 2023-06-28.
  9. ↑ "StackPath". xtramagazine.com. Retrieved 2023-06-28.
  10. ↑ Wherry, Aaron (June 17, 2023). ""Suddenly, the World Economic Forum is a ballot box issue in a Manitoba byelection"". CBC.
  11. ↑ Ivision, John (June 19, 2023). "John Ivison: Poilievre looks poised on the surface. Underneath, he's paddling like hell". National Post.
  12. ↑ "Pierre Poilievre has a likability challenge. Here's what Conservative insiders say he should do about it — and where he's going wrong". thestar.com. 2023-06-29. Retrieved 2023-06-29.
  13. ↑ "Branden Leslie reacts to landslide win of Portage-Lisgar seat in House of Commons". PortageOnline. Retrieved 2023-06-28.
  14. ↑ "June 19, 2023, by-elections—Official Voting Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved 13 November 2023.


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