The seeds of O’Toole’s demise were sown in the leadership campaign that won him the job 18 months ago, in a contest where the Red Tory put himself forward as the “True Blue” candidate despite his progressive record. He assiduously courted the support of social conservative party members in the runoff balloting process, and also vowed to continue the party’s opposition to a focal point of contemporary public policy debate — the principle of a carbon tax.
Once in leadership, however, O’Toole expelled an Ontario MP known for strong social conservative views, and reversed course on carbon pricing. He also embarked unashamedly on a centrist policy course. These individual moves were by no means illegitimate, but his unilateral decision-making catalyzed an ongoing critique from caucus members that they were never consulted and were repeatedly learning of major new party developments through the media. This approach also raised authenticity and trustworthiness questions, given the abruptness of his sequence of pivots.
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