Late Tuesday night, Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown was disqualified from running to be the next leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, a spot vacated by Erin O'Toole after he resigned in February.

An email to party members from Ian Brodie, the chair of the Conservative's Leadership Election Organizing Committee (LEOC), announced the barring of Brown as a leadership contender but did not offer tangible reasons for the move.

"In recent weeks, our Party became aware of serious allegations of wrongdoing by the Patrick Brown campaign that appear to violate the financial provisions of the Canada Elections Act. Following our Rules and Procedures for the 2022 Leadership, the Chief Returning Officer notified the Patrick Brown campaign of the allegations and asked for a written response. He also withheld the interim membership list from the Patrick Brown campaign.

The information provided to date by the Patrick Brown campaign did not satisfy concerns about their compliance with our Rules and Procedures and/or the Canada Elections Act. The Chief Returning Officer has therefore recommended to LEOC that LEOC disqualify Patrick Brown and earlier tonight LEOC agreed to do so. The Party will be sharing the information it has gathered with Elections Canada, who is responsible for ensuring compliance with, and enforcement of, the Canada Elections Act."

In a statement provided to Rebel News Legislature Bureau Chief, Kerry Diotte, the Charest campaign called for clarity around the disqualification. Michelle Coates Mather, Director of Communications for the Jean Charest team wrote:

"The news from both sides of this issue are deeply troubling. We need to get to the bottom of the allegations from both sides as soon as possible. LEOC must ensure integrity of the process. Party members deserve the truth. We need to understand what the allegations are, how Patrick Brown’s campaign responded and why LEOC took such drastic action. Transparency is paramount."

Jean Charest, a former Liberal premier of Quebec, is considered one of the leadership frontrunners, along with MP Pierre Poilievre.

‘Polls suggest that PROGRESSIVE VOTERS would prefer you or Patrick Brown over Pierre Poilievre yet Pierre Poilievre is the top choice among CONSERVATIVES.’

“How do you think party members should read those numbers?”#KlondikePapers #PierrePoilievreIsLyingToYou #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/o3W4Sc2Hx2

— ThunderBayEd (@ThunderBayEd) June 16, 2022

For more Rebel News coverage of the Conservative Party leadership race, head to www.leadershipreports.ca.