Branden Leslie

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]

Branden Leslie
MP
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]

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, Lesile 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] Lesile 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] Lesile'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, Lesile 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. "Aspiring CPC candidate with farm roots says he's running to make impacts in agriculture". www.ipolitics.ca. Retrieved 2023-06-28.
  5. "Branden Leslie holds on to Portage-Lisgar for federal Conservatives". Winnipeg. 2023-06-19. Retrieved 2023-06-20.
  6. "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. "Official Voting Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved 26 June 2023.


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