Patrick Brown officially launched a bid to become the next leader of the federal Conservatives in an event Sunday morning in Brampton, Ont.

“Every battle that I have fought in the past pales to the one ahead of us now,” he said in his announcement speech.

Brown framed himself as a candidate who could grow the Conservatives and win a general election, as well tackle affordability, support religious freedom and unite the party.

“The question every person who votes in this leadership race needs to ask themselves: Can this candidate become prime minister, or will they keep our party in the opposition benches?” he said.

Brown, 43, has held positions at all three levels of government. He was a federal Conservative MP for Barrie from 2008 to 2015 before leaving for provincial politics and becoming leader of the Progressive Conservatives that year. He became mayor of Brampton in 2018.

Brown resigned his role as head of the Ontario Progressive Conservatives after he was accused of sexual misconduct in a story published by CTV News in 2018. He has denied the allegations and recently reached a settlement in a defamation suit launched against the network.

A statement released by the broadcaster and Brown said CTV regrets some factual inaccuracies their original story contained. The statement did not specify what those inaccuracies were and a CTV spokesperson declined to elaborate.

The original article includes a correction that updates the age of one of two women who accused Brown of sexual misconduct.

In his speech Sunday, Brown portrayed himself as a victim of “cancel culture.”

Brown joins a race that is now well underway with several high-profile additions this week, including former Quebec Premier Jean Charest and Conservative MP Leslyn Lewis. MP Pierre Poilievre entered the race in early February.

Brown is seen as a more centrist option than Poilievre and Lewis. Early in his career, Brown was an admirer of Charest when the latter was leader of the federal Progressive Conservatives, which later merged with the Canadian Alliance to form the modern Conservative Party of Canada.

Promises outreach, urban success

On Sunday, he made a pitch to voters that focused on a campaign of outreach in order to grow the party.

“The only thing that matters to be is a better future for you, and the Conservative party that I am fighting for is one that is principled and inclusive. I want people who have never voted Conservative, who have voted for other parties, to feel welcome in our party,” he said.

The current Brampton mayor is also thought to be able to draw on a strong political organizing foundation to sell memberships to the federal party.

“A leader needs to work hard, and I assure you, no one will work harder than I will,” Brown said.

His stronghold in the populous, diverse city of Brampton — part of the wider Greater Toronto Area — is also likely to be part of his pitch to a federal party that has, in the last two elections, racked up wide margins in rural areas of the country but has struggled in urban Canada.

“I know that to lead Canada, a prime minister has to speak to every Canadian. It doesn’t matter what province or territory you’re from, who you love, what your faith is, or if you live on a farm or in a city. You need a prime minister who hears your voice — and that’s me,” he said.

Brown promised to recruit competent and diverse candidates in seats currently not held by the Official Opposition, and unite the caucus. And he promised to lead a Conservative breakthrough in the GTA.

“Mark my words, with me as Conservative party leader, there will no longer be free passes for Liberal seats in suburban Canada,” he said. “In fact, with me there will be no safe Liberal seats anywhere.”

Skirts carbon tax, emphasizes religion freedom

Brown’s presence in the race will also provide an interesting policy challenge for the party membership. On the environmental file, Brown shifted the provincial PC stance prior to the 2018 election to support a carbon tax.

In his speech Sunday, Brown touched on his stance on the carbon tax, noting his recent call for the federal to cancel the scheduled increase to the federal levy. While he maintained that the Conservatives needed to be part of the solution to climate change, he said that must be balanced with affordability concerns.

But he did not take a firm stance on whether a Conservative party with him at its head would support a carbon tax.

“As leader I will oversee a Conservative party membership-wide consultation on the environment. I’ve learned from experience that our members need to decide the position of our party, and I’m confident that together we can come up with a winning position,” he said.

Brown’s speech on Sunday, which he delivered largely in English with some French, also focused strongly on the idea of supporting religious freedoms and opposing the controversial Bill 21 in Quebec.

“No one should ever lose their job based on their faith,” Brown said. As mayor of Brampton, he spearheaded an effort by municipalities to donate money to legal challenges to the law.

He also promised to rebuild bridges he said had been burned by the Conservative’s embrace of two controversial policies during the Conservative government led by former prime minister Stephen Harper: the “barbaric cultural practices” hotline and the ban on wearing the niqab during citizenship ceremonies.

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