Former Conservative MP Leona Alleslev has launched a website indicating her bid for the 2022 Conservative leadership.
The website writes that she’s a “mother, federal politician, corporate manager, entrepreneur and military officer.”
Should Alleslev officially announce her candidacy, she would be the 10th candidate in the race among confirmed candidates and fellow colleagues including MPs Pierre Poilievre, Leslyn Lewis and Scott Aitchison.
Alleslev, who was a former Liberal MP, crossed the floor in 2018 to join the Conservatives under then leader Andrew Scheer.
In an op-ed in the National Post, Alleslev explained that she left the Liberals because her belief in the party had been “eroding over time.” She also accused Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of moving further left.
“The platform that I ran on in 2015 represented a largely centrist political vision. After three years, this government has not delivered the change that Canadians expected. Instead, we have seen the Prime Minister move increasingly to the left and away from the centre,” wrote Alleslev.
“I have been disappointed at the pattern of undiplomatic behaviour exhibited by those holding the highest offices who speak for our country. This behaviour could pose a significant risk to our trade relations, economy, and jobs here at home.”
After being re-elected under the Conservatives in 2019, Alleslev was promoted to the position of deputy leader of the opposition in 2019, where she served until 2020. She was succeeded in that role by current CPC interim leader Candice Bergen.
Alleslev lost her seat by a narrow margin in the 2021 federal election to Liberal MP Leah Taylor Roy.
