Peter MacKay

Heidi Matthews: When it comes to the blockades and protests, Conservative leaders are invoking the idea of the ’outside agitator’ to delegitimize and break the bonds of activist solidarity

Philippe J. Fournier: Who is leading the party won’t matter as much as who can get the vote out in the next general election

Andrew MacDougall: It wouldn’t be easy, but Baird’s entrance would give a stale Conservative leadership race the shakeup it so badly needs

William Pristanski has been a key MacKay backer and strategist. He was also one of the lobbyists seeking to help SNC-Lavalin avoid a criminal trial.

Tabatha Southey: Never attribute to malice what can be attributed to incompetence, and never attribute to incompetence what can attributed to an evil, sentient Twitter account

Stephen Maher: MacKay had lots of time to learn passable French. That he didn’t do the work should raise some questions about his candidacy.

Stephen Maher: The path is clearing for Peter MacKay. The one big thing standing in his way is the great hope of Western Conservatives.

Philippe J. Fournier: The latest data presents a challenge for the party—does it want a leader with socially conservative views or does it want to win?

Paul Wells: The Conservatives are fast heading toward a big question about what kind of party they want to be—and there’s no easy answer

Who will lead the Conservative Party now: The ’brilliant’ Rona Ambrose? The critic Peter MacKay? Jason Kenney!? The race is on.