Whitby-Oshawa MPP Christine Elliott has announced her candidacy for the leadership of the Ontario Tories with a promise to “rebuild the party from the ground up.”

Elliott, who served as the deputy leader of the PC party under Tim Hudak, made the announcement on Wednesday morning, becoming the first declared candidate in the race.

Other rumoured contenders include Tory labour critic Monte McNaughton, Tory energy critic Lisa MacLeod, Tory finance critic Vic Fedeli and party president Richard Ciano.

“We simply need to take our party in a new way and while it is simple it is not going to be easy,” Elliott said. “It is going to take experienced leadership and I know that I am ready to provide that.”

The Tories were battered at the polls in the recent provincial election, losing a total of nine seats despite ambitions of toppling the Liberals and forming the government.

Speaking with reporters on the campus of the University of Toronto, Elliott admitted that PCs may have “underestimated” the importance of listening to their supporters during the run-up to the recent election and promised not to make the same mistake if elected leader.

“It is not going to be an easy job over the next four years. It is going to be a lot of slogging and hard work and going to church basements, legion halls and wherever we can speak with people and that’s what I am prepared to do,” she said.

Though little is known about Elliott’s platform at this point, the widow of the late federal finance minister Jim Flaherty did tell reporters that “fiscal responsibility and social compassion can and in fact must go hand in hand” for the PC party going forward.

Elliott also said the size and scope of government must be examined, but stopped short of supporting Hudak’s controversial plan to cut 100,000 jobs from the civil service.

“We need to take a line by line analysis. We can’t just take away jobs just for the sake of it,” she said.

Elliott also sought leadership of the PC party in 2009, finishing third to Hudak.

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