Saying her party doesn’t have time for a “leader-in-training,” Elliott is presenting herself as the ready-made legislator who can get the Tories ready for a general election in less than four months.
An MPP for Whitby-Ajax/Whitby-Oshawa from 2006 to 2015, this is Elliott’s third bid to lead the party. She ran in 2009 and came third behind Frank Klees and eventual winner Tim Hudak. In 2014, she ran again and held on as a wide field narrowed to just her and Patrick Brown. She lost to Brown, securing only 38 per cent of the vote.
In the PC caucus, Elliott served as health critic and deputy party leader. After losing the party’s leadership race to Brown, she stepped down from politics and soon afterwards was named the province’s first Patient Ombudsman in 2015. Before entering politics she worked as a real estate and corporate lawyer.
Elliott says she also opposes carbon pricing. She has also secured more endorsements from other PC MPPs than any other candidate.
On sexual education in schools, Elliott has said that parents must have a role in deciding on the “age appropriateness” of elements of the new sexual education curriculum.
Her role as patient ombudsperson for the province has drawn significant criticism from her perceived main rival and longtime friend, Doug Ford.
At a debate in Ottawa, Ford criticized Elliott for taking the job, suggesting the non-partisan bureaucratic role actually meant she tacitly supported the Liberal government.
Elliott responded that she was picked for the job by an independent panel and had nothing to apologize for.
Her campaign message has been one of experience. As a former deputy party leader and the only remaining candidate in the race to have actually served as an MPP, she continuously returns to that theme in her speeches around the province.
While Ford and Granic Allen pivot to social issues to drum up support, she has stayed more in the moderate middle, but recently said she would allow free votes on social issues such as abortion or LGBTQ issues if elected leader of the party.
