The Ontario Progressive Conservative leadership race is underway and Campaign Life Coalition has identified three potentially supportable candidates: MPPs Frank Klees, Tim Hudak and Randy Hillier. Red Tory MPP Christine Elliott, wife of pro-life federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, has also thrown her hat into the ring.

Hudak and Klees have answered past CLC candidate questionnaires indicating support for some pro-life positions. In the late 1990s, Hudak also signed his name to pro-life petitions. In his first term, Klees brought forth a private member’s bill to ensure parental consent on all medical procedures, including abortion; it did not pass. In 2005, he fought against the redefinition of “spouse” in provincial legislation and was one of only two MPPs to demand a recorded vote on the issue. Both were first elected in 1995.

In what has been an otherwise dull campaign void of actual issues, Hillier highlighted a pair of socially conservative measures in his campaign launch: conscience rights (including for marriage commissioners and health care workers) and scrapping the Ontario Human Rights Commission. Thus far, these socially conservative issues have not been a lightning rod for criticism, but the campaign is still early.

While he won’t call himself pro-life, Hillier, who was first elected in 2007, told The Interim he supports measures that would reduce abortion in Ontario. (Full coverage of the interview will appear in the June issue.) In contrast to former leader John Tory, Hillier is billing himself as, “A conservative leader for a Conservative party.”

In her 2007 CLC candidate’s questionnaire, Christine Elliott indicated she supported protecting the conscience rights of health care workers and providing abortion information to women seeking the procedure. She opposed euthanasia, but also opposed parental rights in education and didn’t answer questions about taxpayer funding of abortion and under which circumstances she thought women should have access to abortion. Elliott is widely viewed as socially “progressive” and key social conservative strategists who worked on her husband’s previous leadership campaigns are pointedly not working for her.

The leadership vote will be June 27, but memberships must be purchased online or through the leadership campaigns no later than May 14.

 The Interim will have full coverage of the candidates’ views in the June issue.