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In politics, goes the old saw, you dance with the one that brung ya. Patrick Brown, the Ontario Progressive Conservative party’s ambitious, energetic and slippery-as-an-eel new leader, will succeed precisely to the extent he can step all over this maxim without alienating the legions of his supporters, more than 40,000 strong, who as of Saturday constitute his party’s new base. It won’t be easy.

Will Brown lead his party, thumped in 2007, 2011 and 2014 because of catastrophic mistakes by its leaders, back out to the fringe

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In the immediate wake of the Barrie Conservative MP’s stunning upset victory over Christine Elliott, who was regarded as the candidate of the centre, one question emerges: Will Brown lead his party, thumped in 2007, 2011 and 2014 because of catastrophic mistakes by its leaders, back out to the fringe, ensuring it a fourth straight loss in 2018? Is Premier Kathleen Wynne to be President for Life?

The new Ontario Tory leader, a federal Conservative backbencher who caused nary a ripple until six months ago, voted to revisit same-sex marriage nearly a decade ago. And, he bears the stamp of approval of the anti-abortion Campaign Life Coalition. Though Brown said in a recent interview with CBC Radio that he now accepts same-sex marriage, he also has declined to say whether he will attend Toronto’s Pride parade. Given such attendance is now routine for Ontario politicians, such a position is telling. It clearly is intended to court Ford Nation conservatives — or at least, not put them off.