The civil war in Ontario’s Progressive Conservative party has taken a dramatic turn as Tory MPP Randy Hillier called for an investigation of ousted leader — and new leadership candidate — Patrick Brown.

Hillier filed a complaint with Ontario’s Integrity Commissioner Tuesday, citing “deeply troubling” questions about Brown’s personal finances as detailed in the annual public filing all MPPs must make.

They include how Brown, who is 39 and single, could afford a $1.72 million mortgage on a $2.3 million Lake Simcoe waterfront home as first reported by the Star on Feb. 8.

“There are disconcerting patterns related to the member’s personal finances,” Hillier said in the complaint accusing Brown of violating the Members’ Integrity Act by not fully reporting all sources of income and gifts of “lavish” international travel with an intern believed to be his girlfriend.

Brown was earning $180,866 annually as PC leader but now gets the base MPP salary of $116,500, both of which are “incongruent” with the $7,590.65 monthly mortgage payments on the five-bedroom Shanty Bay house, said Hillier, who is supporting former MPP Christine Elliott in the March 10 race to lead the Conservatives in the June 7 provincial election.

“Patrick Brown has been engaged in dirty and crooked politics for too long in this province and people have now found some substantial, significant evidence,” Hillier alleged outside the legislative chamber, where he is not protected by parliamentary privilege.

“I’ve known Patrick Brown to lie just about every time he opens his mouth. We’re bringing it to the proper agencies to have it fully investigated and that due process is completed.”

Hillier cited a Tuesday Globe and Mail story stating Brown was in negotiations two years ago to sell a stake in Hooligans, a Barrie restaurant and sports bar of which he owns 9.9 per cent, and Aeroplan miles for $375,000 to a man later acclaimed as the PC candidate in Brampton North.

A month later in the summer of 2016, Brown deposited $375,000 to his bank prior to the house purchase, according to the Globe.

“Mr. Brown has to answer the question: was he selling nominations?” Hillier said.

Brown, who quit as leader Jan. 25 over allegations in a CTV News report of sexual misconduct he denies, said the Hooligans deal was never consummated.

He warned in a Facebook post Tuesday he’s being targeted by “a select group of individuals who feel entitled to destroy what we’ve built together these past three years.”

Brown told the Globe he could afford the house because “like many people in Ontario, I received help from my family purchasing my home.” But when asked the same question by the Star two weeks ago, Brown offered a different explanation through a staff member in his Simcoe North constituency office.

“Patrick does rent his residence…but income from the rental of the property never exceeds expenses,” said an aide. “It is no longer on Airbnb. It is now only rented to friends.”

Hillier noted there are no listings of Airbnb or rental income on Brown’s annual MPP’s financial disclosure to the integrity commissioner’s office.

On Facebook, Brown further told supporters “over the next weeks, you may hear or see stories questioning my integrity, character and my leadership of our party,” added the Simcoe North MPP, who filed his PC leadership nomination papers Friday hours after being banished from the Tory caucus by interim leader Vic Fedeli.

“What you and every member should know is that no leader in any political party is involved in the collection of membership fees,” he said of Hillier’s additional allegations that $700,000 from sales of party memberships is “missing.”

Interim Ontario Progressive Conservative leader Vic Fedeli says he informed party executives of his lack of confidence in Patrick Brown hours before the ousted PC leader launched a bid to reclaim his job. (The Canadian Press)

“These accusations are noise and nonsense intended to distract us from the goal of moving forward together,” stated Brown, who did not come to Queen’s Park on Tuesday. “This small group of insiders will stop at nothing in their attempts to derail us.”

In a fundraising appeal sent Tuesday afternoon, Brown said “elites and insiders … stole my personal bank information and leaked it to the media.”

First elected leader in May 2015, he has denied any allegations of wrongdoing and has threatened to sue CTV over its Jan. 24 story that triggered his resignation.

Hillier said questions about how the party was being run, including dubious nominations that have been overturned — with one under a police fraud investigation in Hamilton — have been increasingly asked of Brown and his senior staff in recent months.

“I believe that he is unsuited to be a member of the PC caucus,” Hillier said. “He is not fit to be a leader of the PC party. He is not fit to be the premier of this province. And I believe he is not fit to serve in this Legislature.”

The drama overshadowed the first question period in the Legislature since December as Fedeli took Premier Kathleen Wynne to task about job losses in the province last month.

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Fedeli removed Brown from the PC caucus Friday morning, forcing him to sit as an Independent MPP and signalling that Brown should not be allowed to run as a PC candidate in the June 7 election.

“I wrote to the party president and indicated that Mr. Brown did not have my confidence to be the party candidate in Barrie,” the interim chief told a news conference, declining to discuss the reasons for that move.

“Now that he’s a (leadership) candidate, it’s very difficult to speak about him and not the other candidates. That was done before he filed nomination papers for the leadership.”

Besides Brown and Elliott, also seeking the leader’s job are Doug Ford, Caroline Mulroney and Tanya Granic Allen.

Whether Brown’s leadership bid will be allowed to continue remains unclear.

The PC party’s provincial nomination committee (PNC) will meet to discuss the issue but does not have the last word. Once the PNC makes its decision on eligibility, the party’s leadership election organizing committee (LEOC) will have a say. If Brown is not satisfied he could appeal to the Tory executive.

Ten members of the executive and the PC Ontario Fund wrote a joint letter to party president Jag Badwal on Monday urging that the former leader be allowed to run again.

The turmoil gave rivals plenty of political fodder Tuesday.

NDP Leader Andrea Howarth called the struggling PCs “a party going backwards” with Fedeli himself acknowledging the party “is full of rot” as the leadership race unfolds.

“Whether it’s a Ford, a Mulroney or the same old Brown, their platform calls for $6 billion in cuts … They’re in no shape to govern themselves, let alone this province,” Horwath said.

“It’s time for something completely different,” she said, touting her New Democrats as an alternative to the Tories and Liberals, who have been in power for almost 15 years.

But Horwath said she has not yet decided the fate of her chief of staff and campaign director, Michael Balagus, who was forced to take a temporary leave of absence over allegations he did not act on sexual harassment allegations against a cabinet minister while he was chief of staff for two NDP premiers in Manitoba.

The Tories’ troubles are a reminder that “elections matter,” said Liberal MPP Deb Matthews, co-chair of the Liberal re-election campaign, which is highlighting Wynne’s promise to raise the minimum wage to $15 next year.

“We have an agenda that really does resonate with the people of the province. We’re focused on who we’re fighting for,” Matthews said, dismissing polls that show the Liberals trailing the Tories.

“We’ll worry about the poll on Election Day,” she said.

The Liberals have faced controversy about Toronto-area candidate Deanna Sgro, who was disciplined by the law society for professional misconduct after more than 150 complaints of “harassing and threatening” behaviour by her staff in their work for collection agencies.

Randy Hillier's complaint to the Integrity Commissioner View document on Scribd

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