Article content continued

She’s promising to continue discussing Canadian values, despite being harshly criticized by fellow leadership candidates for having an unworkable policy that’s poorly thought out and playing to people’s “dark fears” about immigration.

Ambrose, who earlier spoke out against Leitch’s proposed screening of immigrants for “anti-Canadian values,” now appears to be taking a bit more of a hands-off approach on leadership politics. She said debate is healthy and that Conservative members will have the final say on what is in the party’s best interests.

“Leadership politics; all parties go through this,” Ambrose said Wednesday.

“Leadership races are exciting; they’re interesting. People will come up with ideas and policies that will be debated in the party, and at the end of the day, it’s the members of the Conservative Party of Canada that will pass judgment and will decide on who they want to cast a ballot for in the leadership.”

Ambrose, several leadership contenders and the broader Conservative party have become ensnared in the debate over Leitch’s proposed values test for immigrants.

It’s already carving a schism between candidates and producing headaches for the caucus and party.

Leitch, however, continues to double-down on her values debate, saying in a new fundraising email to supporters that, “While the elites and most media harshly criticized even the mention of the discussion, you knew better.”

“A leadership campaign is the time to exactly have this debate,” Leitch said Wednesday. “I recognize others don’t want to have that conversation, and that’s fine, but I will be having that conversation with Canadians.”