A tumultuous two months, followed by a divided vote and a controversial result.

But now — at least on the surface — a united front.

“There were the accusations, one thing after another, new Patrick Brown stories, voting problems, a court injunction, an election date that wasn’t executed properly — everything that could go wrong in the last 45 days, did,” says one insider listing all the turmoil in Ontario’s Progressive Conservative party that began in late January.

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Following a leadership race that ended hours late last weekend after the narrow vote was contested by runner-up Christine Elliott, “it was chaos.” But since then, new leader Doug Ford has been “doing all the things he should be doing,” said the insider. “He’s reaching out, he’s speaking to candidates, to the caucus.”

And after all the trauma the party has been through, putting aside hard feelings and coming together is the only option, said another.

“We’ve lost three elections,” he said. “We’re sick of losing elections — so people are going to work their asses off for Doug Ford.”

Sources, however, told the Star there is new debate behind the scenes among the Tory executive about destroying the tens of thousands of ballots used to elect Ford.

“We are currently paying daily fees to store the 64,000 ballots,” PC President Jag Badwal told executive members Thursday afternoon before moving a motion to destroy the boxes — but it has been opposed by several members of the executive committee.

“In business we are required to keep accounting docs for up to seven years. I vote against the destruction of the records,” wrote another member.

Because Ford’s victory over Elliott was so close — and remains in dispute in some quarters — it is felt the ballots should be preserved.

The Ontario PCs have just emerged from unprecedented times, that began Jan. 24 when then-leader Brown was accused of sexual misconduct involving two young women. The party arranged a quick leadership campaign as the general election loomed, just months away.

Now, Ford has to reach out to the party members who did not support him, sources say, “and that will be a very big challenge” given Elliott took the popular vote. The key, said one, is showing Elliott’s supporters that “she is playing a very active role.”

Indeed, on Friday, Ford announced he is hosting a “PC Unity Rally” on Monday — the same day as the Liberals’ throne speech — and that he is “thrilled to announce that Christine Elliott will be in attendance and will introduce him.”

Current MPPs credit Ford with motivating party members, and Ford himself said he is bringing in Liberal, NDP and even disenfranchised PC supporters. He said he has the full support of the caucus, and has already spoken to most of them.

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“We’ve all known each other, we’ve all been at events,” Ford told the Star during a sit-down interview Wednesday. “We know there is a common purpose here.”

MPP Michael Harris (Kitchener-Conestoga) said Ford has not only rallied the base, but given the party inroads in Toronto, where it needs votes.

“We can’t win if we can’t get Toronto seats,” he said. “And we are going to win those seats because of Doug Ford.”

MPP Randy Hillier agreed that Ford resonates in Toronto, “and his last mayoralty race shows he has a strong following there, not only personally but his message as well. I think it bodes well for us — exceptionally well.”

Beyond Toronto’s borders, Ford’s plain-talking style has gotten voters’ attention, and Hillier said in his own Lanark-Frontenac-Lennox and Addington riding north of Kingston, he’s “getting a significant amount of correspondence and much of it — not all of it — but much of it is people being very ecstatic with Doug as leader.”

MPP Bill Walker (Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound) said the leadership contest left the party “invigorated.” Everyone is working together, he said. “The concern has to be Kathleen Wynne.”

While Ford’s election may have energized the PCs — it has also done the same for the governing Liberals, says Nelson Wiseman, a political science professor at the University of Toronto.

“If there was an election today, (the Liberals) would still get blown out of the water, but now they’ve got someone to pick on,” Wiseman said. “How were they going to attack Christine Elliott? How were they going to attack Caroline Mulroney? Doug Ford gives them something.”

Wiseman is not sure that, based on Ford’s controversial time in municipal politics, that he will be able to pull off the teamwork required at the provincial level — but also said he’s not sure how fractured the party is.

“Nobody’s going to be talking about this divide in the party” now, he said. “There may be differences below the surface, but not on the surface.”

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