Article content

TORONTO — Former federal finance minister Joe Oliver has lost his bid to become a Progressive Conservative candidate in the next Ontario election — one of several former Tory MPs to be passed over by local party members.

Oliver was one of several former Conservative MPs who were defeated in 2015 and have been trying to secure provincial nominations, attempting to hitch their wagons to a party doing well in the polls, and one that is helmed by their former caucus colleague.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Former federal finance minister Joe Oliver loses bid to become Ontario PC candidate Back to video

Though some have won their races, several high-profile Conservatives have not. Oliver, the former MP for Eglinton-Lawrence, was vying to become the PC candidate for York Centre ahead of the June 2018 Ontario election, but was defeated Sunday by lawyer Roman Baber.

Though his victory may have surprised political observers, Baber suggested it didn’t come as a huge shock to himself.

“I think it was generally known that we’ve been working very hard at this and made significant outreach efforts around York Centre, so we’re happy those efforts paid off,” he said.