Peter Mackay's director of communications has quit his leadership campaign team. Julie Vaux reportedly said that it was "inappropriate" for MacKay to be campaigning during the COVID-19 outbreak, according to Brian Platt of the National Post.

This comes after several candidates called for the Conservative Party to postpone the election due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. MacKay is yet to make a statement on the matter.

Despite this, Vaux said she still supports MacKay's bid for leadership and that quitting was her own personal choice.

Fellow leadership contender Erin O'Toole also made a statement regarding coronavirus today, saying that "it's time to delay the leadership race."

O'Toole went on to say that the Conservative Party "should ensure that all time and resources of our Conservative caucus and our grassroots members can be focused on helping our constituents and the needs of our communities in the fight against COVID-19."

As well as this, Marilyn Gladu, Rudy Husny, and Derek Sloan (three other CPC leadership contenders) have all called for the party to delay the race, putting pressure on MacKay to make a similar statement.

"I still fundamentally believe now is not the time to campaign," said Husny. "During this national health crisis, I don’t have the heart to call our members to ask them to support my nomination and to donate money."

Marilyn Gladu, on the other hand, directly criticized the CPC for not delaying the contest, saying that she was "disappointed" that they were not addressing the reality of the new pandemic.