Five things to know about Andrew Scheer’s victory in Conservative race

TORONTO — Longtime Saskatchewan MP Andrew Scheer returns to the House of Commons Monday as the Conservative party’s new leader and that of the Official Opposition. Here are five things to know about the election that gave him those posts:

1) Scheer started off in second place. The Tories use a preferential ballot. In the first round of counting, he had 21.82 per cent of the available points to Quebec MP Maxime Bernier’s 28.89 per cent. But as the lower performing candidates were dropped from the ballot, his support began to rise.

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2) He didn’t win until the end. On the 12th ballot, Erin O’Toole had 21.26 per cent to Scheer’s 38.36 and Bernier’s 40.38. When O’Toole dropped off, that’s what put Scheer over the top.

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3) Social conservatives are claiming a piece of the victory. Two candidates from that spectrum of the party — Pierre Lemieux and Brad Trost — mounted strong showings. By the 11th ballot, only Trost was left. He had 14 per cent of the points, Scheer sat at 30 and Bernier at 36. When Trost dropped off, Scheer’s support rose by 8 per cent, and Bernier’s by four.

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4) So are farmers. Among Bernier’s losses was his own riding of Beauce in Quebec. There, supporters of the supply management system Bernier pledged to dismantle mounted a campaign to get people to buy memberships expressly so Bernier wouldn’t win. Bernier only won 55.62 per cent in Quebec overall, to Scheer’s 44.38.

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5) The popular vote broke for Scheer too. Much has been made of the ranked ballot and points system the Tories use; every riding gets 100 points, how many points a candidate gets is based on their percentage share of the vote. But party officials said Scheer also won the popular vote by about 7,000.

Stephanie Levitz, The Canadian Press