Leslyn Lewis

Leslyn Lewis is a Canadian lawyer and political candidate living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In February 2020, she was confirmed as an official leadership contestant for the Conservative Party of Canada,[1] following the stepping down of former party leader Andrew Scheer in December 2019. She is the first visible minority woman to run for the leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada.[2]

Leslyn Lewis
Lewis in 2019
Born
Jamaica
NationalityCanadian
OccupationLawyer
Websitewww.leslynlewis.ca

Early life and education

Born in Jamaica, Lewis emigrated to Canada at the age of five and was raised in East York, Ontario. Her father is of Afro-Jamaican ancestry and her mother is of Indian ancestry. She is the youngest of six children.

Lewis graduated magna cum laude from the University of Toronto (Trinity College). She holds several degrees, including a PhD in international law from Osgoode Hall Law School.[2][3]

Career

Lewis has practiced law for 20 years and is the managing partner of Lewis Law,[2] a firm specializing in commercial litigation and international contract trade practice, which focuses on energy policy. Prior to starting her own firm she practiced litigation with larger Bay Street firms in the early 2000’s and then moved to briefly practice criminal law.

Lewis has also been an Instructor at the Osgoode Hall Law School.

Hosting her own television show called Law Matters,[4] Lewis examined legal issues and crisis in the lives of everyday people. She interviewed one guest, Pastor Ted Haggard, at the height of the scandal in which he was accused of engaging in extra-marital relations with a man. She also interviewed a number of other guests, including Ben Johnson, the former Canadian gold medalist accused of steroid abuse.

In 2018, she was appointed under Premier Doug Ford to the board of the Ontario Trillium Foundation[2] and was later named to the foundation's committee responsible for dispensing funds for youth programs.[5]

2015 federal election

Lewis began her political career in the riding of Markham-Stouffville, where she was Vice President and a primary fundraiser of the riding under Paul Calandra (Member of Parliament). In 2015, Prime Minister Stephen Harper appointed her as a replacement candidate to run the riding of Scarborough-Rouge Park only a few weeks before the vote. The riding had been plagued with a scandal, for which the previous Conservative candidate had been dismissed.[6][7] An article in the National Post referred to Lewis as a “high-quality substitute".[8][9][4] She eventually placed second to Liberal Gary Anandasangaree, but managed to obtain over 13,000 votes[10] – one of the highest vote counts among Conservatives in the GTA.

2015 Canadian federal election: Scarborough—Rouge Park
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
LiberalGary Anandasangaree29,91360.24+25.48$144,189.04
ConservativeLeslyn Lewis13,58727.36-4.23$59,291.73
New DemocraticKM Shanthikumar5,14510.36-20.63$58,736.40
GreenCalvin Winter1,0102.03-0.36$1,457.51
Total valid votes/Expense limit 49,655100.0–$204,974.26
Total rejected ballots 2350.47New
Turnout 49,89069.98New
Eligible voters 71,291
Source: Elections Canada[11][12]

Conservative Party leadership candidate

In February 2020, Lewis was the first woman to be confirmed as an official leadership contestant for the Conservative Party of Canada,[1] following the stepping down of former Leader Andrew Scheer in December 2019. She is running to be the first visible minority woman to lead any of the three major federal Canadian parties.[2]

Lewis' platform is socially conservative.[13] She opposes the Canadian government's proposed ban on conversion therapy, citing the importance of parental autonomy[14] and has stated she personally believes that marriage should be between a man and a woman, but would not roll back existing legislation allowing equal marriage in Canada. She has stated that she would like to make marijuana access more restrictive and that she thinks reactions to climate change are overblown.[15] She has publicly described herself as "pro-life, no hidden agenda" and as leader would have the Conservative Party move to ban sex-selective abortion and coerced abortion, increase government funding for crisis pregnancy centres (which counsel women against abortion), and she would end foreign aid funding for abortion.[16] Her candidacy has been endorsed by pro-life advocacy groups including the Campaign Life Coalition.[14]

She opposes carbon taxes and supports promoting green technology as an alternative policy.[14]

Recognition

In May 2019 she was awarded a Harry Jerome Award for Professional Excellence by the Black Business and Professional Association.[17][18]

References
  1. Canada, P. M. N. (February 12, 2020). "Toronto lawyer Leslyn Lewis becomes official candidate for Conservative leader | National Post".
  2. Werner, Kevin (February 1, 2020). "Toronto lawyer Leslyn Lewis could make Canadian political history in Conservative leadership race". HamiltonNews.com.
  3. "WARMINGTON: Toronto lawyer sets sights on Conservative leadership | Toronto Sun". January 23, 2020.
  4. "Conservatives name new candidate for Scarborough-Rouge River riding". Toronto.com. 2015-09-11. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
  5. "Board of Directors". Ontario Trillium Foundation. Archived from the original on January 15, 2020.
  6. "Jerry Bance, Conservative caught peeing in mug, no longer candidate, party says". CBC News. September 7, 2015. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  7. "Tories drop two candidates after videos show one peeing in cup, the other making prank calls". National Post. 2015-09-07. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
  8. Hopper, Tristin (2015-09-26). "Solving an 'electoral emergency': How parties find replacements for candidates who self-destruct". National Post. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
  9. DiMatteo, Enzo (2015-10-14). "You choose the best of the rest". NOW Magazine. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
  10. "SCARBOROUGH-ROUGE PARK: Liberal Anandasangaree elected new MP elected for new riding". Toronto.com. October 20, 2015.
  11. Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Scarborough—Rouge Park, 30 September 2015
  12. Elections Canada – Final Candidates Election Expenses Limits
  13. Platt, Brian (March 10, 2020). "Leadership candidate Leslyn Lewis on representing a side of the Conservatives you 'may not have seen before'". The Chronicle Herald. Postmedia Network. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  14. Cullen, Catherine (March 10, 2020). "Conservative leadership contender Leslyn Lewis sells herself to social conservatives, takes shots at MacKay". CBC News. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  15. Platt, Brian (10 March 2020). "Leadership candidate Leslyn Lewis on representing a side of the Conservatives you 'may not have seen before'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 28 July 2020. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  16. Turnbull, Sarah (May 22, 2020). "Three months out from Tory leadership vote, Lewis positions herself as unity candidate". CTV News. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  17. "Harry Jerome Awards, 2019 Honourees". The Black Business and Professional Association. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  18. Armstrong, Neil (February 27, 2019). "BBPA Reveals the Names of the 2019 Harry Jerome Award Recipients". Anglescovered.blogspot.com. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
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