Contenders for federal Conservative leadership engage in first official debate

SASKATOON — Candidates vying to replace Stephen Harper as leader of the federal Conservatives are about to face off in the first of five official leadership debates organized by the party.

A dozen people have registered for the race and are expected to participate in the debate in Saskatoon tonight.

The list includes Conservative MPs Lisa Raitt, Maxime Bernier, Steven Blaney, Michael Chong, Kellie Leitch, Deepak Obhrai, Erin O’Toole, Andrew Scheer and Brad Trost.

Others who have officially joined are former immigration minister Chris Alexander, former MP Andrew Saxton and Dr. Daniel Lindsay.