Kevin O'Leary faced backlash from fellow federal Conservative leadership hopefuls last week after he claimed that "backroom organizers may be vote-rigging" the Conservative leadership election.
O'Leary's claims of vote-rigging drew the attention of Tory leadership hopefuls, with Maxime Bernier going as far as to call him "a loser."
Kellie Leitch also sensed blood in the water, and took to twitter to tell him to either "put up or shut up."
.@kevinolearytv is the only candidate in the race who's been fined by the party. So it's really something that now he's pointing fingers 1/2
— Kellie Leitch (@KellieLeitch) March 17, 2017
..without any evidence. You need to put up or shut up Kevin. #cpcldr 2/2
— Kellie Leitch (@KellieLeitch) March 17, 2017
The social media bickering quieted down on Friday afternoon however, after it was reported that the Conservative Party of Canada investigated O'Leary's claims and discovered 1331 fraudulently purchased memberships.
O'Leary responded to the news by praising the CPC.
Just got word from CPC. They discovered 1331 fraudulently purchased "memberships”. Pleased w/ the Party, we need to be sure we find them all
— Kevin O'Leary (@kevinolearytv) March 17, 2017
Bernier also reacted to the revelations by claiming that the revision process is working properly.
Good news. Conservative Party membership review process is working properly. https://t.co/2JeQUy0B1V
— Maxime Bernier 🇨🇦 (@MaximeBernier) March 17, 2017
Although it appears that the fraudulent memberships will be removed, the party has not yet publicly stated how it specifically plans to prevent vote-rigging in the future.
The leadership election will conclude on May 27th when party members will elect a successor to former Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
