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Erin OToole voted out as Conservative leader by MPs

erin o'toole cp-1.17030545 erin o'toole cp (Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole speaks during a media availability in West Block on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang)

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Erin OToole has lost a vote to remain leader of the Conservative Party of Canada.

Erin O'Toole has lost a vote to remain leader of the Conservative Party of Canada.

The party's members of Parliament met virtually today to cast secret ballots after about one-third of them signed a notice that triggered a leadership review.

Ontario MP and national caucus chair Scott Reid said in a statement that 73 Conservative MPs voted to replace him while 45 endorsed him.

There are 119 Conservative MPs, including O'Toole. As caucus chair, Reid said he did not vote.

Conservative MPs must now choose who will serve as the party's interim leader.

The Reform Act, which has been in place since 2015, allows a party's MPs to trigger a leadership review instead of waiting for the question to be put to the wider membership.

The Conservative caucus is the only one that voted last year to accept the rule as binding.