Batters defends petition, lashes out at O'Toole

OTTAWA - Sen. Denise Batters is taking off the gloves in her fight with Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole.

O'Toole announced late Tuesday that the Saskatchewan senator was being expelled from the Conservative caucus after she launched a petition calling for a referendum on his leadership within six months.

A leadership review is currently scheduled for the party's national convention in 2023, though MPs did vote in October to give themselves the power to potentially oust him earlier.

Batters in a statement this morning says she is and will always be a Conservative, and says members deserve to have a say on the leadership and direction of the party after an election loss on Sept. 20.

She goes on to question why she is being singled out. Another Conservative senator, Michael MacDonald, urged Tories ahead of the October vote to give themselves the power to hold an early leadership review.

And Batters says if O'Toole is truly confident in the direction that he is taking the party, then he should have no fears about an expedited leadership review.

Batters' expulsion comes as MPs descended on Ottawa Wednesday to meet as a national caucus behind closed doors.

O'Toole himself entered the meeting flanked by his leadership team, and told reporters that over the previous two caucus meetings his members have "united on our way forward as a team."