The move came less than 24 hours after Global News reported that Conservative leader Andrew Scheer was using party money to help fund his children’s private school tuition, an arrangement van Vugt took responsibility for on Thursday. In a statement, van Vugt described the arrangement as “normal practice for political parties” and said “all proper procedures were followed and signed off on by the appropriate people.”

Building a broad tent is how the Conservatives, in this social climate, with these sorts of regional divisions, will be successful. It’s a vision that includes both pipelines and pride parades.

It is unclear if Andrew Scheer is capable of leading his party in that direction, but the results of last night’s election suggest it will be a tough slog. He will spend the next few days downplaying his loss. He reminded his supporters last night that Stephen Harper first erased Paul Martin’s majority, then went on to lead a Conservative government for nearly 10 years. He will also reiterate that his party won the popular vote (34.4 per cent compared to the Liberals’ 33.1 per cent, at last tally).