A judge has dismissed a request to extend the voting period in Ontario's Progressive Conservative leadership race.
A lawyer representing a disenfranchised party member had brought an application for an injunction to prolong the race in which online voting ended at noon today.
Jeffrey Radnoff said his client and others had not received a personal identification number, which party members need for verification purposes before they can vote.
A lawyer for the party had raised questions about the timing of Radnoff's request, and said the party's own internal complaints process had not been exhausted.
Ontario Superior Court Justice Todd Archibald said extending the race would adversely impact the 60,000 people who have already voted in the race.
"This case turns on the balance of convenience," Archibald wrote in his six page decision. "The clear balance is in favour of the (PC Party)."
"One more week without a leader impacts every member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario," he wrote.
Four candidates -- former Tory legislator Christine Elliott, lawyer Caroline Mulroney, former Toronto city councillor Doug Ford, and parental rights advocate Tanya Granic Allen -- are vying to seize the helm of Ontario's Tories following the departure of ousted former leader Patrick Brown.
Radnoff argued that the extension was actually in the best interest of the Tories because disenfranchising "thousands" of voters could lead to questions about the legitimacy of the leader elected through the process, and subsequent legal challenges.
"There could be more problems caused if a short extension isn't provided," he said. "We're talking about one week. Just one week."
Gina Brannan, representing the Torys, told the judge the sudden January resignation of former PC leader Patrick Brown, which came months before a spring election, had created an unprecedented situation that made the contracted leadership race necessary.
Brannan said the longer the party waits to select a new leader, the greater the danger it suffers "irreparable harm," scuttling chances for the Tories to win the June 7 election. She acknowledged that the online system wasn't perfect but added that no system to select a leader ever is.
"At some point you have to draw a line in sand," she said. "This can't be the neverending story ... or we'll never pick a leader."
The party decided against prolonging the race late Wednesday, saying that doing so would contravene its constitution. It also noted that it had previously extended registration and voting deadlines.
The chair of the party's leadership election organizing committee, Hartley Lefton, testified in court in defence of the Tories' voting process.
As of 8 a.m. Friday, he said, 71,402 party members had been verified. As of the close of balloting at noon Friday, 64,053 members had voted, the party confirmed.
"These numbers represent an all-time high for the PC party. It's not even close," Lefton said in court.
Lefton also said $1.5 million had already been spent on the leadership race -- $250,000 specifically on the leadership results announcement set for Saturday -- and noted that the party would incur additional costs if the voting period was extended.
