Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he has no interest in federal leadership amid Conservative caucus revolt

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Monday he has no interest in entering a potential Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) leadership race in the event that current leader Erin O'Toole is booted out.

Ford was joined by Minister of Long-term Care Paul Calandra and Minister of Infrastructure Kinga Surma to announce the construction of a new 320-bed long-term care home in Ajax when he was asked if he had any interest in a federal leadership role.

“My hands are full,” Ford said. “I love being premier of this province. That's my job.”

“I'm just 24/7 working on getting us out of this pandemic,” he added.

Ford has previously gone on the record to say he has no interest in federal politics, stating that his main focus is Ontario.

CONSERVATIVE LEADERSHIP VOTE

O’Toole is facing internal discontent within the party as some members of his caucus prepare to trigger a leadership review that could come as soon as later this week.

O'Toole said Monday night he welcomes a vote on his leadership.

"I'm not going anywhere and I'm not turning back," O'Toole said in a statement. "It's time for a reckoning. To settle this in caucus. Right here. Right now. Once and for all."

O'Toole’s statement came hours after MP Garnett Genuis released a statement of his own, revealing about a third of Conservative MPs have signed a letter calling for O'Toole to face a leadership review, which is the threshold to begin the process.

With files from CTV News Ben Cousins.