MacKay backed by the Toronto Star in the most damaging endorsement of all time

The bastion of Canadian metropolitan, progressiveness was positively misty-eyed about the Nova Scotian, declaring that he understands the "importance of sticking close to the political centre," by which, they presumably mean the political principles of the Toronto Star.

Worse still for MacKay (who spent much of the campaign defending his conservatism), the Star drew a clear parallel between Erin O'Toole and the former Progressive Conservative leader: O'Toole has "chosen to court [social conservative's] support this time out and if he wins the leadership it will be seen as a victory for that wing of the party."

MacKay, on the other hand, was applauded by the Star for his now-famous "stinking albatross" comment. "He’s keenly aware of the need to create a more modern, forward-looking image for the party," added the newspaper's editorial board.

All of this may cause one to wonder whether there has ever been such a damming endorsement for a prospective Conservative leader?

Over the past few years, the Toronto Star has chosen to pursue a path of provocative radicalism. In the last few months alone, headlines like "What the Nova Scotia mass shooting tells us about toxic masculinity" or "How nice white parents can harm public schools," reveals a paper that has drifted away from any form of moderation.

Wherever the political centre may lie in Canada, it has become increasingly clear that the Toronto Star does not represent it.

Naturally, all this has irreparably damaged the newspaper: this year, the Toronto Star had to fire 85 workers as a result of their dwindling circulation; their parent company TorStar reported an unexpected loss of $40.9 million in 2019. These figures reveal plainly that their once-loyal base has now awoken to find a paper that has no loyalty or deference to their own ideals.

As a result of all this, MacKay's closest competitor Erin O'Toole quickly jumped on this endorsement: "O'Toole was endorsed by Jason Kenney, MacKay was endorsed by the Toronto Star," read the graphic.