Conservatives electing new chief in Canada

OTTAWA, Aug 23 (AFP): Canadian conservatives will reveal Sunday their pick for a new leader and main contender to challenge liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in possible snap elections.

Four candidates vied to replace outgoing Andrew Scheer, including two former ministers, the first Seventh-day Adventist ever to be elected to parliament, and an outsider seeking to become the first black woman to lead a major federal political party in Canada.

Frontrunner Peter MacKay, 54, was looking to mark his triumphant return to politics following a five-year hiatus. After leading Canada's foreign, defense and justice departments in the last Tory administration from 2006 to 2015, he ducked the limelight.

He has faced a strong challenge for the party leadership from former air-force navigator and former veterans affairs minister Erin O'Toole, 47, who ran twice previously for the job.