Conservatives, citing dissatisfaction with the Alliance's leadership. The two parties later merged to form the Conservative Party of Canada, which Paradis joined. He has been a Conservative candidate in two elections. He is not to be confused with the former Quebec cabinet minister Pierre Paradis. Outremont: Daniel Fournier Daniel Fournier is a prominent businessperson in Montreal. He received 5,168 votes (12.73%), finishing fourth against incumbent Liberal Party cabinet minister Jean Lapierre. Ontario Ian West (Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing) West entered political life as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party, and was 25 years old when he first campaigned for the PCs in the 2000 election. A graduate of the University of Windsor, he had recently completed a work term with DaimlerChrysler in Germany (Windsor Star, 31 October 2000). His campaign focused on environmental concerns, and highlighted his party's plan to eliminate Canada's debt in twenty-five years (Windsor Star, 25 November 2000). Although credited by the local media for running a solid campaign, he finished a distant fourth against longtime Liberal incumbent Herb Gray in Windsor West. West campaigned for the Progressive Conservatives again in a 2002 by-election, after Gray retired from the House of Commons. He emphasized the environment and cross-border trade with America (Windsor Star, 17 April 2002), and again finished fourth against New Democrat Brian Masse. West later joined the Conservative Party of Canada, and was the party's candidate for Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing in the 2006 federal election. As of 2005, he is in his last year of studies at the law school at the University of Ottawa (Sudbury Star, 12 December 2005). Peter Conroy (Beaches—East York) Conroy was born and raised in Beaches-East York, where he attended St. Denis elementary school and Cardinal Newman Secondary School. In 1988, he led an unsuccessful attempt to stop the Newman board from mandating school uniforms (Toronto Star, 7 June 1988). After completing an Honours degree in History and Political Science at the University of Western Ontario, he worked in Ottawa for four years as an executive and legislative assistant to Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) Tom Wappel in Ottawa. He then returned to Beaches-East York to start a family and pursue a career in business. Conroy and his wife Shelley have three children: twin daughters Alexandra and Elizabeth and son Jacob. They are homeowners in the Upper Beach area. Conroy is a founder and executive of CollectiveBid Systems Inc, through which he has launched