Yeah, the CPC would for sure be polling higher right now if it were MacKay. I get the sense that the party establishment isn't behind O'Toole (I think him firing PP was a jab at the CPC establishment), which would explain the laughably amateurish campaign so far.

MacKay would have had the full weight of the CPC establishment behind him, which would have meant better, more qualified people managing his campaign. Unlike O'Toole who's campaign looks like it's being run by his wife from an "Election campaigning for Dummies" book. As well, the CPC has been planning since the early 2000s on having MacKay as leader right about now, so who knows what strategies and resources they had line up.

But MacKay just had to open his mouth and make that stupid comment about Scheer's abortion and gay marriage stances being a "stinking albatross", which alienated enough of the CPC membership to cost him the leadership election.