Raitt demands cheaters be booted from Conservative leadership race

Conservative leadership candidate Lisa Raitt is demanding cheaters be booted from the party's leadership race as questions continue to swirl around bogus membership sales.

Raitt's call follows the party removing more than 1,300 people from its membership rolls after a review found they hadn't paid for the memberships themselves.

In its review of the memberships, the Conservative party said it wasn't possible to determine which campaign or campaigns were involved, since the memberships were purchased anonymously.

But finger-pointing among the campaigns has suggested both Maxime Bernier and Kevin O'Leary's campaigns could be implicated, a charge both teams deny.

Raitt says cheaters and rule breakers who engage in this kind of activity ought to be punished and she wants any candidate found to have broken the rules expelled and their campaigns fined.

Each candidate is required to pay a $50,000 deposit that's docked at the end of the campaign if they're found to be in violation of any rules.