O'Leary was a frontrunner in the polls throughout most of his run. Nevertheless, he dropped out of the leadership race on 26 April 2017, stating that, though he still thought he could win the leadership election, a lack of support for him in Quebec meant that it would be difficult for him to beat Trudeau in 2019, and that it would thus be "selfish" of him to continue. On dropping out, he endorsed Bernier, considered the other main frontrunner for the position. (Andrew Scheer eventually won the leadership election, narrowly edging out Bernier.)