It took less than a week for the landscape to shift for the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC). Last week they were strategizing over being an effective opposition. Today, they’re watching leadership candidates lining up to take the reins.
On Wednesday, February 2, Erin O’Toole resigned as leader of the CPC. This came after 72 of 119 Conservative MPs voted to replace him.
The Mail caught up with MP for Battle River-Crowfoot Damien Kurek the day of the vote.
“Over the course of discussion this morning, and ultimately the vote, the message has been loud and clear, our caucus decided to change leadership and that process is now underway,” said Kurek.
He says the decision reflects the grassroots.
“I have heard from thousands of my constituents that share a wide variety of opinions on virtually every opinion under the sun, but it has been critical as I was tasked about making a decision about this… every time I have had an opportunity to stand in the House of Commons and to have conversations with caucus to make sure the view and perspective of Battle River-Crowfoot are heard loud and clear in our capital,” he said. “That applies to leadership, but it also applies to every decision and issue I am forced to vote on or debate.”
He says part of the feedback centres on the results of last fall’s election. While the CPC once again captured the national popular vote, they did not make any seat gains in the house.
“We obviously didn’t win, and one is not being realistic if we don’t take a hard look at what went wrong and what went right. There were some areas like Atlantic Canada for example where we picked up a number of seats, but there were other areas in the country where we did not,” he said. “Over the last few months since the last election, we have been having a number of very honest and frank conversations.”
“Further to the party looking forward and what it looks like in the future, to make sure we have those conversations so we are equipped to be that government in waiting. Show Canadians we have a mature trustworthy plan that will repair some of the damage that has been done. Whether that means damage to our institutions, the divisions that exist in our country like east versus west, urban versus rural, rich versus poor, whatever the case is, and to ensure we have a plan that resonates with Canadians.”
While some characterized the change as a shift to the right, Kurek says the party is accepting of different voices.
“Our party is a broad coalition of different ideas of what it is to be conservative, and certainly representing what I suggest is one of the most conservative ridings in the country there is space within the Conservative Party for folks like myself who represent very conservative regions and there is space in our party for those who may have a little bit different take on either ideologies or policies that make up the coalition that is the Conservative Party of Canada,” he said. “I feel very much at home in the Conservative Party today, as I did under O’Toole, as I did under Andrew Scheer.”
In the meantime MP for Portage- Lisgar Candice Bergen has been appointed interim party leader.
So far, CPC Finance Critic Pierre Poilievre has announced his intention to run as the leader.
