Candice Bergen was voted interim leader of the Conservatives on Wednesday evening after a majority of party MPs voted to remove Erin O’Toole as leader earlier in the day.
Bergen has been the MP for the Manitoba riding of Portage—Lisgar since 2008. She was previously the Conservatives’ deputy leader and has been among the party’s most prominent voices in the House of Commons, where she frequently squares off against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other senior ministers during question period.
Bergen was among nine candidates vying to be interim leader during the party’s Wednesday evening caucus meeting, Conservative party sources told CBC News.
As interim leader, Bergen will not be allowed to run for permanent leader when that race is conducted. A date has not yet been determined.
She previously served as the opposition house leader from 2016 to 2020 and was also Minister of State for Social Development under Stephen Harper.
O’Toole’s removal paves the way for another leadership race only 18 months after the party finished the last one.
The result wasn’t particularly close: 73 of the 118 MPs on hand — the party’s caucus chair, Scott Reid, did not cast a ballot — voted to replace O’Toole with someone else.
O’Toole, a four-term Ontario MP, fought only one federal election campaign as leader.
After the vote was over, O’Toole officially resigned his post in a letter to Rob Batherson, the president of the Conservative Party of Canada. O’Toole will begin moving out of his office immediately.
In a resignation video posted to Twitter, O’Toole described his time as leader as “the honour of a lifetime” — before warning that “Canada is in a dire moment of our history.”
My message to Canadians <br><br>Mon message aux Canadiens <a href=”https://t.co/iRhq76bteB”>pic.twitter.com/iRhq76bteB</a>
O’Toole asked politicians and the next Conservative leader to “recognize that our country is divided and people are worried,” pointing to the ongoing protests taking place just outside Parliament.
“I pledge my support and unwavering loyalty to our next leader and I urge everyone in our party to come together and do the same,” he said.
O’Toole, a former air navigator in the Canadian Armed Forces and a corporate lawyer, was first elected in a 2012 byelection. He pledged Wednesday to stay on as MP for the Toronto area riding of Durham.
After the results were clear, New Brunswick MP John Williamson, who was a senior staffer in Harper’s office, immediately put his name forward for the interim leader role, promising to ensure the party elects a permanent leader in a “fair and efficient contest.”
Tom Kmiec, a social conservative Alberta MP who opposed the recent bill banning conversion therapy — claiming it would criminalize “normal conversations” between parents and children about “sexual behaviour” — had also put his name forward.
Trudeau, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet each acknowledged O’Toole during question period on Wednesday.
“There is a lot we don’t agree on for the direction of this country, but he stepped up to serve his country and I want to thank him for his sacrifice,” Trudeau said.
CBC News coverage of Erin O’Toole’s removal
CBC News will have full coverage of Erin O’Toole’s expulsion as leader of the Conservative Party of Canada. Here’s how to follow the developments:
In-depth coverage and analysis continues on CBC’s The National (10 p.m. on CBC-TV, 9 p.m. ET on CBC News Network, CBC Gem and YouTube) including the At Issue panel with Rosemary Barton. You can catch the At Issue podcast on CBC Listen or wherever you get your podcasts.
Follow CBCNews.ca for regular updates.
On Thursday, CBC podcast Front Burnerhost Jayme Poisson will speak with CBC.ca senior writer J.P. Tasker about next steps for the party.
O’Toole faced a barrage of criticism from his colleagues for shifting the party’s positions on carbon taxation, balanced budgets and “assault-style” firearms during the election campaign.
Anti-O’Toole MPs were also frustrated with his decision to run as a “true blue” Conservative in the party’s leadership race only to shift the party to the centre when in the top job.
Some MPs were also disappointed by a post-election report released last week to caucus that laid the blame for many of the 2021 campaign’s failings on senior staff — and not on O’Toole personally. Party sources said they felt he did not take enough responsibility for the disappointing result. In the end, enough MPs decided it was grounds for his dismissal.
O’Toole’s last-minute warning — that a vote against him and his more moderate vision of Canadian conservatism would put the party on the wrong path — failed to rally enough MPs to his side.
Conservative MPs remove Erin O’Toole as leader in secret ballot vote
The CBC’s Travis Dhanraj speaks to Rosemary Barton about the news that Erin O’Toole has been removed as leader of the Conservative Party. 2:58
Garnett Genuis, one of the MPs who led the fight against O’Toole, was tight-lipped after the vote.
Earlier this week, Genuis lashed out at O’Toole and his staff, accusing them of lying about his record to suppress a caucus revolt.
Conservative MP Garnett Genuis walks towards West Block before question period on Tuesday, in Ottawa. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)
Genuis said Wednesday the lopsided vote against O’Toole gives the party an “opportunity to come together and move forward as a Conservative party that’s united and focused.”
While he helped to lead the effort to dump O’Toole, Genuis said he’s “absolutely not” interested in running to replace him.
In a statement after the vote, Matt Jeneroux, an Edmonton-area MP who also backed the movement to fire O’Toole, said the party needs a leader who “clearly reflects our values.”
Jeneroux, a politician who describes himself as socially liberal and fiscally conservative, said O’Toole confused voters with his shifting positions.
Conservative MP Matt Jeneroux rises during in the House of Commons on Feb. 4, 2020. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)
“We must rebuild trust amongst Canadians and show them that we are strong and stable leaders who are rooted in our values while also understanding that we can evolve, learn and modernize our party to reflect all,” he said. “This is an opportunity for the party.”
Social conservative and anti-abortion activists celebrated O’Toole’s decisive defeat. O’Toole’s efforts to drag the party to the centre on social issues — the party suppressed debate on abortion during the last Conservative policy convention, for example — alienated some Conservative ground troops.
‘Fake conservative’
“O’Toole has time and again betrayed the party’s socially conservative base with his support for abortion, LGBT ideology, oppressive lockdowns, and liberty-destroying passports for abortion-tainted vaccines,” said Jeff Gunnarson, the president of the Campaign Life Coalition. “It’s about time this fake conservative was given the boot.”
Conservative MP Eric Duncan, an O’Toole ally and caucus secretary to the party, thanked the outgoing leader for his service while urging members to “unite” and “focus on defeating the Liberals in the next election.”
“Leadership races can be a uniting process. We can be united. We need to get on the same page and we need to move in the same direction and I’m very confident there’s a strong willingness to do that,” he said.
WATCH | Conservative MPs vote to remove O’Toole:
Conservative MPs vote to remove Erin O’Toole as leader
The CBC’s Hannah Thibedeau discusses the vote by Conservative MPs to remove O’Toole as leader of their party. 1:36
Ontario MP Michael Barrett, a confidant of O’Toole and a member of his leadership team, said the outgoing leader did the best he could to steer the party through uncertain times.
Barrett said O’Toole had led the party for less than a year when Trudeau called a snap election last fall, giving him little time to properly introduce himself to voters and challenge Trudeau for power.
“It’s been tough being the leader of the Opposition,” Barrett said. “Now, I just want to make sure our party elects a leader that gives us the best opportunity to replace a tired and corrupt Liberal government.”
Conservative MP for Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes Michael Barrett rises during question period in the House of Commons on April 16, 2021. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)
This development will force the party brass to immediately begin organizing a leadership race on a very tight timeline. An election could be called at any time in this minority Parliament.
The Reform Act, the federal legislation that empowers Conservative MPs to remove their leader, does not specify how the next permanent leader will be elected, leaving that decision to the party itself.
The party’s national council will meet as soon as possible to start planning for that race, a spokesperson for the party said. The first step for the council is to appoint a leadership election organizing committee to plan this contest.
‘Hopefully, the third permanent leader will be the charm’
Speaking later to CBC’s Power & Politics, Batherson, the party president, said he understands there’s an urgent need to get a new leader in place quickly.
Asked if he was concerned that launching a third leadership race in only five years would strain the party’s financial and human resources, Batherson said the party’s got a lot of money and a strong foundation.
“Hopefully, the third permanent leader will be the charm,” he said. “The good thing is we’re experienced at this by now.”
Conservative MP Mark Strahl, who was at odds with O’Toole during his time at the top, said the caucus is hoping there will be a new permanent leader by the fall.
“I don’t think there’s any desire in the party for a drawn-out process. I think, given the minority nature of Parliament, we want to get that face before Canadians as soon as possible,” he said.
“We’re going to unite behind that person to bring a solid Conservative message to Canadians.”
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says it’s “disgraceful and demeaning” that a Halifax-area school would request that service members not wear military uniforms to its Remembrance Day ceremony.
Houston’s comments were part of a chorus of criticism levelled at the school — Sackville Heights Elementary — whose administration decided to back away from the plan after the outcry.
A November newsletter from the school in Middle Sackville, N.S., invited Armed Forces members to attend its ceremony but asked that all attendees arrive in civilian attire to “maintain a welcoming environment for all.”
Houston, who is currently running for re-election, accused the school’s leaders of “disgracing themselves while demeaning the people who protect our country” in a post on the social media platform X Thursday night.
“If the people behind this decision had a shred of the courage that our veterans have, this cowardly and insulting idea would have been rejected immediately,” Houston’s post read. There were also several calls for resignations within the school’s administration attached to Houston’s post.
In an email to families Thursday night, the school’s principal, Rachael Webster, apologized and welcomed military family members to attend “in the attire that makes them most comfortable.”
“I recognize this request has caused harm and I am deeply sorry,” Webster’s email read, adding later that the school has the “utmost respect for what the uniform represents.”
Webster said the initial request was out of concern for some students who come from countries experiencing conflict and who she said expressed discomfort with images of war, including military uniforms.
Her email said any students who have concerns about seeing Armed Forces members in uniform can be accommodated in a way that makes them feel safe, but she provided no further details in the message.
Webster did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
At a news conference Friday, Houston said he’s glad the initial request was reversed but said he is still concerned.
“I can’t actually fathom how a decision like that was made,” Houston told reporters Friday, adding that he grew up moving between military bases around the country while his father was in the Armed Forces.
“My story of growing up in a military family is not unique in our province. The tradition of service is something so many of us share,” he said.
“Saying ‘lest we forget’ is a solemn promise to the fallen. It’s our commitment to those that continue to serve and our commitment that we will pass on our respects to the next generation.”
Liberal Leader Zach Churchill also said he’s happy with the school’s decision to allow uniformed Armed Forces members to attend the ceremony, but he said he didn’t think it was fair to question the intentions of those behind the original decision.
“We need to have them (uniforms) on display at Remembrance Day,” he said. “Not only are we celebrating (veterans) … we’re also commemorating our dead who gave the greatest sacrifice for our country and for the freedoms we have.”
NDP Leader Claudia Chender said that while Remembrance Day is an important occasion to honour veterans and current service members’ sacrifices, she said she hopes Houston wasn’t taking advantage of the decision to “play politics with this solemn occasion for his own political gain.”
“I hope Tim Houston reached out to the principal of the school before making a public statement,” she said in a statement.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
REGINA – Saskatchewan Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck says she wants to prove to residents her party is the government in waiting as she heads into the incoming legislative session.
Beck held her first caucus meeting with 27 members, nearly double than what she had before the Oct. 28 election but short of the 31 required to form a majority in the 61-seat legislature.
She says her priorities will be health care and cost-of-living issues.
Beck says people need affordability help right now and will press Premier Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party government to cut the gas tax and the provincial sales tax on children’s clothing and some grocery items.
Beck’s NDP is Saskatchewan’s largest Opposition in nearly two decades after sweeping Regina and winning all but one seat in Saskatoon.
The Saskatchewan Party won 34 seats, retaining its hold on all of the rural ridings and smaller cities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia‘s growing population was the subject of debate on Day 12 of the provincial election campaign, with Liberal Leader Zach Churchill arguing immigration levels must be reduced until the province can provide enough housing and health-care services.
Churchill said Thursday a plan by the incumbent Progressive Conservatives to double the province’s population to two million people by the year 2060 is unrealistic and unsustainable.
“That’s a big leap and it’s making life harder for people who live here, (including ) young people looking for a place to live and seniors looking to downsize,” he told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.
Anticipating that his call for less immigration might provoke protests from the immigrant community, Churchill was careful to note that he is among the third generation of a family that moved to Nova Scotia from Lebanon.
“I know the value of immigration, the importance of it to our province. We have been built on the backs of an immigrant population. But we just need to do it in a responsible way.”
The Liberal leader said Tim Houston’s Tories, who are seeking a second term in office, have made a mistake by exceeding immigration targets set by the province’s Department of Labour and Immigration. Churchill said a Liberal government would abide by the department’s targets.
In the most recent fiscal year, the government welcomed almost 12,000 immigrants through its nominee program, exceeding the department’s limit by more than 4,000, he said. The numbers aren’t huge, but the increase won’t help ease the province’s shortages in housing and doctors, and the increased strain on its infrastructure, including roads, schools and cellphone networks, Churchill said.
“(The Immigration Department) has done the hard work on this,” he said. “They know where the labour gaps are, and they know what growth is sustainable.”
In response, Houston said his commitment to double the population was a “stretch goal.” And he said the province had long struggled with a declining population before that trend was recently reversed.
“The only immigration that can come into this province at this time is if they are a skilled trade worker or a health-care worker,” Houston said. “The population has grown by two per cent a year, actually quite similar growth to what we experienced under the Liberal government before us.”
Still, Houston said he’s heard Nova Scotians’ concerns about population growth, and he then pivoted to criticize Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for trying to send 6,000 asylum seekers to Nova Scotia, an assertion the federal government has denied.
Churchill said Houston’s claim about asylum seekers was shameful.
“It’s smoke and mirrors,” the Liberal leader said. “He is overshooting his own department’s numbers for sustainable population growth and yet he is trying to blame this on asylum seekers … who aren’t even here.”
In September, federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller said there is no plan to send any asylum seekers to the province without compensation or the consent of the premier. He said the 6,000 number was an “aspirational” figure based on models that reflect each province’s population.
In Halifax, NDP Leader Claudia Chender said it’s clear Nova Scotia needs more doctors, nurses and skilled trades people.
“Immigration has been and always will be a part of the Nova Scotia story, but we need to build as we grow,” Chender said. “This is why we have been pushing the Houston government to build more affordable housing.”
Chender was in a Halifax cafe on Thursday when she promised her party would remove the province’s portion of the harmonized sales tax from all grocery, cellphone and internet bills if elected to govern on Nov. 26. The tax would also be removed from the sale and installation of heat pumps.
“Our focus is on helping people to afford their lives,” Chender told reporters. “We know there are certain things that you can’t live without: food, internet and a phone …. So we know this will have the single biggest impact.”
The party estimates the measure would save the average Nova Scotia family about $1,300 a year.
“That’s a lot more than a one or two per cent HST cut,” Chender said, referring to the Progressive Conservative pledge to reduce the tax by one percentage point and the Liberal promise to trim it by two percentage points.
Elsewhere on the campaign trail, Houston announced that a Progressive Conservative government would make parking free at all Nova Scotia hospitals and health-care centres. The promise was also made by the Liberals in their election platform released Monday.
“Free parking may not seem like a big deal to some, but … the parking, especially for people working at the facilities, can add up to hundreds of dollars,” the premier told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
