OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has appointed former member of Parliament Tony Clement to serve on the board of the Conservative Fund, the federal party’s main fundraising arm, sources say.
After a landslide victory in the party’s leadership election on the weekend in which he received almost 70 per cent of support from members, Poilievre is transitioning into the Opposition leader’s office and has begun installing his picks in key positions.
Clement is one of them, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the move who confirmed the details of his appointment to The Canadian Press. The sources are being granted anonymity because they are not authorized to publicly discuss party business.
Clement, a cabinet minister under former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper, had recently raised money for Poilievre during his successful campaign.
Filings with Elections Canada show raised millions of dollars more than his competitors brought in.
In 2018, then-party leader Andrew Scheer asked Clement to leave caucus after being made aware of allegations of sexual impropriety against the former MP,who had represented a rural Ontario riding for the Conservatives since 2006.
Those allegations came soon after Clement’s own admission that he sent sexually explicit images and a video to a person he thought was a consenting woman — an interaction that turned out to be an extortion attempt.
Scheer initially said that he was taking Clement at his word that he had shown a “terrible lapse in judgment” in the sexting incident. But not long after, the former leader said he learned that there were “numerous reports of activity that was serious in nature” against the longtime MP.
On Thursday, Clement referred questions about his appointment to the Conservative Fund Canada to the party.
Anthony Koch, a spokesman for Poilievre, acknowledged a request for comment but did not immediately provide a response.
Clement sat as an Independent after leaving the Tory caucus and decided to exit federal politics ahead of the 2019 federal ballot, when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals were re-elected.
That election saw him replaced by Scott Aitchison, who finished last against in the recent leadership contest.
Since winning, Poilievre has made other changes to the Conservative Fund board that haven’t yet been publicly announced.
Sources confirmed that Toronto lawyer Robert Staley has been selected to chair the fund, succeeding James Dodds, who was picked by former leader Erin O’Toole.
Party insiders regard appointees to the board as wielding a measure of power, since they set the party’s budget. The positions also carry prestige. Harper himself sat as one of its members after the Conservatives lost the 2015 election.
On Thursday, Poilievre delivered his inaugural address in the House of Commons — a tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth and constitutional monarchy.
After the speeches, MPs — including Liberal cabinet ministers — lined up to shake the Conservative leader’s hand and offer congratulations on his new role.
Social media posts also show Poilievre met with different caucus members.
During his first few days as Opposition leader, the Conservative party issued an apology for an automated text message it says was sent to party members who live in the riding of a Quebec MP that decided to resign from the Tory caucus after Poilievre’s victory.
Alain Rayes, who decided to sit as an Independent after campaigning for former Quebec premier Jean Charest to win the leadership, said he believed Poilievre’s office sent a text message to party members in his riding asking them to encourage him to step down.
The text message seen by The Canadian Press says that Rayes has decided not to fight inflation with Poilievre’s team and encouraged recipients to call the MP’s office and tell him to quit.
After the party’s apology late Wednesday, Rayes issued a statement on social media noting the party did not say sorry to him personally.
“For me, bullying in any form is unacceptable,” he wrote Thursday.
“I will never hesitate to denounce it vehemently. I would like to thank all those who have shown their support.”
Poilievre also found himself in a verbal tussle with a reporter in Ottawa on Tuesday who interrupted the start of his press conference after being told the new leader would not take any questions during his first media appearance since his big win.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept, 15, 2022.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MONTREAL – NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he will not be taking advice from Pierre Poilievre after the Conservative leader challenged him to bring down government.
“I say directly to Pierre Poilievre: I’m not going to listen to you,” said Singh on Wednesday, accusing Poilievre of wanting to take away dental-care coverage from Canadians, among other things.
“I’m not going to listen to your advice. You want to destroy people’s lives, I want to build up a brighter future.”
Earlier in the day, Poilievre challenged Singh to commit to voting non-confidence in the government, saying his party will force a vote in the House of Commons “at the earliest possibly opportunity.”
“I’m asking Jagmeet Singh and the NDP to commit unequivocally before Monday’s byelections: will they vote non-confidence to bring down the costly coalition and trigger a carbon tax election, or will Jagmeet Singh sell out Canadians again?” Poilievre said.
“It’s put up or shut up time for the NDP.”
While Singh rejected the idea he would ever listen to Poilievre, he did not say how the NDP would vote on a non-confidence motion.
“I’ve said on any vote, we’re going to look at the vote and we’ll make our decision. I’m not going to say our decision ahead of time,” he said.
Singh’s top adviser said on Tuesday the NDP leader is not particularly eager to trigger an election, even as the Conservatives challenge him to do just that.
Anne McGrath, Singh’s principal secretary, says there will be more volatility in Parliament and the odds of an early election have risen.
“I don’t think he is anxious to launch one, or chomping at the bit to have one, but it can happen,” she said in an interview.
New Democrat MPs are in a second day of meetings in Montreal as they nail down a plan for how to navigate the minority Parliament this fall.
The caucus retreat comes one week after Singh announced the party has left the supply-and-confidence agreement with the governing Liberals.
It’s also taking place in the very city where New Democrats are hoping to pick up a seat on Monday, when voters go to the polls in Montreal’s LaSalle—Émard—Verdun. A second byelection is being held that day in the Winnipeg riding of Elmwood—Transcona, where the NDP is hoping to hold onto a seat the Conservatives are also vying for.
While New Democrats are seeking to distance themselves from the Liberals, they don’t appear ready to trigger a general election.
Singh signalled on Tuesday that he will have more to say Wednesday about the party’s strategy for the upcoming sitting.
He is hoping to convince Canadians that his party can defeat the federal Conservatives, who have been riding high in the polls over the last year.
Singh has attacked Poilievre as someone who would bring back Harper-style cuts to programs that Canadians rely on, including the national dental-care program that was part of the supply-and-confidence agreement.
The Canadian Press has asked Poilievre’s office whether the Conservative leader intends to keep the program in place, if he forms government after the next election.
With the return of Parliament just days away, the NDP is also keeping in mind how other parties will look to capitalize on the new makeup of the House of Commons.
The Bloc Québécois has already indicated that it’s written up a list of demands for the Liberals in exchange for support on votes.
The next federal election must take place by October 2025 at the latest.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante is defending her decision to turn off comments on her social media accounts — with an announcement on social media.
She posted screenshots to X this morning of vulgar names she’s been called on the platform, and says comments on her posts for months have been dominated by insults, to the point that she decided to block them.
Montreal’s Opposition leader and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association have criticized Plante for limiting freedom of expression by restricting comments on her X and Instagram accounts.
They say elected officials who use social media should be willing to hear from constituents on those platforms.
However, Plante says some people may believe there is a fundamental right to call someone offensive names and to normalize violence online, but she disagrees.
Her statement on X is closed to comments.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
