Newly elected Conservatives and returning MPs are set to meet in Ottawa this morning as the party charts its path forward after last week’s election loss to the Liberals.
Leader Pierre Poilievre, who lost his bid to continue representing the riding of Carleton after 20 years as the area’s MP, will not be in the House of Commons when it opens later this month.
In a video posted on social media Monday afternoon, Poilievre says he has a lot to be thankful for after the election, including an expanded coalition of Conservative voters.
He also pledged to “learn and grow,” and says his team needs to expand.
A number of high-profile Conservative MPs have expressed their support for Poilievre to stay on as leader in the last week.
The caucus needs to consider who will take over as Opposition leader in the House of Commons for the spring sitting, because Poilievre is no longer an MP.
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It’s also set to discuss provisions in the Reform Act that would allow caucus members to ask for a secret-ballot vote to review the party leadership.
That’s the mechanism that was used to oust former leader Erin O’Toole after the party failed to beat the Trudeau Liberals in the 2021 election. Poilievre won the leadership in late 2022 with an overwhelming majority of support from Conservative party members.
MP-elect Damien Kurek has said he will resign his seat in the rural Alberta riding of Battle River—Crowfoot to give Poilievre the chance to run in a byelection and get a seat in the House of Commons.
The earliest that vote could happen is 47 days after Kurek formally resigns. He can only step down once he’s been sworn in as a member of Parliament. The government has up to 180 days to call the byelection, but Prime Minister Mark Carney said last week that he will call it soon.
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