CAQ whip set to jump into federal politics as candidate for Poilievre's Conservatives
Éric Lefebvre, MNA for Arthabaska, will sit as an Independent until next federal campaign
Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has dipped into the Quebec government ranks to add a new candidate to his team.
Éric Lefebvre, the Coalition Avenir Québec government whip, is leaving the province's ruling party and will sit as an Independent before joining the Tories ahead of the next federal election.
Poilievre wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that he was proud to have Lefebvre join the Conservative team.
On Tuesday night, Lefebvre announced he was leaving the CAQ caucus but would continue to represent the riding of Arthabaska, northeast of Montreal, as an Independent.
Quebec Premier François Legault wrote on X that he asked Lefebvre to withdraw from caucus.
Lefebvre, who was unsuccessful in a 2008 run for the federal Conservatives, first won the Arthabaska riding in a 2016 byelection and was re-elected in 2018 and 2022.
The next federal election must be held by October 2025.