Poilievre to run for Alberta seat after MP Damien Kurek agrees to step down
Prime Minister Mark Carney says he'll call a byelection quickly: 'No games'
Conservative MP Damien Kurek says he will resign his Alberta seat so Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre can run in a forthcoming byelection.
"Although it will be hard to temporarily step away from this role, in this region I love and have always called home, the mandate given to me is one that clearly states that change is needed," he said in a statement on Friday.
"Offering this seat to our party leader is an important step in that process."
Kurek first won the seat of Battle River-Crowfoot in 2019. Kurek was re-elected on Monday with almost 82 per cent of the vote.
"It is with humility and appreciation that I have accepted Damien Kurek's offer to resign his seat in Battle River-Crowfoot so that I can work to earn the support of citizens there to serve them in Parliament," Poilievre said in a statement posted on X.
Poilievre said Kurek's move was "selfless" and the Conservative leader will "work to earn the trust of the good people of Battle River-Crowfoot."
Prime Minister Mark Carney, meanwhile, said Friday that he will call that byelection as soon as possible to ensure Poilievre has the chance to quickly return to the House of Commons.
Poilievre lost his Ottawa-area seat of Carleton, a riding he held for more than 20 years, by five percentage points, losing to Liberal candidate Bruce Fanjoy.
"I've already indicated to Mr. Poilievre that … I will ensure that it happens as soon as possible. No games, nothing," Carney said in his first news conference as an elected official on Friday.
When Parliament returns, the prime minister will find himself four seats short of a majority, requiring him to secure support from the New Democrats, Bloc Québécois or the Conservatives to pass legislation.
When asked if he was trying to entice MPs from other parties to cross the floor to the Liberals and give him that majority instead, Carney said only that he has spoken to the other party leaders about his strategy to deal with Trump and expects them to pull in the same direction.
Using a hockey analogy, Carney said NHL players from Canada play on many different teams, but when it comes to the Olympics or the Four Nations, all of them put on Team Canada jerseys. He expects the same from opposition parties.
No deal with NDP
Asked if he will be making efforts to form a governing pact with the NDP similar to the confidence-and-supply agreement of the last Parliament, Carney said simply: "No. Short answer, no."
When asked why not, the prime minister turned the question on the reporter and said: "Why?"
"That's my response," Carney said. "We campaigned on a very clear set of objectives, very clear policies to back those up and we received the highest number of votes in Canadian history. Yes it is not a majority, but the highest number of votes."
The prime minister said his mandate is strong, having won the majority of seats in seven provinces and secured the most seats in Quebec in decades along with the most seats in B.C. in the party's history.
"In order to do what we need to do as a country, we will need to work in partnership with all the provinces, with Indigenous Peoples, yes, obviously, by definition in Parliament," he said.
The agreement struck between the Liberals and the NDP in March 2022 committed the NDP to supporting the Liberal government on confidence votes.
In exchange for that support, the Liberals agreed to a number of legislative commitments on NDP priorities, such as pharmacare, dental care and banning replacement workers during strike actions.
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