Conservative MP Damien Kurek says he will renounce his seat in the House of Commons to allow Tory Leader Pierre Poilievre to compete in a byelection.
Poilievre, who had held the Carleton riding since 2004, lost it to Liberal candidate Bruce Fanjoy in the April 28 federal election.
Kurek was re-elected in the Alberta riding of Battle River-Crowfoot this week in a landslide. He won more than 53,000 votes, with the second place Liberal candidate obtaining just under 7,500 votes.
Kurek said in a May 2 statement it has been a “tremendous honour” to serve the people of his riding since first being elected in 2019. This would have made him eligible for his MP pension in October. Kurek added that Poilievre ran a “remarkable national campaign” with Tories obtaining their highest vote share since 1988 when Progressive-Conservatives under Brian Mulroney won 43 percent of the vote.
In this week’s election, the Tories obtained 41.3 percent of the national vote, compared to 43.7 percent for Liberals. The Liberal Party won a strong minority with 168 seats, while Tories obtained 144 seats.
Kurek said an “unstoppable movement” has grown under Poilievre’s leadership.
“I know we need Pierre fighting in the House of Commons to hold the Liberal minority government to account. This is what’s best for Canada, and is what’s best for Battle River-Crowfoot.”
Kurek added he would remain involved in the Conservative team and that he would run again in Battle River-Crowfoot in the next election.
Poilievre said shortly after Kurek’s announcement that he has accepted his offer with “humility and appreciation,” and that he would work to earn the trust of people in the riding.
“Damien’s selfless act to step aside temporarily as a Member of Parliament shows his commitment to change and restoring Canada’s promise,” Poilievre said in a statement on social media.
Before Kurek made his announcement, Prime Minister Mark Carney had said earlier on May 2 he would trigger a byelection as soon a seat for Poilievre to run is vacant, and that he would not be playing “games” on the matter.
Carney made the comments at his first press conference since the election and provided his government’s priorities on dealing with the United States and building Canada’s economy. Carney will be heading to Washington next week to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump.
He also said he would name his new cabinet on the week of May 12 and that Parliament would return on May 26.
He said King Charles has accepted an invitation to Ottawa to deliver the speech from the throne, an event marking the beginning of a new Parliament in which the government outlines its agenda.
Throne speeches are debated and voted on as a matter of confidence. The Liberals have a minority government but are not expected to be challenged in the short- to medium-term because opposition parties need to regroup after experiencing different degrees of setbacks.
The NDP won only seven seats and its Leader Jagmeet Singh said he is stepping down once a new leader has been chosen.
Carney said during his press conference that he doesn’t intend to enter into a formal deal with the NDP like in the previous Parliament, and said that even though he has a minority, his mandate is strong. He cited having a high vote count and MPs in every province.
