Andrew Scheer will resign as leader of the federal Conservative party as soon as his successor is chosen.
“In order to chart the course ahead, this party, this movement needs someone who can give 100 per cent to the effort,” Scheer said in the House of Commons on Dec. 12. “After some conversations with my kids, my loved ones, I felt it was time to put my family first.”
Scheer, who’s the MP for Regina—Qu'Appelle, was selected as Conservative leader on May 27, 2017. In a field of 14 candidates, Scheer won in the 13th round against Maxime Bernier with 50.95 per cent of the points available. Bernier went on to leave the Conservatives, founding the People’s Party of Canada.
Under Scheer’s leadership, the Conservatives won the popular vote in the 2019 federal election, earning 6.16 million votes compared to the Liberals’ 5.9 million. Yet the Liberals won the most seats, 157, while the Conservatives won 121, which allowed the Liberals to remain as government in a minority situation.
After that election result, several prominent Conservatives have called for Scheer to resign. The Conservative Party’s rules required Scheer to face a mandatory leadership review in April if he didn’t win government.
Scheer said his party is strong when fiscal conservatives, social conservatives, Red Tories, libertarians, Quebec nationalists, rural conservative and urban conservatives are working together.
“As the party begins to embark on this exciting opportunity, electing a new leader, my only ask to my fellow Conservatives is this: let’s stay united,” he said. “Let’s stay focused on our one shared goal and our one shared priority: to deliver a strong Conservative government who can unite the country and make life better for all Canadians.”
More to come...
