Conservative Leader Erin O鈥橳oole says he鈥檚 ready to fight to hold on to the helm of the party after a third of caucus signed a letter to force a vote on his leadership as early as Wednesday.
O鈥橳oole addressed the letter , while drawing attention to internal party division.
鈥淭here are two roads open to the Conservative Party of Canada. One is the road of Randy Hillier and Derek Sloan. It is angry, negative, and extreme. It is a dead-end; one that would see the party of Confederation become the NDP of the right,鈥� he said.
鈥淭he other road is to better reflect the Canada of 2022. To recognize that conservatism is organic not static and that a winning message is one of inclusion, optimism, ideas and hope.鈥�
He added that he鈥檚 鈥渘ot going anywhere.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 time for a reckoning. To settle this in caucus. Right here. Right now. Once and for all.鈥�
Conservative MP and international development critic Garnett Genuis said on Monday evening that he is seeking an early leadership review but did not initiate the process.
鈥淎bout 1/3rd of caucus signed a letter calling for an end to Erin O鈥橳oole鈥檚 leadership, representing a broad cross-section of opinion. Mr. O鈥橳oole should recognize that his position is untenable, rather than using lies to publicly attack members of his own team,鈥� he said.
Conservative MP Bob Benzen also issued a statement saying he supports the review following the release of a report that detailed how the Conservative election campaign ended in defeat.
鈥淚n an attempt to spin the 2021 election loss, Mr. O鈥橳oole has claimed the results made our caucus more 鈥榬egionally diverse,鈥� but this came at the expense of losing seven seats in Western Canada, and an overall loss of two seats nationally. Surely, the goal of any national political party should be to form government by winning the most seats, and the Conservatives failed at this task under Mr. O鈥橳oole,鈥� he said.
Benzen added that O鈥橳oole has made a series of 鈥渇lip-flops鈥� and had 鈥渜uestionable judgement鈥� as leader when he adopted a 鈥渄e-facto carbon tax policy鈥� in April 2021. He said O鈥橳oole pressured members during the election campaign to support the entirety of the party platform or face expulsion or penalty, and failed to stand up against Bill 96 in Quebec and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms during the pandemic.
鈥淚 feel that the Conservative caucus has given Mr. O鈥橳oole more than enough chances for a course correction to resolve the concerns of many of the grassroots members of our party. In consideration of Mr. O鈥橳oole鈥檚 record as leader, I believe a caucus leadership review is the only way to avoid a dangerous split in the Conservative Party that may not be repairable,鈥� he said.
Late Tuesday, 21 former Conservative MPs also issued a letter calling for a new party leader.
"As former Conservative members of Parliament we join with many of our colleagues in caucus who are openly calling for a change in the leadership of the Conservative Party,鈥� the letter reads.
鈥淓rin O'Toole has not only failed to unite the party, his words and actions in recent days have created greater disunity. It is time for him to step aside for the good of the Conservative Party and the nation."
Through the Reform Act鈥� an initiative from Ontario Conservative MP Michael Chong that came into effect in 2015鈥�caucus voted after the election to give itself four key internal powers for the coming session, including the ability to review and remove the party leader and elect an interim replacement.
To forge ahead with a leadership review, 20 per cent of caucus needs to sign a formal agreement to trigger the process, and then a majority of caucus members would have to vote to remove the leader through a secret-ballot process.
MPs are gathering Wednesday for their regularly scheduled caucus meeting, at which time a vote could occur.
O鈥橳oole still seemingly has the support of key members of his leadership team.
In an interview on 麻豆影视 Channel鈥檚 Power Play natural resources critic Michelle Rempel Garner pleaded with her colleagues to refocus their energies on fulfilling their role as official opposition.
鈥淚 am very concerned about ensuring that Canada has a strong opposition at this juncture in our nation鈥檚 history, there are so many crises that the government needs to be held to account on,鈥� she said.
鈥淣ow we need to act as leaders, leaders that we鈥檝e been elected to be鈥his is not going to inspire Canadians that we can govern.鈥�
Heading into Parliament Hill on Tuesday for question period, Deputy Leader Candice Bergen said she would also put her support behind O鈥橳oole, as did Tim Uppal.
The majority of Conservative MPs declined to declare their position.
TRUCKER PROTESTS
The letter is the latest challenge to O鈥橳oole鈥檚 leadership, after a handful of electoral district associations put forward calls to host a leadership vote before the scheduled one at the party's national convention in 2023.
It also comes amid a trucker convoy rally in Ottawa protesting pandemic lockdowns, vaccine mandates, and other public health restrictions. While one of the main objectives of the rally was to oust Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, it may end up being his main rival who is toppled while the truckers are in town.
O鈥橳oole has faced criticism for being unclear about whether he supports the convoy, originally stating it wasn鈥檛 his place to 鈥渁ttend a protest on the Hill鈥� and then days later stating he would meet with truckers.
鈥淚鈥檝e never seen the country more divided, and I've never seen a time that we need to come together more than now,鈥� he told reporters after a caucus meeting last week.
Other Conservative MPs have been ardent in their support of the protests.
THE AFTERMATH OF A VOTE
If more than 50 per cent of MPs vote to oust O鈥橳oole, he will be removed as leader and caucus will then vote to elect an interim leader.
Conservative strategist Jamie Ellerton said no matter the outcome, the vote will be a positive step forward for the party as it gives MPs the opportunity to air their grievances with each other instead of through the media.
鈥淭here kind of needs to be a reconciliation between the various factions at play here as to what the path is going forward, how they鈥檙e going to operate, to ultimately give Conservatives a chance. Ultimately the more Conservative infighting there is in all of this, the biggest winner is Justin Trudeau,鈥� he said.
Benzen on Tuesday noting that O鈥橳oole鈥檚 reaction to the letter confirmed his 鈥渨orst fears.鈥�
鈥淢r. O鈥橳oole wants to divide this caucus and this party, not unite it. Rather than humbly admitting his mistakes and correcting course, Mr. O鈥橳oole is doubling down 鈥� launching attacks and threatening 鈥榗onsequences鈥� against any MP who dares dissent,鈥� he said.
鈥淓ven if Mr. O鈥橳oole wins the vote on Wednesday, the Conservative Party and its grassroots supporters across the country will loose. A house divided against itself cannot stand.鈥�
With files from 麻豆影视' Rachel Aiello and Ben Cousins
