Erin O’Toole is out as head of the federal Conservative party, and Manitoba MP Candice Bergen is in.
Conservative Members of Parliament voted to remove O’Toole from his position as party leader yesterday in a secret-ballot vote, 73-45.
Local MPs expressed gratitude to O’Toole for his service to both the party and the country, and say they are confident in the unity of the party moving forward.
“It is of utmost importance for me and for the entire Conservative Caucus to work together in the upcoming days and months, to ensure that our party re-emerges unified as as one with our dynamic conservative movement,” Lambton-Kent-Middlesex MPP Lianne Rood says in a statement. “As a proud Member of the Conservative Party of Canada, I am confident that the next chapter will energize the grassroots, giving an opportunity for important dialogue to take place, which will ultimately lead to the election of a Conservative government.”
“First and foremost, my priority continues to be what is best for the people of Chatham-Kent-Leamington,” a statement from CKL MP Dave Epp reads. “To that end, my first duty is to ensure that the daily needs of my constituents continue to be addressed with the most professional level of service. Next, my attention as a member of the Conservative caucus turns to the questions of who are we as a party? Where do we need to go as a party to represent the best interests of all Canadians in order to secure enough of their trust to be elected to government so we can implement the changes Canada so desperately needs! ”
Bergen, who was deputy leader under O’Toole, will hold the position on an interim basis until the party choses a new, permanent leader.
