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National Post
30-05-2025
- Business
- National Post
Conservative MP Damien Kurek calls on colleagues to 'fight for Canada' as he steps down for Poilievre
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Member of Parliament for Battle River—Crowfoot, Damien Kurek, right, with Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre. OTTAWA — With a wave of his black cowboy hat and a call for all Parliamentarians to 'fight for Canada,' Alberta Conservative MP Damien Kurek made a heartfelt final address in the House of Commons Thursday before stepping aside for leader Pierre Poilievre. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS Enjoy the latest local, national and international news. Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events. Unlimited online access to National Post. National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. 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Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Flanked by a few dozen of his Conservative colleagues after question period, the MP for Battle River—Crowfoot said that politics had been a 'wild, wild ride' for him and his family as he called on his constituents to support Poilievre in the upcoming byelection. During his 10-minute speech, he called on MPs to fight together for Canada, argued that Alberta deserves a 'fair voice' within the federation, threw the occasional barb at the Liberals and joked that stepping down was a more complicated process than expected. Your guide to the world of Canadian politics. (Subscriber exclusive on Saturdays) By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again 'I didn't know it would be quite so much work to resign,' the hulking Kurek said with his emblematic booming voice, earning laughs from MPs in the chamber. Kurek was first elected in the rural Alberta riding in 2019 and was handily re-elected in April with over 80 per cent of the vote. But when Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre lost his longtime Ottawa riding of Carleton, Kurek announced he would step aside to allow the party head to run in his stead. Kurek said he will resign as soon as House of Commons rules allow it, likely meaning in late June. He's also promised to run again in Battle River—Crowfoot in the next federal election. 'I don't plan to retire from politics, but I am stepping aside to ensure that this byelection is triggered,' he said. The reason why Kurek is the Conservative MP stepping aside for Poilievre appeared to come from NDP MP Gord Johns, who expressed his condolences to Kurek for his father's passing in the last year and wishing him well in taking over the family farm. 'He's going to do well with it, and we wish him well as a farmer, supporting Canadians so we get our food, and the work that he does around his farm,' Johns said. 'I thank the member for the very kind words,' Kurek replied. 'And I think it emphasizes that in this place, we can trade passionate partisan barbs, we can passionately disagree, but that doesn't mean that there's hatred toward each other.' His farewell speech was briefly heckled by Liberal MPs, one of which loudly booed his announcement that he was resigning to allow Poilievre to run and another who loudly lamented the cost of a byelection (estimates vary from $1.7 million to $2 million). This advertisement has not loaded yet. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The comments pushed Conservative MP Michael Barrett to cross the aisle and apparently scold them before Johns and some Liberal MPs jumped in to lower the temperature. While responding to later well-wishes from the Liberals, NDP, Bloc Québécois and Greens, Kurek acknowledged that he was excited to be back on the family farm — and far from opposing party benches. 'I look forward to being able to spend a little bit more time in a tractor cab. The good thing about being in a tractor cab, Mr. Speaker, is that it doesn't heckle you,' he said. Kurek also repeatedly thanked his wife Danielle, who was watching from the visitors' gallery, for supporting his time in politics and noted that he looked forward to spending more time with his three sons. He then finished with a call to action for all MPs. 'As Danielle and I move on to what is a bit of an unexpected chapter of our lives, I would ask each and every person in this House: fight for Canada, fight for what's right, and do so boldly and strongly, because that's the least we can do for the people that send us here.' 'I plan to be back, God willing, but in the meantime, I look forward to being the best husband, the best dad and the best rural farmer that I can possibly be,' he added. He then stood up, waved his trademark black cowboy hat in the air, and walked out of the House of Commons. Get more deep-dive National Post political coverage and analysis in your inbox with the Political Hack newsletter, where Ottawa bureau chief Stuart Thomson and political analyst Tasha Kheiriddin get at what's really going on behind the scenes on Parliament Hill every Wednesday and Friday, exclusively for subscribers. Sign up here. Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our politics newsletter, First Reading, here.
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Poilievre set to speak to Conservative MPs before House of Commons opens
OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre will welcome the new House of Commons session with a speech to his MPs on Sunday afternoon. The Conservatives are still reeling from an election loss to Prime Minister Mark Carney's Liberals, which was made all the more devastating because the Tories were leading by more than 20 percentage points at the beginning of the year. The party has yet to confirm if it will be doing an official review of the campaign to determine if lessons can be learned for the next election, but some MPs have said that they want to see changes and 'contrition' from the leader in the wake of the loss in April. Last week, Poilievre announced that more than half of his MPs will serve in critic roles with the roster showcasing more experienced MPs than fresh faces. With the House set to open for the first time in nearly six months, there have been hints of a change of tone from the Conservatives, who have offered to work with the government on issues relating to Canada-U.S. relations as the country endures a trade war with its southern neighbour. The first order of business for Poilievre, though, will be to get a seat in the House of Commons. The Conservative leader will soon be running in a byelection in Battle River—Crowfoot after losing his own Ottawa-area seat in the April election. Conservative MP Damien Kurek has pledged to step down as member of Parliament in the riding to allow Poilievre to run. National Post Get more deep-dive National Post political coverage and analysis in your inbox with the Political Hack newsletter, where Ottawa bureau chief Stuart Thomson and political analyst Tasha Kheiriddin get at what's really going on behind the scenes on Parliament Hill every Wednesday and Friday, exclusively for subscribers. Sign up here. Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.
National Post
25-05-2025
- Politics
- National Post
Poilievre set to speak to Conservative MPs before House of Commons opens
OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre will welcome the new House of Commons session with a speech to his MPs on Sunday afternoon. Article content Article content The Conservatives are still reeling from an election loss to Prime Minister Mark Carney's Liberals, which was made all the more devastating because the Tories were leading by more than 20 percentage points at the beginning of the year. Article content Article content The party has yet to confirm if it will be doing an official review of the campaign to determine if lessons can be learned for the next election. Some MPs have said that they want to see changes and 'contrition' from the leader in the wake of the election loss. Article content Article content Last week, Poilievre announced that more than half of his MPs will serve in critic roles with the roster showcasing more experienced MPs than fresh faces. Article content With the House set to open for the first time in nearly six months, there have been hints of a change of tone from the Conservatives, who have offered to work with the government on issues relating to Canada-U.S. relations as the country endures a trade war with its southern neighbour. Article content The Conservative leader will soon be running in a byelection in Battle River—Crowfoot after losing his own Ottawa-area seat in the April election. Conservative MP Damien Kurek has pledged to step down as member of Parliament in the riding to allow Poilievre to run. Article content
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Separatists want to 'hold Poilievre's feet to the fire' in Alberta byelection bid
OTTAWA — Currently seatless Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is eyeing an easy win in a not-yet-called byelection in rural Alberta, but locals say he could be caught in the middle of a growing firestorm over Alberta separation. The first hurdle for Poilievre, who represented suburban Ottawa as an MP for two decades before losing his seat last month, will be convincing locals that he's not just another central Canada politician who sees Alberta as a giant ATM machine. 'I'm somewhat suspect that Mr. Poilievre has said publicly that he doesn't feel there should be any big changes to the equalization formula,' said Rick Strankman, referring to the federal wealth redistribution program Alberta hasn't seen a dime from since the mid-1960s. Strankman is a third-generation resident of Poilievre's prospective riding of Battle River—Crowfoot, who represented the area as an Wildrose MLA from 2012 to 2019. He says he's seen an uptick in support for Alberta separatism within the community since last month's federal election, which saw the Liberals win their fourth-straight mandate. 'I think many people are deeply unsatisfied, and many people are frustrated in that they don't know how to achieve a positive change, unless it… evolves from a referendum,' said Strankman. Province-wide polls show up to two-thirds of Albertans who support the governing United Conservative Party would vote 'yes' in a referendum on Alberta independence. Poilievre said last week that he was 'against (Alberta) separation' but sympathized with the 'legitimate grievances' of those who were for it. Strankman, who's involved with the pro-separation Alberta Prosperity Project, noted that the group has several upcoming events in and around the riding, including a forum in the 800-person town of Castor next month. 'I just saw a poster for the Castor event at my local tractor repair shop,' said Strankman. Strankman doesn't think that Poilievre is in danger of losing the byelection but suspects that turnout could suffer if he ignores the rising tide of Alberta separatism. 'You could almost run a straw bale in our riding under the Conservative flag and that would get elected… but there might be an apathy there if (Poilievre) can't shake the label of being a parachute candidate from Ottawa,' said Strankman. Jeffrey Rath, a lawyer with the Alberta Prosperity Project, says he expects the high-profile byelection to attract 'a strong pro-independence candidate or two' with 'good local name recognition.' 'It would be fascinating to see somebody hold Poilievre's feet to the fire and make him explain how it is that federalism still works for Alberta,' said Rath. Rath publicly dared Poilievre last week to run in Battle River—Crowfoot under the slogan 'No more Alberta tax dollars for Quebec, and a dairy cow and micro-dairy in every Alberta barn that wants one.' Prime Minister Mark Carney said shortly after the election that he'd ensure Poilievre's byelection took place 'as soon as possible' if his fellow Conservatives wanted him to stay on as leader. The soonest the Battle River—Crowfoot byelection can take place under federal law is in early August, meaning it will likely follow three provincial byelections expected for earlier in the summer. One of these byelections, coincidentally, will take place in Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills, where Alberta's first, and thus far only, separatist MLA Gordon Kesler was elected in a 1982 byelection. Kesler was beaten soundly in a general election later that year. Cameron Davies, leader of the Republican Party of Alberta, announced on Tuesday that he will be running in the riding, hoping to follow in Kesler's footsteps as a separatist voice in the Alberta Legislature. He says that Kesler, who's still active in the riding, has been an indispensable source of support and wisdom as he embarks on his own political journey. Davies told the National Post he doesn't see Poilievre as an advocate for Alberta, even if he ends up winning a federal seat in the province. '(Poilievre) is a federal politician… he has to be a Team Canada player,' said Davies. 'Alberta no longer wants to be part of team Canada, and so at some point (he'll) have to reconcile with that.' National Post rmohamed@ Get more deep-dive National Post political coverage and analysis in your inbox with the Political Hack newsletter, where Ottawa bureau chief Stuart Thomson and political analyst Tasha Kheiriddin get at what's really going on behind the scenes on Parliament Hill every Wednesday and Friday, exclusively for subscribers. Sign up here. Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.
National Post
22-05-2025
- Politics
- National Post
Separatists want to 'hold Poilievre's feet to the fire' in Alberta byelection bid
OTTAWA — Currently seatless Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is eyeing an easy win in a not-yet-called byelection in rural Alberta, but locals say he could be caught in the middle of a growing firestorm over Alberta separation. Article content Article content The first hurdle for Poilievre, who represented suburban Ottawa as an MP for two decades before losing his seat last month, will be convincing locals that he's not just another central Canada politician who sees Alberta as a giant ATM machine. Article content 'I'm somewhat suspect that Mr. Poilievre has said publicly that he doesn't feel there should be any big changes to the equalization formula,' said Rick Strankman, referring to the federal wealth redistribution program Alberta hasn't seen a dime from since the mid-1960s. Article content Strankman is a third-generation resident of Poilievre's prospective riding of Battle River—Crowfoot, who represented the area as an Wildrose MLA from 2012 to 2019. Article content He says he's seen an uptick in support for Alberta separatism within the community since last month's federal election, which saw the Liberals win their fourth-straight mandate. Article content 'I think many people are deeply unsatisfied, and many people are frustrated in that they don't know how to achieve a positive change, unless it… evolves from a referendum,' said Strankman. Province-wide polls show up to two-thirds of Albertans who support the governing United Conservative Party would vote 'yes' in a referendum on Alberta independence. Article content Article content Poilievre said last week that he was 'against (Alberta) separation' but sympathized with the 'legitimate grievances' of those who were for it. Article content Strankman, who's involved with the pro-separation Alberta Prosperity Project, noted that the group has several upcoming events in and around the riding, including a forum in the 800-person town of Castor next month. Article content 'I just saw a poster for the Castor event at my local tractor repair shop,' said Strankman. Article content Strankman doesn't think that Poilievre is in danger of losing the byelection but suspects that turnout could suffer if he ignores the rising tide of Alberta separatism. Article content 'You could almost run a straw bale in our riding under the Conservative flag and that would get elected… but there might be an apathy there if (Poilievre) can't shake the label of being a parachute candidate from Ottawa,' said Strankman.
