(OTTAWA) The leader of the Conservative Party does not see the decision of the Saskatchewan caucus to keep in its ranks a senator he expelled as a disavowal of his leadership.
Posted at 2:15 p.m.
As he prepares to meet his national caucus in anticipation of the return to parliament on January 31, the leader still seems to be grappling with the discontent of some deputies who are unhappy with his performance in the last election.
The most recent proof of this is this decision by the Saskatchewan caucus to keep a chair at the table for Senator Denise Batters. She was kicked out of the Conservative national caucus last November by Erin O’Toole after she launched a petition calling for a vote on the leader’s leadership before 2023.
The vote of the members of the regional caucus was held last Thursday evening, behind closed doors, according to what reported the weekly specialized in federal politics The Hill Timesthe first outlet to report the news.
Invited to react to the vote at a press conference on Monday, Chief O’Toole wanted to minimize its importance.
“It doesn’t really bother me,” he blurted, arguing that the national caucus is the one that really matters, because that’s where the big decisions, those on the direction you want give to the country, discuss and take each other.
The result of the election on September 20 was disappointing for the Conservatives, who won fewer seats than under the leadership of the previous leader, Saskatchewan’s Andrew Scheer. In the wake of the electoral defeat, Erin O’Toole entrusted a defeated candidate, James Cumming, with the mandate to carry out an autopsy.
The result of this review shall be presented to the National Caucus. It is not intended to be made public.
As for the approach undertaken by Senator Batters, it was deemed inadmissible by the party’s staff. Many deputies and senators also condemned it, seeing it as an initiative likely to favor Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Chief O’Toole had summoned representatives of the media to denounce the management of finances by the Liberals. While inflation hurts the pocketbooks of Canadians, the Liberals are “letting people down again and again,” he said.
It’s a safe bet that the economy will continue to be the main battle horse of the official opposition, which made it the theme of numerous interventions during question period in the Commons last fall.