OTTAWA-
A Quebec senator says Pierre Poilievre’s first week as Conservative leader left him “comfortable” with his decision to quit the party.
Senator Jean-Guy Dagenais had supported former Quebec premier Jean Charest in the recent leadership race and has not served in the Conservative senators’ caucus since 2019.
He left while Andrew Scheer was still at the helm of concerns such as Scheer’s fight in the federal election campaign this fall to articulate his socially conservative views on abortion.
On Friday, Dagenais said he decided to quit the party altogether over the weekend after Poilievre’s massive victory in which he found broad support in Quebec.
“It’s not my value,” he said in an interview on Friday.
Dagenais said he disagreed with Poilievre’s support for last winter’s Ottawa trucking convoy as well as his proposal to fire the Bank of Canada governor and cut government funding of the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.
Poilievre was expected to win the contest, but he still surprised some with the magnitude of his victory, which many, but not all, conservatives believe will provide the party with the unity it has been missing since he lost power to the liberals in 2015. .
Poilievre campaigned on the central rallying cry of freedom – a message he believes all conservatives, regardless of their specific political interests, can support.
Dagenais says watching Poilievre’s raucous first press conference with reporters this week confirmed his decision to leave, comparing the performance to that of former US President Donald Trump.
During the event, a reporter repeatedly yelled at Poilievre after being told the new leader would not take questions in his first media appearance since winning the Tory leadership. Poilievre finally agreed to answer two questions.
“I remember Mr. Trump,” Dagenais said. “He doesn’t like the media, he prefers to give information via social networks.”
He added: “I am comfortable with my decision as I cannot support Mr. Poilievre.”
Dagenais also called it “unacceptable” that the Conservative Party texted members of the Quebec constituency of now independent MP Alain Rayes, who also quit the party after Poilievre’s victory.
The party has since apologized for sending the message, which has encouraged members to call on Rayes to step down.
In response, Rayes released a statement saying that Canadians will decide for themselves how they feel about the situation, but that he will speak out against all forms of bullying.
Rayes had also worked to get Charest elected. The former prime minister finally ranked far behind Poilievre, who received nearly 70% of the support of the deputies, against 16% for Charest.
The departures of Dagenais and Rayes came as Poillievre met with MPs this week and began naming his picks to fill some key party posts.
He enjoyed the support of 62 of the party’s 118 other MPs during the race, many of whom say they believe their caucus is united.
Dagenais says he considers himself a progressive conservative and thinks other party members who identify similarly will also leave.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on September 16, 2022.
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