‘A cut-throat business’
Ousting of O’Toole as leader a surprise to West Nova MP
Given the current minority federal government, the timing of a vote to oust Conservative leader Erin O'Toole concerns the MP for West Nova.
Chris d'Entremont said in a Feb. 2 phone interview that he was “a little surprised” by the outcome of a secret ballot vote held earlier in the day. The vote saw 73 of the 118 Conservative MPs on hand vote in favour of removing O'Toole as leader.
“Talking to people, I thought it was going to be close, but I didn't expect it to be so decisive in having Erin leave,” d'Entremont said.
D'Entremont is concerned over the timing of the vote. He said it puts the party “in an awkward spot, to put it mildly.”
Candice Bergen, an MP from Manitoba, was elected the interim leader on Feb. 2.
The process of determining a new leader to carry the party into the future will take more time.
D'Entremont said he doesn't expect that a snap election will be called, but it's always a possibility that the governing party could take advantage of the situation.
When asked if he would consider a leadership bid, d'Entremont said he has no interest in pursuing the position.
D'Entremont said this feeling has been somewhat reinforced by what has happened to O'Toole. Even after a lot of hard work, O'Toole was asked to leave.
“It's a cut-throat business that we find ourselves in sometimes,
and it's not something that would really interest me,” d'Entremont said about leading the party.
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The MP said he supporter of O'Toole, who d'Entremont described as “a good friend of Nova Scotia.”
O'Toole was part of the Progressive Conservative (PC) executive for several years and worked as part of the campaign team that helped get former Nova Scotia premier John Hamm elected.
D'Entremont said his current roles as deputy Speaker and chair of committees of
the whole and co-chair of the Joint Interparliamentary Council wouldn't be impacted by the party's decision to oust O'Toole.
One of the main reasons cited by Conservative MPs for voting out O'Toole was the former leader's actions to move the party to the centre of the political spectrum in the recent federal election campaign.
O'Toole faced criticism from within his party for changing the Conservatives' position on issues such as carbon taxation, firearms and balancing the budget.