Carney hands Poilievre a major lifeline as he talks unity Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu Live reporter Image source, Reuters Image caption, Carney and Poilievre after the pre-election English language debate on April 17 During the news conference this morning, Canadian Prime Minister Carney was asked about the future of Pierre Poilievre, his rival in the just-ended election. The Conservative Party leader lost his seat in an Ottawa-area riding to the Liberal Party candidate, and as such will not be in the new Parliament which opens May 27. If he attends the session, he will have to watch from the public stands.
A way around this would be for one of his own party members to gave up their seat and for Poilievre to run in a by-election triggered by that resignation. Canadian election rules do not require candidates to personally live in the constituency where they run, so theoretically, a by-election could be shoe-in for Poilievre if he runs in a Conservative Party stronghold. One elected Conservative MP in Alberta has already volunteered to step down.
The prime minister could further facilitate Poilievre's return as the official Leader of the Opposition in Parliament by asking his Liberal Party not to run a candidate against him in the by-election. Carney said at the press conference, if Poilievre and the Conservatives chose this path, he would "ensure that it happens as soon as possible… no games, nothing, straight," he said. This move is seen as an olive branch from Carney to his rival and with the federal election put to bed, he could be seen as leading by example after he called for Canadians to set aside partisan politics and unite in the face of US tariffs and threats to its sovereignty.
"We are in a once-in-a-lifetime crisis, it's time come together put on our Team Canada sweaters and win big," he said. "Now is the time for ambition, to be bold, to meet this crisis with an overwhelming positive force that is a united Canada." The New Democratic Party's Jagmeet Singh also lost his Vancouver-area seat and resigned as leader of his party.
The Green Party's co-leader Jonathan Pedneault also resigned after failing to win his Montreal-area riding.
