Poilievre to run for Alberta seat after MP-elect Damien Kurek agrees to step down

Peter Zimonjic · CBC News

· Posted: May 02, 2025 1:38 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 infinitesimal ago

Conservative MP-elect Damien Kurek says helium volition resign his Alberta spot truthful Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre tin tally successful a forthcoming byelection.

"Although it volition beryllium hard to temporarily measurement distant from this role, successful this portion I emotion and person ever called home, the mandate fixed to maine is 1 that intelligibly states that alteration is needed," helium said successful a connection on Friday.

"Offering this spot to our enactment person is an important measurement successful that process."

Kurek archetypal won the spot of Battle River-Crowfoot successful 2019. Kurek was re-elected connected Monday with astir 82 per cent of the vote.

Prime Minister Mark Carney, meanwhile, said Friday that helium volition telephone that byelection arsenic soon arsenic imaginable to ensure Poilievre has the accidental to rapidly instrumentality to the House of Commons.

Poilievre mislaid his Ottawa-area spot of Carleton, a riding helium held for much than 20 years, by 5 percent points, losing to Liberal campaigner Bruce Fanjoy.

"I've already indicated to Mr. Poilievre that … I volition guarantee that it happens arsenic soon arsenic possible. No games, nothing," Carney said successful his archetypal quality league arsenic an elected authoritative on Friday.

When Parliament returns, the premier curate volition find himself 4 seats abbreviated of a majority, requiring him to unafraid enactment from the New Democrats, Bloc Québécois or the Conservatives to walk legislation.

Watch | Carney says byelection would hap soon: 

When asked if helium was trying to entice MPs from different parties to transverse the level to the Liberals and springiness him that bulk instead, Carney said lone that helium has spoken to the different enactment leaders astir his strategy to woody with Trump and expects them to propulsion successful the aforesaid direction.

Using a hockey analogy, Carney said NHL players from Canada play connected galore antithetic teams, but erstwhile it comes to the Olympics oregon the Four Nations, each of them enactment connected Team Canada jerseys. He expects the aforesaid from absorption parties.

No woody with NDP

Asked if helium volition beryllium making efforts to signifier a governing pact with the NDP akin to the confidence-and-supply statement of the past Parliament, Carney said simply: "No. Short answer, no."

When asked wherefore not, the premier curate turned the question connected the newsman and said: "Why?"

"That's my response," Carney said. "We campaigned connected a precise wide acceptable of objectives, precise wide policies to backmost those up and we received the highest fig of votes successful Canadian history. Yes it is not a majority, but the highest fig of votes."

The premier curate said his mandate is strong, having won the bulk of seats successful 7 provinces and secured the astir seats successful Quebec successful decades on with the astir seats successful B.C. successful the party's history.

"In bid to bash what we request to bash arsenic a country, we volition request to enactment successful concern with each the provinces, with Indigenous Peoples, yes, obviously, by explanation successful Parliament," helium said. 

The agreement struck betwixt the Liberals and the NDP successful March 2022 committed the NDP to supporting the Liberal authorities connected assurance votes.

In speech for that support, the Liberals agreed to a fig of legislative commitments connected NDP priorities, specified as pharmacare, dental attraction and banning replacement workers during onslaught actions.