Stephen Harper is stepping down as Conservative leader following Monday’s historic federal election that saw Justin Trudeau’s Liberals surge to a majority government and the Conservatives relegated to the official Opposition.
John Walsh, president of the Conservative Party of Canada, issued a statement Tuesday morning confirming Harper would resign and the party was instructed to begin the process of choosing an interim leader, and to start the leadership selection process.
“The Prime Minister indicated that he will continue to sit as a Member of Parliament and asks that a process to both select an interim leader and initiate the leadership selection process in our party begin immediately,” Walsh said.
Harper, who was seeking a fourth consecutive term as prime minister since 2006, comfortably won his Calgary Heritage riding on Monday night but took responsibility for the Conservative loss.
“The disappointment you feel is my responsibility and mine alone,” Harper said. “We put everything on the table, we gave everything we have to give, and we have no regrets whatsoever,” he said.
As Harper’s decade in power comes to a close, many are wondering who will be the new face of the Conservative party.
An Election Day survey conducted exclusively for Global News on Monday found that among Conservative supporters 17 per cent said they favour Jason Kenney as the next Conservative leader.
However, 40 per cent of respondents said they preferred someone else other than the candidates listed.
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Premier of Saskatchewan Brad Wall received nine per cent support, while Tony Clement and former Liberal Quebec premier Jean Charest each received eight per cent. Late Monday evening, when asked about a possible run for the leadership of the Tories, Wall said he won’t be applying for the vacant position.
“I have the best job in Canada,” Wall told reporters. “I keep saying that because I believe I’m fortunate to have it. In March we will be having our own election, and I will be applying for that job.”
Joe Oliver, who lost his seat to Liberal candidate Marco Mendicino in Toronto’s Eglinton-Lawrence riding, received six per cent support.
Veteran Rona Ambrose, who easily won her seat in Edmonton’s Sturgeon River-Parkland, received three per cent support and Conservative Transport Minister Lisa Raitt, who held her seat in Milton, received four per cent.
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The search for a new Conservative leader is a process that should take some time, said Tim Powers, a former Conservative strategist and vice chairman of Summa strategies in Ottawa.
“The Conservatives should probably do what the Liberals did and take a little bit of time and reflect and see if others come out of the woodwork and see in fact if Jason wants to run himself.”
Following the 2011 federal election that saw the Liberals plummet to third-party status, the Grits took two years before electing Trudeau as head of the party.
Powers said Conservatives need to think too about what kind of leader the party needs next.
“One of the reasons Harper was successful was that he and others built a political vehicle that largely served his purposes, his skills, and his strengths. Whoever succeeds him will want to do the same thing,” he said.
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The prospect of more female candidates to lead the party into the future is a must, said Powers, who added Calgary Conservative Michelle Rempel to the short list of possible candidates.
“The key thing is not to rush. They have four years to do this,” Powers said. “Defeats allow renewals. Renewals can be transformative. You need only to look at what Mr. Trudeau has done, the new faces he has brought to the party.”
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