Conservatives choose Andrew Scheer as interim Opposition leader in Parliament

OTTAWA — The Conservative caucus has tapped former leader Andrew Scheer to lead the party in the House of Commons when Parliament resumes on May 26 — a role that’s needed because Pierre Poilievre lost his seat in last week’s election.

“I’ll be taking over the parliamentary leadership duties of the caucus until Mr. Poilievre rejoins us in the House,” Scheer told reporters after emerging from an all-day caucus meeting on Parliament Hill Tuesday.

He also pledged that Conservatives will “do our very best as the official Opposition to hold the government to account” when it comes to the trade war with the United States.

“The threats of tariffs, the threats of annexation, all of that needs to stop,” he said.

Poilievre spoke to reporters for the first time since the election on Tuesday morning as he headed into the meeting, saying Conservatives will spend the summer “listening carefully to people” after another election loss.

But he also said there is a lot for the Tories to be proud of and thankful for in the election results and pointed to the collapse of NDP support as a reason for the Liberal win.

“If you had told me that we would get 41 per cent of the vote a couple of years ago, I would have said, ‘Wow, that’s ambitious,'” he said.

“But if you told me that we would get 41 per cent of the vote and still not win, I would have said, ‘You’re crazy.'”

The NDP dropped from 24 seats to just seven after the election. The Liberals picked up seven seats won by the NDP in 2021 and the Conservatives picked up 10.

The 143 Conservatives who were elected on April 28 gathered to analyze the results and discuss the Reform Act, which would enable the caucus to call for a leadership review.

Scheer would not disclose how those discussions went on Tuesday evening, though reports citing anonymous sources said the caucus adopted the Reform Act provisions.

That’s the mechanism that was used to oust former leader Erin O’Toole after the party failed to beat the Trudeau Liberals in the 2021 election. Poilievre won the leadership in late 2022 with an overwhelming majority of support from Conservative party members.

Before the meeting began, Scheer was among a number of high-profile Conservatives who supported Poilievre’s continued leadership.

“I’m confident that our leader, Pierre Poilievre, will be able to make some adjustments to finish the job next time,” Scheer said.

He said the party will analyze the campaign over the next several months.

“Any time you don’t form government, you have to take a look at why, but we’re also incredibly optimistic about the base that we’ve built,” Scheer said Tuesday morning.

Michael Barrett, the former ethics critic who was re-elected in the riding of Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands—Rideau Lakes, said “everyone is very supportive. We’re behind Pierre Poilievre.”

“We have some lessons to learn from the campaign,” Barrett said. “We’re going to have those conversations in caucus today.”

In a video posted to social media on Monday, Poilievre pledged to “learn and grow” and said his team needs to expand.

He did not answer questions about what that might mean for Jenni Byrne, the party’s campaign manager. Byrne faced criticism from inside and outside the conservative movement during the election campaign as the party’s lead in the polls evaporated.

“She did a lot of hard work and our team has a lot to be proud of,” Poilievre said.

Several Conservative staffers have left their jobs since the election results, including Sebastian Skamski, who was Poilievre’s press secretary, and Ben Woodfinden, the communications director.

Poilievre will soon turn his attention to another campaign as he seeks a seat in the House of Commons.

MP-elect Damien Kurek said he will resign his seat in the rural Alberta riding of Battle River—Crowfoot to give Poilievre the chance to run in a byelection.

Kurek can only step down once he’s been sworn in as a member of Parliament, a process that begins after Elections Canada has formally certified the results — something that will happen by May 19.

The government has up to 180 days to call the byelection but Prime Minister Mark Carney said last week that he will call it soon.

Poilievre thanked the people of Carleton for electing him for over 20 years on Tuesday.

He also called Liberal MP-elect Bruce Fanjoy on Monday night to congratulate him. Fanjoy’s campaign spokeswoman said the call was polite, short and cordial.

— With files from Nick Murray and Catherine Morrison

This report from The Canadian Press was first published May 6, 2025.

Sarah Ritchie, The Canadian Press