Chris Tibbs for PC Party leader? Incumbent candidate muses about it in video, then quickly deletes it

Incumbent PC candidate Chris Tibbs says he agreed to quickly delete a social media video earlier this month in which he revealed his desire to one day become party leader after a friend told him it might be taken out of context.

His friend may have had a point, because Tibbs found himself on the defensive over the video Thursday.

"There was a 10-second blurp taken out of context of a two-minute video," said Tibbs, who was first elected as the MHA for Grand Falls-Windsor-Buchans in the 2019 election, and is being challenged in the current election by Liberal Deborah Ball and the NDP's Holly Pike.

In the video, Tibbssays he has been asked if he would ever consider seeking the party's leadership.

"After much deliberation, talking to my wife and two sons, absolutely I would when my time is right," he says.

In explaining the video, Tibbs said he was motivated by his frustrations with the Liberal party. He said he wrote Liberal Leader Andrew Furey on Dec. 21 to expressconcerns about some issues in the Grand Falls-Windsor-Buchans district.

After weeks passed without a response, Tibbs said, he recorded the video in order to talk about leadership, and how political stripe should not get in the way of getting things done.

After posting the video, he was cautioned by a friend about the reference to seeking the PC leadership, and decided to remove the post.

"The second reason I took it down was later on that day, the premier's office did get back to me with a response after over two months. And I guess the video did work because it did get a response from the premier's office," said Tibbs.

But the optics, and timing, arehard to ignore.

Voters are still casting their ballots in what's been a chaotic and drawn-out pandemic election.

Ches Crosbie is still very much the PC Party leader, and has been campaigning hard to become premier, despite public opinion polls that suggest his own popularity is in unflattering territory.

But unlike the Liberals, who boldly plaster the "Team Furey" slogan over campaign signs, there's hardly a mention of the Crosbie name on the ubiquitous lawn signs that Tibbs and other PC candidates have spreadthroughoutthe province.

That's in stark contrast to the last provincial election, when the "Crosbie 2019" slogan was prominently displayed on signs.

Tibbs said he did not intend to undermine or embarrass Crosbie, and appeared to walk back his leadership ambitions when questioned Thursday.

"There's no way I'll be seeking this leadership until I learn so much more. And I have so much more to learn off of great leaders such as Ches Crosbie. And I support Ches Crosbie 100 per cent," said Tibbs.

So how does Crosbie feel about Tibbs's video?

The PC leader would not do an interview, but the party issued the following statement on his behalf:

"Chris Tibbs is a valued member of the PC caucus and has my full confidence and support. I look forward to working with him in the new PC government that I intend to lead."

Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador