Candice Bergen voted interim Conservative leader after caucus ousts O'Toole

Candice Bergen was votedinterim leader of the Conservatives on Wednesday evening after a majority of partyMPs voted to remove Erin O'Toole as leader earlier in the day.

Bergen has been the MP for the Manitoba ridingofPortageLisgarsince 2008. She waspreviously theConservatives'deputy leader and has been among the party's most prominent voices in the House of Commons, where she frequently squares off against Prime Minister Justin Trudeauand other senior ministers during question period.

Bergen was among nine candidates vying to be interim leader during the party's Wednesday evening caucus meeting,Conservative Party sources told CBC News.

As interim leader, Bergen will not be allowed to run for permanent leader when that race is conducted. A date has not yet been determined.

Bergen previously served as the Opposition House leader from 2016 to 2020and was also minister of state for social development under Stephen Harper.

O'Toole's removalpavesthe way for another leadership race only 18 months after the party finished the last one.

The result wasn't particularly close: 73 of the 118 MPson hand the party's caucus chair, Scott Reid, did not cast a ballot voted to replace O'Toole.

O'Toole, a four-term Ontario MP, fought only one federal election campaign as leader.

After the vote was over, O'Toole officially resigned his post in a letter to Rob Batherson, the president of the Conservative Party of Canada. O'Toole will begin moving out of his office immediately.

In a resignation video posted to Twitter, O'Toole described his time asleader as "the honour of a lifetime" before warning that"Canada is in a dire moment of our history."

O'Tooleasked politicians and the next Conservative leader to "recognize that our country is divided and people are worried," pointing to the ongoing protests taking place just outside Parliament.

"I pledge my support and unwavering loyalty to our next leader and I urge everyone in our party to come together and do the same," he said.

O'Toole, a former air navigator in the Canadian Armed Forces and a corporate lawyer, was first elected in a 2012 byelection. He pledged Wednesday to stay on asMP for the Toronto area riding of Durham.

Trudeau, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and Bloc QubcoisLeader Yves-Franois Blancheteach acknowledged O'Toole during question period on Wednesday.

"There is a lot we don't agree on for the direction of this country, but he stepped up to serve his country and I want to thank him for his sacrifice," Trudeau said.

CBC News coverage of Erin O'Toole's removal

CBC News will have full coverage of Erin O'Toole's expulsion as leader of the Conservative Party of Canada. Here's how to follow the developments:

• In-depth coverage and analysis on CBC's The National (10 p.m. on CBC-TV, 9 p.m. ET on CBC News Network, CBC Gem and YouTube),including the At Issue panel with Rosemary Barton. You can catch the At Issue podcast on CBC Listen or wherever you get your podcasts.
• Follow CBCNews.ca for regular updates.
• CBC podcast Front Burner host Jayme Poisson speaks with CBC.ca senior writer J.P.Tasker about next steps for the party.

O'Toolefaced a barrage of criticism from his colleagues for shifting the party's positions on carbon taxation, balanced budgets and "assault-style" firearms during the election campaign.

Anti-O'Toole MPswere also frustrated withhis decision torun as a "true blue" Conservativein the party's leadership race, only to shift the party tothe centre when in the top job.

Some MPs were also disappointedby a post-election report released last week to caucusthat laid the blame for many of the 2021 campaign's failings on senior staff and not onO'Toolepersonally. Party sources said they felt hedid not take enough responsibilityfor the disappointingresult.In the end, enough MPs decided it was grounds for his dismissal.

O'Toole'slast-minutewarning that a vote against him and his more moderate vision of Canadian conservatism would put the party on the wrong path failed to rally enough MPs to his side.

WATCH |Conservative MPs removeErin O'Toole as leader:

Conservatives oust Erin OToole as leader

3 years ago

Duration 4:11

A private vote by Conservative MPs ended Erin OTooles 18-month stint as leader. The party has to next determine a direction and select a new leader.

Garnett Genuis, one of the MPs who led the fight against O'Toole, was tight-lipped after the vote.

Earlier this week,Genuislashed out at O'Toole and his staff, accusing them of lying about his record to suppress a caucus revolt.

Genuissaid Wednesdaythe lopsided vote against O'Toole gives the party an "opportunity to come together and move forward as a Conservative Party that's united and focused."

While he helped to lead the effort to dump O'Toole, Genuissaid he's "absolutely not" interested in running to replace him.

In a statementafter the vote, Matt Jeneroux, an Edmonton-area MP who also backed the movement to fireO'Toole, said the party needs a leader who "clearly reflects our values."

Jeneroux, a politician who describes himself as socially liberal and fiscally conservative, said O'Toole confused voters with his shifting positions.

"We must rebuild trust amongstCanadians and show them that we are strong and stable leaders who are rooted in our values while also understanding that we can evolve, learn and modernize our party to reflect all," he said. "This is an opportunity for the party."

Social conservative and anti-abortion activistscelebrated O'Toole'sdecisive defeat. O'Toole's efforts to drag the party to the centre on social issues the party suppressed debate on abortion during the last Conservative policy convention, for example alienated some Conservative ground troops.

'Fake conservative'

"O'Toole has time and again betrayed the party's socially conservative base with his support for abortion, LGBT ideology, oppressive lockdowns, and liberty-destroying passports for abortion-tainted vaccines," saidJeff Gunnarson, the president of the Campaign Life Coalition. "It's about time this fake conservative was given the boot."

Conservative MP Eric Duncan, an O'Toole ally and caucus secretary to the party, thanked the outgoing leader for his service while urging members to "unite" and "focus on defeating the Liberals in the next election."

"Leadership races can be a uniting process. We can be united. We need to get on the same page andwe need to movein the same direction and I'm very confident there's a strong willingness to do that," he said.

WATCH |Voters want clear message from next Conservative leader:

Voters want clear message from next Conservative leader

3 years ago

Duration 1:53

Some Conservative and swing voters werent surprised by the end of Erin OTooles tenure as leader and want to hear a clearer message from his replacement.

Ontario MP Michael Barrett, a confidant of O'Tooleand a member of his leadership team, said the outgoing leader did the best he could to steer the party through uncertain times.

Barrett said O'Toolehad led the party for less than a year when Trudeau called a snap election last fall, giving himlittle time to properly introduce himself to voters and challenge Trudeau for power.

"It's been tough being the leader of the Opposition," Barrett said. "Now, I just want to make sure our party elects a leader that gives us the best opportunity to replace a tired and corrupt Liberal government."

This development will force the party brass to immediately begin organizing a leadership race on a very tighttimeline. An election could be called at any time in this minority Parliament.

The Reform Act, the federal legislation that empowers Conservative MPs to remove their leader, does not specify how the next permanent leader will be elected, leaving that decision to the party itself.

The party's national council will meet as soon as possible to start planning for that race, a spokespersonfor the party said. The first step for the council is to appoint a leadership election organizing committee to planthis contest.

'Hopefully, the third permanentleader will be the charm'

Speaking later to CBC's Power & Politics, Batherson, the party president, said he understands there's an urgent need to get a new leader in place quickly.

Asked if he was concerned that launching a third leadership race in only five years would strain the party's financial and human resources, Bathersonsaid the party's got a lot of money and a strong foundation.

"Hopefully, the third permanentleader will be the charm," he said. "The good thing is we're experienced at this by now."

Conservative MP Mark Strahl, who was at odds with O'Toole during his time at the top, said the caucus is hoping there will be a new permanent leader by the fall.

"I don't think there's any desire in the party for a drawn-out process. I think, given the minority nature of Parliament, we want to get that face before Canadians as soon as possible," he said.

"We're going to unite behind that person to bring a solid Conservative message to Canadians."

WATCH | The National's At Issue panel discusses why O'Toole is no longer leader:

Why Erin OToole is no longer Conservative leader | At Issue

3 years ago

Duration 10:02

The At Issue panel breaks down Erin OToole's leadership of the Conservative Party in the last 18 months and what led to him losing the job.