Canadian Opposition Leader Resigns Following Election Disappointment

TORONTO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 12th December, 2019) Canadian opposition leader Andrew Scheer announced to Parliament on Thursday that he is resigning as the head of the Conservative Party.

In October, under Scheer's guidance, the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) lost an election that was widely considered winnable following a myriad of public relations blunders by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, including the blackface and brownface scandal.

"I just informed my colleagues in the Conservative caucus that I will be resigning as the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada. I will be asking the Conservative Party National Council to immediately begin the process of organizing a leadership election," Scheer said in the House of Commons.

A new leader will be chosen at the CPC convention, which will now be moved from its scheduled April date to an undetermined one to address the vacant leader position. Scheer said he would stay on until a new party leader is selected.

Scheer told the House of Commons that he will also remain a Member of Parliament for Regina-Qu'Appelle and asked his conservative colleagues to stay united during this transitional period.

Trudeau, the head of Canada's Liberal Party, thanked Scheer for his years of public service and acknowledged the "challenges" of being an MP and the leader of a national party such as the CPC.

Scheer was repeatedly dogged by his socially conservative credentials - issues like same-sex marriage and abortion rights are considered to be settled in Canada - and, accordingly, renewed discourse on such issues is deemed an unwanted distraction. Many placed the CPC's underwhelming performance squarely at the feet of their leader, pointing to the fact that he failed to gain traction with Canadians outside of his base in Western Canada.

While Conservative Members of Parliament have publicly backed their leader in the days and weeks following the election, cracks began to show quickly. Last month, the Canadian Press reported that the Tory Caucus voted to keep Scheer as Party leader for the foreseeable future. Despite surviving the post-election coup attempt, the possibility of one coupled with stinging rebukes by Conservative heavyweights, such as former Minister of National Defense Peter MacKay, were troubling signs for the, now, former leader.