INNISFAIL – Not everyone is happy to see Andrew Scheer go.
Earlier this month, after reports of mounting pressure from within the party, Conservative leader Andrew Scheer announced his resignation.
“I was disappointed. I know that since the election he’s been working extremely hard to try to make sure that we were working effectively as an Opposition,” said Earl Dreeshen, the MP for Red Deer-Mountain View.
Dreeshen noted Scheer’s strong leadership in continuing to hold the Liberal government to account and pointed to pressures and concerns, including those surrounding the party and family as possible contributing factors in his resignation.
“I think probably that is what made him make that decision and I respect the decision that he made,” he added. “I’m happy to see that he’s anxious to make sure we can move forward.”
Although nothing has been announced, there has been talk of possible replacements for Scheer, including former interim leader Rona Ambrose and former cabinet minister Peter MacKay.
“I know them well and consider both of them friends, but until they make that announcement it’s all hypothetical,” said Dreeshen. “I think these are and perhaps a few other people, (who) are testing the waters by throwing names out, but quite frankly we have lots of people that I believe have the ability to move us forward and to look at perhaps a new direction, a different way that we can respond to some of the urban issues that are there,” explained Dreeshen.
He said there may be a convention in April but it will be up to the party leadership to make any decisions when a new leader is chosen.
Dreeshen also noted an opportunity for the party to take a fresh look at things and to focus on important issues for both the party and the Canadian people.
“You would see responsibility and see transparency. I think we have to make sure that we can show people what the plan is forward, if the House does things differently,” he said.
Next steps in the immediate future for the Conservative party, noted Dreeshen, will be to listen to party members and gather feedback.
“We’ll be listening to the report (a review of the election) that John Baird is going to be presenting to the leadership in the next week or so, or however long it takes,” said Dreeshen. “He’s going to be speaking to candidates and members of Parliament to get our reaction to different things that happened either during the campaign or in the party in general.
“We’ve had meetings with our local teams and that’ll be all brought together later on as we present a detailed report so that we are confident that we have dealt with all the issues that are out there,” Dreeshen concluded.
