Interim Conservative leader Candice Bergen says she won’t run in next election

Interim Conservative Leader Candice Bergen has said she will not run in the next federal election but will remain an MP after a new leader is selected this weekend.

“Serving the constituents of Portage-Lisgar for 14 years has been the honor of my political life and I am eternally grateful to have had the opportunity to be their voice in the House of Commons,” she said. in a statement Tuesday morning.

« I will wholeheartedly support whoever takes my place as leader after September 10. I am incredibly optimistic about the future of the Conservative movement in Canada. When Conservatives are strong and united, Conservatives win. »

Before taking on the role of interim leader after Erin O’Toole was ousted earlier this year, Bergen was previously deputy leader of the Conservatives and was one of the party’s most prominent voices in the House of Commons. municipalities.

The Manitoba MP was first elected to represent the riding of Portage-Lisgar in 2008.

A new chef to choose on Saturday

In his statement, Bergen thanked both former prime minister Stephen Harper and former interim leader Rona Ambrose.

“I am humbled and grateful to every leader I have worked with and learned so much from,” she wrote.

The Conservative Party will choose a new leader Saturday night at a convention in Ottawa.

The party announced last week that more than half of the 678,000 ballots it sent out to members had been returned. The camp of veteran Tory MP Pierre Poilievre says he has sold more than 300,000 memberships, making him the favourite.

He faces former Quebec Premier Jean Charest, fellow caucus members Leslyn Lewis and Scott Aitchison, and Roman Baber, a former Ontario MLA who was kicked out of the Progressive Conservative caucus due to opposing blockades.

WATCH | Bergen says the Conservative Party leadership race is « not for the faint-hearted »: