Alberta MP stepping aside to let Pierre Poilievre run for seat

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OTTAWA — Seat-less Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre will try his luck in Alberta.

After losing on election night in his now-former Ottawa-area riding of Carleton, the Tory leader will get the chance to snag a seat in the House of Commons thanks to Battle River-Crowfoot MP Damien Kurek, who has agreed to step aside.

“It has been a tremendous honour to serve the good people of Battle River-Crowfoot as their Member of Parliament since 2019,” Kurek said in a statement.

“Their support and commitment to the Conservative movement and our mission to bring back hope and prosperity to this country has been unmatched. Which is why, after much discussion with my wife Danielle, and I have decided to step aside for this Parliamentary session to allow our Conservative Party leader to run here in a byelection.”

Battle River-Crowfoot ranks among the safest Conservative seats in Canada.

A rural constituency in east-central Alberta between Red Deer and the Saskatchewan Border, towns within the riding include Stettler, Hanna, Drumheller and Camrose.

Kurek represented the riding since 2019, and commanded 82% of the vote in Monday’s election.

Formed after a 2012 redistricting, the riding has reliably sent conservative-leaning candidates to Ottawa for nearly a decade.

In 1977, Crowfoot MP “Cactus Jack” Horner scandalously crossed the aisle from the Progressive Conservatives to join Pierre Trudeau’s cabinet.

He was soundly defeated by the PC candidate two years later.