Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre will continue to live in the residence of the official Opposition leader pending his bid to secure a Parliamentary seat in an upcoming Alberta byelection.
Poilievre’s unsuccessful bid for his Ontario riding in the recent federal election has raised questions about his eligibility to reside in Stornoway, where he and his family have lived since shortly after he assumed leadership of the Conservative Party in 2022. The government-owned residence is intended for the leader of the official Opposition, a role that can only be assumed by a sitting MP.
But interim Opposition leader Andrew Scheer has confirmed in a media statement this week that Poilievre and his family will remain in residence as the Tory leader gears up for an election campaign in the Alberta riding of Battle River-Crowfoot.
“It would be more costly to taxpayers to move the family out and then right back into the residence later this summer,” Scheer said in the statement. “I have no intention to move into the residence and so we expect the family will just remain there through this short transition phase.”
Poilievre lost his Ottawa-area riding of Carleton during the April 28 election after holding the seat for the past two decades.
The riding’s composition was changed after the 2021 election, which Poilievre won by more than 11,000 votes. Its boundaries were redrawn in 2022 based on census data.
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Alberta MP Damien Kurek offered to resign in his Battle River-Crowfoot riding shortly after Poilievre’s loss to give him a chance to regain his seat in the House of Commons. The riding is a longtime Tory stronghold, which Kurek won with 81.8 percent of the vote.
Kurek’s resignation cannot be made official right away, however. An MP cannot officially resign until their election results are officially confirmed and free from legal disputes, which typically takes a minimum of 30 days.
Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to announce the date of the byelection once Kurek’s resignation is official.
“I will ensure that it happens as soon as possible,” Carney said on May 2. “No games, nothing.”
The byelection campaign must run for at least 36 days as set out in the Canada Elections Act.
Conservative Party’s Choice
The Conservative Party’s decision to allow Poilievre and his family to remain at Stornoway was not entirely unexpected, as Scheer suggested as much last week.
Scheer said it didn’t make sense to evict Poilievre from the residence for what would likely be a short duration until he reclaimed a seat.
“It does cost a lot of taxpayers money to move somebody out, move somebody in, just to move them out, just move somebody in again,” Scheer told CBC’s “Power & Politics,” adding that he had no desire to move into Stornoway while acting as interim leader.
“My own view on this is whatever is the most efficient, the most cost effective for Canadian taxpayers. We don’t want this to add any extra burden.”
Though Stornoway is government-owned, Privy Council Office spokesperson Daniel Savoie said in an email that it is up to the Conservative Party to decide who lives there.
“The Privy Council Office does not play a role in administering the Official Residences Act,” Savoie said. “Any questions on how the Conservative Party will manage its leadership in the House of Commons in the future, and therefore who will reside at the official residence, should be directed to the Conservative Party.”
Despite remaining at Stornoway leading up to the byelection, Poilievre has declined the severance pay made available to members of Parliament who lose their seats.
Conservative Party communications director Sarah Fischer said the Tory leader will not accept the payment because he expects to secure the Alberta seat in the House of Commons this summer.
