Conservative MP will resign Alberta riding so Pierre Poilievre can run again [Video]

A newly re-elected Conservative member of Parliament is resigning his Alberta seat to allow Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre to run again, the party announced Friday.

Poilievre lost his long-held seat in the Ottawa riding of Carleton in Monday’s federal election, leaving the Conservatives without a leader in the House of Commons despite forming the largest official Opposition in Canada’s history.

The resignation of Battle River-Crowfoot MP-elect Damien Kurek, who has held the seat since 2019, will allow Poilievre to run in a future by-election.

“Pierre Poilievre just finished a remarkable national campaign that received the highest vote share since 1988,” Kurek said in a statement issued by the party.

“An unstoppable movement has grown under his leadership, and I know we need Pierre fighting in the House of Commons to hold the Liberal minority government to account.

Kurek said his resignation is only temporary, however, and that he intends to run in the same riding whenever …