Bergen announces departure from politics with 'gratitude and pride'
The Tuesday before the next leader of the Conservative Party of Canada is to be announced, current interim leader Candice Bergen has announced that she intends to not seek re-election in the next federal election.
Bergen announced via social media that she would not be seeking re-election in her riding of Portage-Lisgar, "With deep gratitude and pride as a Manitoban and Canadian, I am announcing today I will not be seeking re-election in the next general election.
"Serving the constituents of Portage-Lisgar for fourteen years has been the honour of my political life and I am eternally grateful to have had the opportunity to be their voice in the House of Commons"
Bergen was elected from caucus after former Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole was removed in a secret ballot in February.
"The past 7 months serving as Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition has been incredibly gratifying and rewarding. Seeing our caucus come together again as a unified and strong opposition, and our party grow to over 678,000 members strong has shown me once again that the tried-and-true values and principles of respect for different viewpoints, trust in your team, and staying consistently Conservative is the path to success for our party and the country."
Bergen says that she will stay on as the MP for Portage-Lisgar until the next election, "While I do not intend to seek re-election, I am committed in the immediate future to continuing to serve as the Member of Parliament for Portage-Lisgar, representing my constituents, and supporting our new Leader on their path to becoming the next prime minister of Canada."
Calgary Forest Lawn MP Jasraj Singh Hallan tweeted his support for the outgoing leader, "Grateful for Candice's thoughtful, compassionate and unifying leadership. An honour to continue serving with her. "
Dr. Leslyn Lewis, who is seeking to replace the outgoing leader said in a tweet that she would be forever grateful for the outgoing leader's service to the party, "I will forever be grateful for (Candice Bergens) 's service and even more so her example of leading with unity, impartiality and grace. I will miss you dearly Candice."
We will be live on Saturday night, covering the results of the 2022 Conservative Leadership Race.
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