Although recent polls call her a favorite, Calgary Knows Hill MP Michelle Rempel Garner will not run for the next leader of the United Conservative Party.
In a statement issued Thursday morning, Rempel Garner said he was considering running for leader, but “given everything, I think the Alberts would be better served if I stayed in the important role they already gave me right now.”
“It was the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make,” said Rempel Garner. “I’ll wonder about it for a long time. But I’m aware enough to know it’s the right choice.”
According to a June 11 Counsel Public Affairs poll, Rempel Garner had a + 36% approval rating from UCP members – the highest among potential candidates for leaders by a wide margin. Daniel Smith and Travis Towse were behind. The survey was conducted between June 8 and 11 and surveyed 788 Alberts with a margin of error of +/- 3.5 19 times out of 20.
“A poll published yesterday says I am the leader and could seriously challenge the NDP in next year’s general election,” Rempel Garner said. “I’m overwhelmed.”
Rempel Garner says she has come close enough to applying to make “final preparations to launch her campaign” on Wednesday, but after some thought she was too concerned about internal battles within the UCP.
“There were heated exchanges to solve major problems, unwarranted isolation in decision-making, avoidance, exclusion of clicks and more,” she said. “It’s all a matter of public information and it’s not an exaggeration. The pandemic made it worse, but that was before COVID.
Due to the rules for candidates set by the UCP executive, Rempel Garner had to apply for special permission to run because he was not an active member of the party for six months before potentially registering as a candidate. She received permission, but said she was shocked by the reaction to her request from many senior party members who “participated in an attempt to thwart something insignificant that the rules allowed.”
“And although the refusal was granted and I did not take any of these things to heart, my suspicions about what I would participate in Caucasus if I became a leader were confirmed,” she said.
Rempel Garner did not throw his support behind one of the other candidates. So far, there are eight confirmed candidates. The new leader will be elected on October 6th.
The 42-year-old MP, who has been working in Ottawa since 2011, says she plans to run again in 2025 for the Conservative Party of Canada.
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