MP Damien Kurek officially resigns, paving way for Poilievre's byelection

Alberta MP Damien Kurek officially stepped down on Tuesday, paving the way for a byelection in which Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre intends to run and regain a seat in the House of Commons.

"Today I am resigning my seat in the House of Commons so that a byelection can be called as soon as possible," Kurek said in a social media post.

"I want to thank my incredible constituents who gave me the honour of being their representative in Ottawa since 2019. It has been nothing short of a privilege to serve and be a rural Alberta voice in Parliament."

Kurek signalled his intention to resign last month so that Poilievre could run in his riding of Battle River-Crowfoot — one of the safest Conservative seats in the country.

But according to House rules, Kurek needed to wait 30 days after his election was posted in the Canada Gazette before he could actually step down.

Now that Kurek has officially resigned, the Speaker of the House of Commons has to inform the chief electoral officer of the vacancy, at which point the government would have 11 to 180 days to call a byelection.

The Governor General, on the advice of the prime minister and cabinet, will set the date for the byelection. Prime Minister Mark Carney has said he will not delay Poilievre's chance to become an MP.

Byelection campaigns last at least 36 days — so the soonest Poilievre could be elected is in early August. That could mean Poilievre will be back to leading the Opposition and facing off against the prime minister at some point during the fall sitting.

Voters in the Ottawa-area riding of Carleton, where Poilievre had been elected seven straight times since 2004, chose a Liberal in the April 28 election. Kurek won his riding with 82 per cent of the vote.

Without a seat in the House of Commons, Poilievre cannot act as the Opposition leader in question period or participate in debate.

The Conservative caucus chose former party leader Andrew Scheer to lead the Opposition in the House of Commons on a temporary basis.

Scheer told CBC's Power & Politics last month that the party expects Kurek to run again in Battle River-Crowfoot in the next general election — though it remains to be seen where Poilievre would then seek a seat.

There's some precedent of MPs stepping aside for their party leaders.

After winning the 1983 Progressive Conservative leadership, Brian Mulroney was on the hunt for a seat. Nova Scotia MP Elmer MacKay, father of former Conservative cabinet minister Peter MacKay, resigned his Central Nova seat and Mulroney was able to lead the Opposition.

Mulroney ran in his home riding of Manicouagan in the 1984 general election, which his party won in a landslide. MacKay was re-elected in Central Nova and served in Mulroney's cabinet.

In 1990, New Brunswick MP Fernand Robichaud ceded his riding of Beauséjour so Liberal Leader Jean Chrétien could run in a byelection. Chrétien had represented the Saint-Maurice area of Quebec under former prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, but resigned before making his successful leadership push.

When the 1993 general election rolled around, Chrétien ran in Saint-Maurice, which includes his hometown of Shawinigan, and Robichaud successfully re-offered in Beauséjour.

Robichaud went on to serve in Chrétien's cabinet and was later appointed to the Senate.