Andrew Scheer's decision to resign as leader of the federal Conservatives has surprised the party's two Prince George MPs, but Bob Zimmer and Todd Doherty say they understand his decision.
Scheer said Thursday (Dec.12) he will step down as soon as the party chooses a successor, after rejecting calls for his resignation from within his party for weeks since the October election.
“Serving as the leader of the party that I love so much has been the opportunity and the challenge of a lifetime, and this was not a decision I came to lightly," Scheer said Thursday in the House of Commons.
“In order to chart the course ahead, this party, this movement, needs someone who can give 100 per cent to the efforts,” Scheer said, adding he had decided it was time to put his family first.
Bob Zimmer, MP for Prince George-Peace River-Northern Rockies, said the news came to him as a surprise, with his attention focused on the new United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement set for ratification.
"The one thing I've understood in the roles I've been in, I understand the stress and scrutiny," Zimmer said. "When you're the leader of the party, it's much more intense and prolonged, and just doesn't go away."
Doherty, MP for Cariboo-Prince George, learned the news just prior to giving his reply to the Speech from the Throne in the House of Commons, and during his speech spoke of how MPs' relationships can suffer as they do their jobs.
"I know Andrew as a family man," Doherty said. "His wife, Jillian, and his five kids are a priority for him and that's what drew me to support him and I just wish Canadians would've seen the family man behind the scenes and how he was - but his actions today speak to that."
Scheer was emotional in his seven-minute speech to the House of Commons, interrupted multiple times by applause and standing ovations from his caucus. His wife Jill was in the gallery watching.
His decision comes less than two months after a disappointing election result for the Conservatives, in which they couldn’t capitalize on the governing Liberals’ ethics record and a stunning mid-campaign revelation that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had repeatedly dressed up in blackface and brownface as a younger man. The Liberals were reduced to a minority in the House of Commons but held on to power.
Several prominent Conservatives have called outright for his resignation, or for him to re-apply for his job in a new leadership contest in April.
However, both Zimmer's and Doherty's support for Scheer remained strong.
Under Scheer's leadership, the Conservatives drew one million more votes than during the previous election, Doherty noted. But he hinted that the Tories will need to make gains in Greater Toronto to come out ahead next time around.
"It was one area, really, 905 area, that we fell down in," Doherty said.
Though the fall's election campaign and its results were disappointing, Zimmer noted the party improved at the polls, gaining 22 seats from 2015 while the Liberals and NDP both lost seats.
"I supported Andrew early on, and was ready to go into another election," Zimmer said. "We needed to fix something and the way we talked to Canadians could have been different, but I think we could have won."
The race to replace Scheer is expected to be crowded, with former Harper-era cabinet ministers Peter MacKay, Rona Ambrose, James Moore, Erin O'Toole, Lisa Raitt, and Pierre Poilievre among the names being bandied about by political pundits.
Several MPs could be in the mix too, though Zimmer, with three terms under his belt, said he won't be seeking the position.
"What we need is unifying voice, similar to Rona Ambrose," Zimmer said. "We need somebody like that who's going to unify our party and has respect across the board."
- Matt Preprost, Alaska Highway News