Manitoba MP Candice Bergen is the new interim leader of the Conservative Party of Canada. Conservative MPs chose Bergen for the role in a secret ballot Wednesday night after voting to remove Erin O'Toole from the top job earlier in the day. She will serve as interim leader until the party membership chooses a new permanent leader. This will be the third leadership race since former prime minister Stephen Harper stepped down after losing to the Liberals in the 2015 election.

Erin O'Toole says it's been the honour of a lifetime to lead the party of Sir John A. MacDonald and Confederation. Speaking this evening he says he believes the Conservative party needs to be both an intellectual force and a governing force. Erin O'Toole was ousted today by his caucus in a strong vote against his leadership. But he intends to remain as a sitting MP, saying, ``there is not a bad seat in the House of Commons, from the back corner where he first sat, to the front rows.'' Erin O'Toole has headed the party since August of 2020 after Andrew Scheer was pushed out as leader. Click th

There were tributes in the House of Commons today after Erin O'Toole was turfed from his leadership job by his own Conservative caucus. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he may have had his differences with the Opposition leader, but he appreciates his work and the toll it takes on family. NDP leader Jagmeet Singh thanked Erin O'toole for his services. The 119 Conservative members of Parliament met via video conference to cast secret ballots after about one-third of them signed a notice that triggered a leadership review.

Erin O'Toole has been ousted as Conservative Party of Canada leader after 73 members of the Tory caucus voted to replace him. 45 endorsed O'Toole's leadership. Caucus members are now going to choose an interim leader and New Brunswick MP John Williamson was quick to post on social media that he'd like to have the job. The party's members of Parliament met virtually today to cast secret ballots after about one-third of them signed a notice that triggered a leadership review. Quebec MP Pierre Paul-Hus says the party is more united than ever after this morning's vote and want to move forward so

A protest blocking the highway at Alberta's main border crossing into the United States has thinned out but remains in place, a day after Mounties tried to disperse truckers and others who want COVID-19 restrictions dropped. About 40 vehicles are jamming up the southbound lane near Coutts and another 60 or so are tying up the northbound lane. The numbers are fewer than on Tuesday when some truckers left after police said they would begin making arrests. That threat of arrests prompted chaos in another location: a number of vehicles north of the blockade breached a police barricade to race dow

Alberta's premier says a trucker blockade at the province's southern border with the US has turned violent. Jason Kenney says he has been briefed that protesters were assaulting Mounties and that someone tried to ram a police cruiser. He says while he respects peaceful protest, he condemns attacks on police. The standoff at the Coutts (KOOTS) border crossing began Saturday, in support of others happening in Ottawa and countrywide to protest vaccine mandates for cross-border truckers and other COVID-19 public health measures. RCMP had begun to peacefully break up the protest when events moved

Organizers behind the demonstration that has seized the nation's capital say they are preparing to stick around even longer by distributing fuel and supplies to the trucks clogging up Ottawa streets. Organizer Pat King says in a video posted online early this morning that the protest is ``so much fun'' and bragged that demonstrators have ``all of Ottawa gridlocked right now.'' The president of the Ottawa Gatineau Hotel Association says some protesters have been extending their stays at hotels, or are asking to rebook for the coming weekend. Politicians at all levels of government are asking t

Quebec Premier Francois Legault says he is abandoning his threat to tax the unvaccinated. Legault told a news conference today he is worried about dividing Quebecers and is backtracking in order to maintain social peace in the province. The premier announced on Jan. 11 he planned to make the unvaccinated pay a significant financial penalty because they were overrepresented in the health-care system. About 10 per cent of the province's eligible population are unvaccinated. Legault is also announcing that gyms and spas will be allowed to reopen on Feb. 14.

A blockade in southern Alberta at the United States border is entering its fourth day. A convoy of commercial trucks, vehicles and camper vans has been blocking the highway at the Coutts border crossing since Saturday to protest COVID-19 restrictions. Mounties said in a statement last night that they thought there was a path to resolve the matter, but protesters chose not to comply. They say the protest is no longer lawful, and resources are in place to make arrests and tow away vehicles. Some demonstrators say they have no plans to leave. Coutts Mayor Jim Willett says he wants them gone,