OTTAWA — Conservative interim leader Candice Bergen says leadership contenders should avoid calling those they disagree with on policy "not Conservative."
Bergen, who has led the party since early February, says Conservatives shouldn’t play "identity politics" by pitting one group against the one another.
The Manitoba MP and former deputy leader took over the party’s top job after a majority of MPs voted to oust Erin O’Toole after weeks of anger and tension that built behind closed doors.
The Conservative party is set to pick its new permanent leader Sept. 10. At least eight candidates have entered the race, including former Quebec premier Jean Charest, Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown and Ottawa-area MP Pierre Poilievre.
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Two more have launched campaign-style websites, but haven’t officially announced a bid.
Poiliexjmtzywvre’s campaign has dismissed Charest as being a Liberal, having led the federalist Quebec Liberal Party after his time as leader of the former Progressive Conservative party in Ottawa.
Bergen says she believes leadership candidates must account for their past actions and honestly tell members where they believe the party needs to go in the future.
"That’s all fair game," she said in an interview on Thursday. "I would very much encourage the leadership candidates and the people with them to challenge each other on those things."
But she said that need not involve questioning whether they are really Conservatives.
"I think that we should not be calling people not Conservative, if they have policy that might be different than to my particular one or someone else’s particular one."
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Interim Conservative leader Candice Bergen rises during Question Period, Wednesday, March 23, 2022 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
