Ontario MP Melissa Landsman, a lesbian, and Alberta MP Tim Opal, who is South Asian, will serve as Poilievre’s deputy leaders. Both supported Poilievre in his successful bid to lead the party. The group also includes representation from Atlantic Canada and Quebec, two areas where the party has struggled in recent elections. Poilievre said these new faces are part of his “collapse inflation” leadership team. “First job: stop Trudeau’s tax hikes and end #JustinFlation so workers and seniors can thrive,” he said, using his name for inflation rates under the Liberal government. Shortly after Poilievre announced his leadership team, longtime Quebec MP Alain Rayes announced he was leaving the Conservative caucus to run as an independent. Rayes has publicly criticized Poilievre and said he is pulling the party too far to the right. Rayes served as the party’s lieutenant in Quebec, the most senior position in the caucus for a politician from that province. He said in a media statement on Tuesday that some of his “political ideals, values ​​and beliefs are not compatible with the new path our political formation has taken”. The MP, who identifies as a “Progressive Conservative,” endorsed former Quebec premier Jean Sarres in the race. “I leave without bitterness and remain driven by a deep desire to continue serving the public in the political arena.” Alain Rayes, the MP for the Quebec riding of Richmond-Arthabaska, said Tuesday he is leaving the Conservative Party to become an Independent. Rayes cited a conflict of values ​​with Poilievre’s leadership style. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press) Poilievre spoke to the media after Rayes’ announcement. The leader’s office said Poilievre would make an on-camera statement about inflation – and would not take questions from the press. This prompted some backlash from at least one frustrated reporter, who interrupted Poilievre’s remarks with some chitchat. Poilievre eventually agreed to take two questions from the assembled reporters. When asked about the Common Council defection, Poilievre said Rayes “decided not to fight Justin Trudeau’s inflation.” My inflation-busting leadership team.
First job: stop Trudeau’s tax hikes and quit pic.twitter.com/e0IyRh8JHe —@PierrePoilievre “We are working to fight the deficits and inflationary taxes imposed by Justin Trudeau. The citizens of Rayes agree. They voted for me during the leadership race,” Poilievre said in French, referring to his victory in Rayes’ Richmond seat -Arthabaska in the leadership election. “I think all the Conservatives who remained agree with me. We have to fight Justin Trudeau’s inflation because Canadians can no longer pay their bills.”

Two deputy chiefs

Since her election last year, Lantsman, a former civil servant, lobbyist and CBC commentator, has been a vocal critic of the government’s handling of the COVID-19 dossier. As the party’s “shadow transport minister”, Landsman called for an end to vaccine mandates and the ArriveCAN app, which is used to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19 at the border. He was an early supporter of some truck drivers with an anti-vaccine mandate who eventually joined the Freedom Convoy. Lantsman, 38, is younger than many of her colleagues. She is also one of only two Tory MPs from the Greater Toronto Area. Conservative MP Melissa Landsman arrives at a meeting of the Conservative caucus in Ottawa on November 18, 2021. Conservative leader Pierre Polievre made Landsman deputy leader on Tuesday. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press) Like Poilievre on the finance file, Lantsman was active in question period, with pointed questions for Transport Minister Omar Alghabra. Uppal, who represents Edmonton in the Commons, served as minister of state for democratic reforms and later as minister of state for multiculturalism in former prime minister Stephen Harper’s government. Under former leader Erin O’Toole, Uppal led the party’s ethnic efforts. Uppal apologized for his previous support for the former Conservative government’s proposal to introduce a “niqab ban” at citizenship ceremonies and a hotline to report “barbaric cultural practices” such as sexual slavery or “honour” killings. Conservative MP Tim Uppal attends a press conference on Parliament Hill on June 9, 2020, in Ottawa. Uppal will be one of the two deputy captains. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press) Last year, Uppal told the Toronto Star that those two policies still hang on the party’s efforts to rebuild relations with some tribal communities. Only seven of the 119 Conservative MPs are Black, Indigenous or People of Color (BIPOC). Former Conservative leader Andrew Scheer, a staunch supporter of Poilievre in that race, will be the leader of the House, a prominent position that involves negotiating with the government on legislation and votes. Scheer, a former speaker, previously held the position under former interim leader Rona Ambrose. His deputy will be Quebec MP Luc Berthold. Conservative MP Kerry-Lynne Findlay is the new party whip. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press) MP Kerry-Lynne Findlay, who represents a Vancouver suburb, is the other woman on Poilievre’s leadership team. Findlay will be the party whip — an important position in any parliamentary democracy. A party whip acts as chief enforcer, making sure there are enough party members in the room for debates and votes. The whip also decides which committees a member sits on and allocates office space and seats in the chamber. Alberta MP Chris Warkentin will be the party’s deputy whip and question session moderator — the person who will participate in the day’s QP proceedings. Ontario MP Eric Duncan, a gay man, will serve as Poilievre’s party and caucus liaison, a position he also held when O’Toole was party leader. It will be Duncan’s job to act as a go-between, connecting congressmen and senators with party headquarters. Duncan, who represents the eastern Ontario riding of Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry, was a popular alternate in the last election, usually faltering for would-be Conservative MPs in other parts of the province. Pierre Paul-Hus will be Quebec’s lieutenant, a reward for supporting Poilievre’s bid, while several other prominent Tories from the province have backed former Quebec premier Jean Charest. New Brunswick MP Jake Stewart, one of the few Conservative MPs from Atlantic Canada, will be the “caucus committee coordinator,” a new position.