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“If it’s the decision of him and the Conservative party to trigger, if I can put it that way, a byelection, I will ensure that it happens as soon as possible,” Carney told reporters in Ottawa. “No games.” 

Battle River—Crowfoot has been held by the Conservatives since its creation in 2015, and is one of the safest Conservative seats in the country. Kurek, 35, was re-elected there this week with 81.8 per cent of the vote.

He said Friday he is only stepping away from federal politics temporarily, and plans to run again in the same riding in the next election.

“Pierre Poilievre just finished a remarkable national campaign that received the highest vote share since 1988. An unstoppable movement has grown under his leadership, and I know we need Pierre fighting in the House of Commons to hold the Liberal minority government to account,” Kurek said in a statement.

Poilievre lost to the Liberal candidate in Carleton, the Ottawa-area riding he had represented since 2004. It was a crushing defeat — the area had only been represented by a Liberal for two years in Canada’s 157-year history — and came as the Conservatives won 144 seats but failed to form government in Monday’s election.

As he accepted Kurek’s resignation, Poilievre called it a “selfless” act and said he “will work to earn the trust of the good people of Battle River—Crowfoot” and “continue to hold the Liberal minority government to account until the next federal election, when we will bring real change to all Canadians.”

In the aftermath of the election loss, Conservatives have appeared divided on how to move forward. Some have raised questions around Poilievre’s leadership, while others have come out in staunch support of their leader.

And the feud between Poilievre’s Tories and Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives escalated, as Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston piled on and called on the federal Tories to do some “soul-searching.”

How Poilievre taking another MP’s seat plays with his Conservative caucus remains to be seen, as Tories expect to soon meet to select an interim opposition leader and decide on whether to give themselves the power to oust their leader.

At least one Conservative MP has questioned publicly whether pushing aside another MP is the right thing to do.

“I don’t think that’s fair for the person who just ran for a year trying to get elected in their area, but that’s a discussion we need to have as a caucus,” Chris d’Entremont, who said he otherwise supports Poilievre, told CBC Radio’s As it Happens earlier this week.

But the move is not unprecedented. Former prime ministers Brian Mulroney and Jean Chrétien had MPs step aside to run in byelections as party leaders, but they both did it when they first became party leaders, not after losing in their own ridings.

Tim Powers, a former Conservative strategist and chair of Summa Strategies, said the lesson for Poilievre is “not to take anything for granted,” and to “show evidence of contrition,” in the coming weeks.

“The time now is different,” he said.  

Carney, whose Liberals won 168 seats Monday, just four shy of forming a majority government, extended an olive branch to the Conservatives and their voters on Friday.

On top of signalling his intention to immediately call a byelection to allow Poilievre to have a seat in Parliament, he also said in his first news conference since the election that Canadians sent a “clear message” that the “cost of living must come down, and their communities need to be safe,” two key issues for Conservatives.

Carney also ruled out pursuing a formal governing pact with the seven-seat NDP, a striking contrast with his predecessor, Justin Trudeau. Trudeau signed a confidence-and-supply-agreement with the New Democrats following the 2021 election, which brought stability to the government in exchange for progress on shared legislative priorities, like pharmacare and dental care.

He also appeared unburdened by the absence of a clear majority in Parliament, as he called for a “united Canada” and argued he has a “clear mandate” with his party’s 8.5 million votes received and its majority of seats in seven of 10 provinces.

“Obviously, by definition, in Parliament, we will need to get majority support to pass legislation,” he said. “But this is legislation that is ... consistent with our platform and consistent with the requirements of the time.”