A case of fiscal hypocrisy

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 10/05/2025 (217 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If this was anybody else — involving any other political party — these guys would be screaming about “waste, fraud and abuse,” demanding a full reimbursement to taxpayers, and calling for a police investigation. But they’re not, and that’s because they’re the ones who are wasting money and abusing taxpayers — and when it’s them, the rules apparently don’t apply.

For those who haven’t been following national politics for the past couple of weeks, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre lost his Ottawa-Carleton seat in the April 28 federal election by a margin of more than 4,500 votes. He had represented the riding for more than 20 years, but his constituents turfed him out.

In other words, he was fired by the people who know him best, and it wasn’t even close.

Rather than take his defeat as a message to just go away, Poilievre wants to stick around the political scene. In order to do that, however he needs another Conservative MP to resign his newly elected seat so that PP can run in a byelection in that riding and, if elected, return to the House of Commons as opposition leader.

Damien Kurek, the Conservative MP for Battle River-Crowfoot riding in Alberta has either volunteered to step aside or was convinced to do so, in order to create that opening for Poilievre. Prime Minister Mark Carney has promised to call the byelection right away, but let’s take a moment to consider the absurdity of the situation.

Kurek was re-elected by a huge margin in April, yet plans to resign immediately after being sworn in. His constituents thought they were re-electing a local farmer as their representative, but he’s quitting so that Poilievre, who has lived in Ontario for almost three decades, can step in until the next federal election, which could be four or more years away.

Do they really expect him to be their voice in Ottawa? How are they better off because of this?

Setting aside the representation arguments, let’s consider the money matters. A byelection in Battle River-Crowfoot will cost Elections Canada somewhere upwards of $2 million to conduct. Who pays that? We do. Taxpayers.

Despite the fact that Poilievre is no longer an MP, he and his family are still living rent-free in Stornoway, the posh official residence of the opposition leader. He’s still there despite the fact that the House of Commons rules make clear that you must be an elected MP to reside in that mansion.

Who is paying the cost of the Stornoway staff — the chef, chauffeur and household administrator? Taxpayers, not Poilievre.

Poilievre was also entitled to receive a $169,850 “severance payment” after losing his riding but, after several days of negative editorials and columns across the country, he announced that he would forego that payment.

When he officially steps down as an MP, Kurek will be walking away from an annual MP’s salary of $209,000, but he gets to keep collecting it until he files his resignation papers. He isn’t entitled to any severance because he’s resigning, and he hasn’t served long enough as an MP to qualify for a pension.

Viewed from that perspective, this is a far better deal for Poilievre than Kurek who, unlike Poilievre, actually won his riding on April 28.

If Mark Carney had lost his seat, and was planning to run in a byelection in a safe Liberal seat, you can bet that the Conservatives would be wildly outraged, and Poilievre would be leading the torches and pitchforks.

They would be screaming about “typical Liberals and their entitlements.” They would be demanding that taxpayers be reimbursed by the party for the cost of the byelection, and that Carney refund any benefits he may have received, and that he be evicted from his official residence.

When the shoe is on the other foot, however — Poilievre’s foot — his Tory colleagues are quiet as church mice. Their silence on this issue is almost as outrageous as the silence from the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, which also seems to have misplaced its voice and values on this issue.

Since the Conservative Party was formed two decades ago by the merger of the old Progressive Conservative Party and the Canadian Alliance Party, they have devoted considerable time, energy and expense toward creating the perception among Canadian voters that they are the party of fiscal integrity and defenders of the public purse.

This Poilievre byelection spending scandal shatters that image. The next time they allege some misspending by the Liberals, or complain about the size of the budget deficit, you can bet the Liberals will rub this ridiculous byelection spending spree in their faces, as they should. And they will do it time and again for years to come.