A Conservative candidate running in a federal byelection in B.C. acknowledged this week he’s heard criticisms about party leader Pierre Poilievre from voters as he campaigns, while seeking to separate himself from the rest of the Conservative caucus.
The comments came during an all-candidates panel for the Aug. 31 byelection in the riding of North Vancouver—Capilano, held Thursday at the Amica Lions Gate senior’s residence in West Vancouver.
The event was not open to the media, but Global News obtained video of the exchange between an audience member and Conservative candidate Stephen Curran from a source involved with the campaign of Liberal candidate Braeden Caley, who was also at the event along with Green Party candidate Shelley Luce.
In the video, the audience member called Poilievre “divisive in the extreme” and asked Curran about the perception that the Conservatives were unwilling to collaborate with the Liberal government and other opposition parties.
“I’ll confess, it’s not a question that I haven’t heard on the doorsteps as well,” Curran replied.