OTTAWA (CP) — Quebec Liberal MP Jean Lapierre is resigning from the federal party caucus, further boosting the prospects of the minority Conservative government.
A lawyer and broadcaster, Lapierre, 50, confirmed Thursday he is leaving politics by month’s end to join the Montreal-based TVA television network, where he will co-host a weekly show on politics with reporter Paul Larocque.
“It’s over,” Lapierre told The Canadian Press. “I had promised Paul Martin to come back and work with him but now I’m done.”
The resignation, coming on the heels of last week’s defection to the government by Liberal Wajid Khan, reduces the Liberal Opposition to 100 members and gives the Conservative minority a two-seat cushion, provided Prime Minister Stephen Harper can strike a deal with NDP Leader Jack Layton to pass key legislation in the House of Commons.
Lapierre was persuaded by former prime minister Paul Martin to rejoin the Liberal party in 2004 after defecting to the separatist Bloc Quebecois in the early 1990s and then leaving politics for more than a decade.
“Paul Martin became prime minister and then got hit by a big truck called Gomery,” Lapierre said, referring to the sensational inquiry into Liberal corruption, conducted by Justice John Gomery in 2005. “After that, it was very difficult.
“People didn’t trust any more politicians in general and Liberals in particular. In those murky waters, it was difficult for anyone to swim and stay afloat.”
Liberal Leader Stephane Dion said the party has been expecting Lapierre’s announcement for some time.
“We knew that it would happen,” Dion said after a breakfast meeting with Alberta riding officials in Edmonton. “He announced this months ago, that he wanted to go back to his profession.”
Prime Minister Stephen Harper had a wry welcome to the news that another Liberal is leaving the ranks.
“I’ve known Mr. Lapierre a long time,” Harper said in Toronto. “I watch ... exits from the Liberal party with interest.”
Lapierre’s departure will leave open his Montreal riding of Outremont, where it is widely rumoured Justin Trudeau will run. Lapierre said he leaves the riding association in good shape, with $50,000 in the bank.
Dion sounded confident a Liberal would be returned. The new leader appeared to shrug off the development: “We are very confident of winning this riding.”
Lapierre said his return to politics was a positive experience, despite the advertising scandal that gutted Liberal support in Quebec during last year’s federal election.
“I knew what I was getting myself into,” he said. “I hadn’t thought it would be so difficult because nobody envisioned how big the sponsorship affair would get. It was a disaster for two years.
“But in real life, when you get into politics you have to be tough-skinned. It’s an extreme sport. I did not regret. I had made a conscious decision and now, though, I’m happy to go back to the private sector.”
With Lapierre’s exit, the new standings in the 308-seat House of Commons will be: Conservatives 125, Liberals 100, Bloc Quebecois 51, NDP 29, and two independents; Speaker Peter Milliken is a Liberal and only votes the case of a tie.
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