Veteran conservative politician Jay Hill has been named interim leader of the separatist Wexit Canada party, following the resignation of founder Peter Downing.
Hill, who served as MP for Prince George-Peace River in northern British Columbia for seventeen years, has taken over until a new leader can be elected at its first convention, the party said on June 23rd.
He was House leader under then-prime minister Stephen Harper at the time of his retirement in 2010.
“I have been watching with great dismay the developments on the federal government scene and I'm very concerned about the direction the country's going in,” Hill told CBC News. “I came to realize that it will not matter to Western Canada who wins the Conservative leadership race and who forms the next government...because in the end, governments have to cater to the golden triangle of Toronto-Montreal-Ottawa and the West will never get a fair deal.”
Hill said the party's short-term goal will be to build a strong base, and that the convention will have to wait until both enough members have signed up and pandemic restrictions allow for large groups to gather.
The party, which was granted federal eligibility by Elections Canada in January, plans to nominate 104 candidates to ridings in Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba.
Wexit also plans to run candidates at the provincial level in those provinces, but Hill said the federal party will not be affiliated with the provincial parties.
