After nearly a decade on the sidelines of federal politics, Pierre Lemieux, former Member of Parliament for Glengarry-Prescott-Russell, is once again seeking the Conservative Party of Canada’s (CPC) nomination for the newly-formed riding of Prescott-Russell-Cumberland in the upcoming 2025 federal election.
Lemieux sat as the Conservative MP for Glengarry-Prescott-Russell from 2006 to 2015 after long-time Liberal MP Don Boudria stepped aside after three decades of serving the riding. Lemieux lost his seat in 2015 to current Liberal MP Françis Drouin and failed to get back in to the House in 2018, pushing the CPC to give the nomination to Susan McArthur in 2021 instead.
But now, after spending the better part of a decade running a consultancy firm, Lemieux wants back in to the political fracas.
“I served with Pierre Poilievre for ten years,” said Lemieux. “We worked very well together and I have a lot of respect for Pierre as the leader of the party, and for his plans.”
Lemieux believes the Poilievre’s platform would be beneficial for the Prescott-Russell region, starting with eliminating the carbon tax, a common Conservative refrain. Lemieux claims the carbon tax affects the entire supply chain, starting from with farms, to transport, grocery stores, and down to consumers.
Borrowing a line from his competition for the conservative nomination, and former employee, Julie Séguin, Lemieux said “it’s evident that people are suffering.”
“One of my priorities is to make life more affordable for the elderly, for families and farmers, and create new jobs here,” he added. “The Carbon Tax is not fighting climate change. It’s just a tax. It’s people sending money to Ottawa.”
The federal carbon tax puts a price on carbon pollution, including a fuel tax, and is designed to provide a financial incentive to reduce fossil fuel consumption.
According to the Government of Canada, 90 per cent of the fuel tax is redistributed to households in the form of a Climate Action Incentive rebate. The rest is distributed to businesses, schools and other organizations through programs to support reducing fuel consumption.
In 2023, the Bank of Canada stated the federal government’s Carbon Tax is responsible for just 0.15 percentage points of the 6.8% inflation rate of 2022.
“We are pro-environment,” added Lemieux. “To help the environment is good for Canadians. We just disagree with Trudeau’s Carbon Tax and his other measures. Liberals punish Canadians for the climate. People want to live with Freedom and make their own decisions, and we have to respect that.”
Lemieux also discussed ways to reduce housing prices. According to him, the federal government needs to cut red tape at the municipal level in order to allow housing to be built more quickly, building more houses and effectively reducing the price.
A proud Francophone with local roots
Born in Embrun, Ontario in 1963 to a Francophone father, Lemieux is proud of his Franco-Ontarian roots.
“I am myself Franco-Ontarian and a francophile,” said Lemieux. “During my years of work as an MP, I always communicated in both languages.”
Following in his father’s footsteps, Lemieux joined the Royal Canadian Air Force at the age of 17, training at the Royal Military College (RMC) in Saint-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, Québec. He obtained a diploma in mechanical engineering at RMC Kingston and later obtained a master’s degree and a certification in project management.
At 37, Lemieux left the military, working in high-tech industries before starting his own project management business. He moved his wife and five children back to Prescott-Russell in 2001, seeking the conservative nomination in 2006.
“We thought that after 13 years of the Liberals, it was absolutely necessary to have change,” he said. “Just like right now, we have to defeat the Liberals and Justin Trudeau.”
No conservative nomination race has yet to be announced for the new federal riding of Prescott-Russell-Cumberland. Lemieux and Julie Séguin, current municipal councillor for the town of Hawkesbury, are the two candidates currently vying for the nomination.
The next federal election is currently scheduled for 2025.
