Conservative MP Bragdon ousts Liberal MP Duguid as co-chair of ‘influential’ Canada-U.S. Inter-Parliamentary Group: Grits are 'kicking ourselves'

In a stunning upset that has left the Liberal caucus “kicking ourselves,” the Conservatives have ousted a senior Liberal MP as co-chair of the powerful Canada-U.S. Inter-Parliamentary Group. At the Oct. 29 meeting held to elect a new co-chair, Conservative MP Richard Bragdon (Tobique-Mactaquac, N.B.) defeated four-term Liberal MP and cabinet minister Terry Duguid (Winnipeg-North, Man.) for the position. The election took place in the Wellington Building at 7:30 p.m. The key factor behind the upset was the strong turnout from the group's Conservative parliamentarians, while several Liberals failed to attend due to social commitments after work. Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre (Battle River-Crowfoot, Alta.) who rarely attends this group's meetings, made an exception in order to cast his vote in support of his colleague. The Canada-U.S. Inter-Parliamentary Group, the largest among all inter-parliamentary groups, comprises 293 MPs and Senators from all parties. Neither Duguid, nor Bragdon were available for an interview for this story, but two former Liberal co-chairs blasted their former caucus colleagues for not taking this election seriously. “The first thing I'd say is that it's political malpractice on the part of the Liberals to not control the most significant and influential parliamentary association on the Hill,” said former Ontario Liberal MP John McKay, who was a co-chair of the Canada-U.S. Inter-parliamentary Group until the last election. “So I think it's not a good thing. That's no negative reflection on Richard Bragdon, decent sort of bloke, but it's just simply one of the associations that I think it's very important to have your people in place.” Four-term Liberal MP and former cabinet minister Terry Duguid, right, served as co-chair of the Canada-U.S. Inter-Parliamentary Group from September until late last month. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade The position opened up after McKay decided not to reoffer in the 2025 general election. In September, the group’s executive appointed Duguid as co-chair until the vote held two weeks ago. The second co-chair of the group, Nova Scotia Conservative Senator Michael MacDonald, has one year remaining in his current term before facing reelection. He did not respond to interview requests from The Hill Times. Each co-chair serves a two-year term, with no limit on the number of times they may seek re-election. Traditionally, one co-chair is drawn from the Senate and the other from the House, with one typically representing the Liberals and the other the Conservatives. As the Liberals currently have no representation in the Red Chamber, a Conservative Senator usually represents the Upper House, while a Liberal MP holds the House position in the group. However, at this time, both co-chairs now come from the Conservative caucus. The Chief Government Whip’s Office sent multiple reminder emails in the days leading up to the Oct. 29 election, urging all MPs who were members of the group to attend the meeting. “Conservative MP Richard Bragdon will run against Liberal MP Terry Duguid for Co-Chair position at the Canada-USA Association this Wednesday, October 29, at 7:30 p.m., room 415, Wellington Building,” stated the email on the vote sent a few minutes before the start of the meeting. “Important for you to support our colleague Terry, please make sure to go vote.” The same email was sent to Liberal MPs a few hours before. Liberal MPs told The Hill Times that none of the cabinet ministers who were members of the group were present to cast their votes. They added that when they noticed nearly all Conservative caucus members in attendance—including Poilievre—they quickly messaged absent colleagues to come and vote. However, by then it was too late for those MPs to arrive in time. “It’s embarrassing not only for us, but our candidate, as well,” said a Liberal MP. “They were all furious that our colleagues didn’t show up. Everyone was messaging like crazy, putting in our chat groups, but they didn’t. Very disappointing.” Conservative parliamentarians credited Bragdon for running an effective campaign, personally reaching out to colleagues one on one, and persuading them to show up and support him. The final vote tally was not released; only the name of the winning co-chair was announced. “It makes a lot of difference when someone asks you personally for your vote,” said one Conservative parliamentarian in an interview with The Hill Times. “Richard deserves a pat on the back, he did everything right,” said a second Conservative parliamentarian. “He did one on one, grabbing people in and out of caucus, in and out of House duty, things like that.” McKay told The Hill Times that members of the Canada-U.S. Inter-Parliamentary Group frequently travel to the United States where they meet not only with their counterparts in Congress, but also with state representatives and senior officials from the executive branch. He added that when progress on issues affecting Canada’s interests stalls at the executive level, parliamentary group members engage directly with American legislators—including members of the House, the Senate, and state legislatures—to advocate for Canadian positions. Similarly, representatives from the U.S. Congress make regular visits to Canada, and both sides often attend each other’s party conventions. McKay said that since the Liberals are currently the governing party, one of its MPs should have been elected as co-chair of the association. Former Liberal MP John McKay says it's political "malpractice" on the part of his former colleagues to lose the election to the Conservatives of an important Inter-Parliamentary Group. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade With Canada-U.S. relations dominating headlines for months and thousands of jobs hanging in the balance, this group is regarded as the most significant and influential of all Inter-Parliamentary groups. The two countries exchange an estimated $1.3-trillion in goods and services annually. Canadian parliamentarians, and U.S. legislators from both the federal and state level meet several times a year to strengthen economic and diplomatic ties. “It's not unusual to have the same parties as co-chairs in the House and the Senate. But what is unusual is an overthrow,” said former P.E.I. Liberal MP Wayne Easter, who served as co-chair of the Canada-U.S. Inter-Parliamentary Group for about six years. “It seems to me like if Terry Duguid was there and the Liberals are the government, that it's more normal to have a Liberal co-chair. It's more normal to have the co-chair from the government, but I would say the government was terribly organized and weren't paying attention to what they were doing.” Easter opined that, in his view, one of the strongest candidates from the Conservative caucus was Randy Hoback (Prince Albert, Sask.), adding that Bragdon is also a capable parliamentarian. However, Easter added that he has worked closely with Hoback, adding that the longtime Saskatchewan MP is well connected with key figures on Capitol Hill and in various U.S. state capitals where he consistently promotes Canada’s interests. “In my view, if anybody should be co chair, nothing against Richard , but if anybody should be co chair in the Conservative side, Randy Hoback is the one, in my view,” said Easter. “So, obviously, he didn't get the nod from the establishment in the Conservative Party. Randy Hoback, in my whole time that I was in Ottawa as co-chair of the Canada-U.S. Inter-parliamentary Group, was just a tremendous member on the committee.” Easter expressed disappointment that Liberal MPs failed to show up for the vote, questioning whether hybrid work arrangements—which allow MPs to work from home with the Whip’s approval—had contributed to their absence. He also wondered how many of them had been working remotely at the time. Easter said he is hopeful that the Canada-U.S. association would continue to operate as a cohesive team regardless of political affiliation, saying that it had almost always done so in the past. Under Bragdon and MacDonald’s leadership, Easter said he hope that spirit of cooperation would continue. He added that even members of the Bloc Québécois, who advocate for separation from Canada, have been speaking in alignment with the federal government’s messaging. A second Liberal MP interviewed for this article described Bragdon’s win as “symbolic,” adding that it won’t change anything substantively. This MP said that they were aware that the Conservatives were planning on showing up en masse, but still their colleagues didn’t show up. “It’s symbolic. They get bragging rights,” said the MP. “I was surprised and shocked. It was far from what people wanted from our side. Came as a surprise. The Conservatives remain on point, remain focused. I’m sure the Conservatives are very elated and we're like kicking ourselves in the rear sort of thing.” arana@hilltimes.com The Hill Times

Conservative MP Bragdon ousts Liberal MP Duguid as co-chair of ‘influential’ Canada-U.S. Inter-Parliamentary Group: Grits are ‘kicking ourselves’

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and almost all members of his caucus on the Canada-U.S. Inter-parliamentary Group turned out to vote for Conservative MP Richard Bragdon, while a significant number of Liberal caucus members were absent at the Oct. 29 election meeting.

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