File Photo (Image Credit: CPAC)

By Adam Donnelly

Cathy McLeod

‘The time was right to step aside’: MP McLeod reflects on 12 years representing Kamloops region in Ottawa

Feb 4, 2021 | 5:24 PM

KAMLOOPS — For the past twelve years, Cathy McLeod has represented the Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo Riding as our Member of Parliament. On Thursday (Feb. 4), McLeod announced she won’t be seeking another term ahead of the next federal election.

“We have a minority government right now, and of course an election could happen at any time,” McLeod said in a Zoom interview with CFJC Today Thursday morning. “I certainly hope it doesn’t happen in the middle of a pandemic, but you do have to be ready. I thought, ‘If there’s an election, am I ready for another four years?’ For me, the time was right to step aside.”

McLeod was first elected to Parliament in 2008, succeeding former MP Betty Hinton. Since then she’s served a number of roles for the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC), including most recently as the Opposition Citric for Crown-Indigenous Relations.

“Minister [Seamus] O’Regan, who I was the critic for, he said ‘Cordial, yet forceful and always knew the files.’ I thought that’s a really nice compliment,” McLeod said when asked of her legacy. “We can be cordial, but we can hold the government to account.”

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McLeod, middle, joined opponents in the 2019 federal election for a debate on CFJC’s Balance of Power (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

According to TRU Associate Professor of Politics Robert Hanlon, that ability to work with members of all parties is one of the legacies she’ll leave for the region and her party.

“She did very well at finding that middle ground within the Conservative Party,” Hanlon said. “The CPC has some divisions, certainly around some social conservative issues, and Cathy McLeod has been good at navigating that.”

Hanlon believes that with the right candidate, there’s a good chance the Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo riding will remain a Conservative stronghold whenever that election is called.

“Any new candidate is going to have some big shoes to fill, no doubt,” Hanlon explains. “So finding a candidate who can make the Conservative platform exciting, reach out to younger voters, demonstrate they’re a party younger voters can find a home in is something they’re going have to consider.”

McLeod is a long-time supporter of current CPC Leader Erin O’Toole. She says there’s a slight twinge of regret she won’t be there to run a campaign alongside O’Toole when the writ is finally dropped.

“From my perspective, he has a vision of how we can move forward with the economy, with jobs for Canadians,” McLeod says. “He’s someone that executes, as opposed to talks.”

As for what she’ll do once she’s not the Member of Parliament for the region — McLeod says she’s not calling this retirement. There are still chapters left to be written.