Provencher MP Ted Falk says he did not see it coming. Speaking from the Conservative policy convention in Halifax Friday morning, Falk gave us his reaction to the announcement by Quebec Conservative MP Maxime Bernier Thursday that he was quitting the party and starting a new more right-wing party. He says it was not expected.

"It came as a surprise to a lot of us, I suppose. And, in retrospect, there were probably some indicators that we should have seen that this was going to happen. It appears as though Maxime Bernier is more interested in working on his personal profile than he is on advancing the causes of the Conservative Party here in Canada. I think the realization that most folks at the convention saw here yesterday (Thursday) was that Mr. Bernier thinks that the leadership race is still on when in fact it was concluded over a year ago. Andrew Scheer is our leader and the delegates at the convention are solidly behind Andrew Scheer. We are all on board with his leadership and his vision for Canada. This convention actually has a very upbeat tone and we're looking to the future. We all know how important it is that we're all unified as a team and that we're pulling in the same direction."

Falk says, despite Bernier's announcement, the mood at the policy conference Thursday evening remained very positive.

"The mood was very upbeat. We've never had as many delegates at a national convention as we do this year. There's a very strong sentiment that the Conservative platform is strong. We've got fantastic support from our membership right across the country and there's a real strong desire to make sure that we replace Justin Trudeau in the next election."

About 3,000 people are in attendance and Falk says they are all committed to winning the next election.

Just this past Wednesday, Falk defended comments by Bernier on immigration that some people considered as racist. Falk said Bernier had been misunderstood. What a difference 24 hours can make.

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Falk Heads To Policy Conference, Defends Bernier

MP Ted Falk sitting with Provencher delegates at the policy conference.