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Conservative Party Leader Andrew Scheer to the House of Commons in Ottawa on December 12, 2019. REUTERS / Blair Gable

The leader of the Canadian Conservative Party threw in the towel on Thursday, December 12. Andrew Scheer was openly contested in his party since his defeat in the October election.

Go head high or be disowned by one's own party? Andrew Scheer chose the first option. This Thursday in front of the Canadian House of Commons, he announced his resignation, with a smile on his face. Two and a half years after taking the leadership of the Conservative Party , he says he has no regrets. In the assembly, the deputies of his camp stood up to applaud him.

Elected by default in 2017 by activists who did not want his rival to access the position of leader, this erased man has never managed to win. In the ranks of the Conservatives, many voices had risen after his defeat in the federal election last October. Andrew Scheer had boasted 26 more seats in Parliament, putting the Liberal government in the minority.

But not enough for members of his own camp who blamed him among others for not having clarified, quickly enough, his positions on issues such as abortion or same-sex marriage. He has gone against the most conservative, but also the more progressive electorate of Quebec or Ontario, two states where his party was disowned at the polls. In addition, his resignation from Andrew Scheer comes as he is accused of using Conservative money to pay for the school fees of four of his children, recalls our correspondent in Quebec, Pascale Guéricolas .

The man who was the main opponent of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau nevertheless called his troops to remain united. The Conservatives will have to find a new leader by the National Party Congress next April. Andrew Scheer will retain his seat as a member of Parliament.