MacKay talks 
by Romeo St. Martin

[PoliticsWatch Updated 2:15 p.m. May 18, 2005]

Deputy Conservative Leader Peter MacKay grants an interview in Nova Scotia on Wednesday.

OTTAWA  — Deputy Conservative Leader Peter MacKay spoke to the media for the first time since Belinda Stronach left the Conservative party and their relationship ended on Tuesday.  

In an interview with CBC News, MacKay said he was "shocked" by news of Stronach's defection, but that he knew for "a few weeks" that Stronach was unhappy in the party. 

He did not elaborate on why exactly Stronach was unhappy. 

"I had no idea," he said. "I mean, she was unhappy, but I certainly didn't see this as the outcome."

MacKay said Stronach first informed him of her decision after midnight on Monday a few hours after she cut a deal with Prime Minister Paul Martin over dinner at 24 Sussex Drive. 

Stronach, who is now Martin's human resources minister, has increased the odds of the Liberals surviving a confidence vote on the budget bill on Thursday and thus avoid a spring election campaign. 

In a press conference and in a series of interviews on Tuesday, Stronach said one of the reasons she was joining the Liberals was to help with national unity. 

She said she did not feel comfortable with the Conservatives aligning with the Bloc to bring down the Liberal government in the House. 

MacKay said Wednesday that the alignment with the Bloc argument is "nonsense" and the Liberals remaining in power will only help in increasing separatist sentiment in Quebec and Western Canada.

Meanwhile, Stronach spoke briefly with reporters after attending her first Liberal caucus meeting on Parliament Hill Wednesday morning. 

She was asked her opinion about whether she thought the press coverage and some comments about her departure from the Conservatives was sexist. 

"Quite frankly Canadians and people are sick of that kind of behaviour and they would rather see that people talk about the issues," she said. 

"I believe we focus too much on just pure partisan politics and when must focus on the important issues."

Meanwhile, Public Works Minister Scott Brison, who has engaged in numerous verbal battles with MacKay since he defected to the Liberals in 2003, was asked by reporters to weigh in on the latest developments. 

Brison denied that he and MacKay were embroiled in a personal feud that often surfaces in the House. 

"It's not a personal thing for me at all," Brison said. "I don't pay a lot of attention. When you're shooting for big game, you don't worry about squirrels."

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