Candice Bergen

Candice Marie Bergen (born September 28, 1964) is a Canadian politician who served as the member of Parliament (MP) for Portage—Lisgar in Manitoba from 2008 to 2023. Previously, she served as the interim leader of the Conservative Party and the leader of the Opposition from February 2, 2022 to September 10, 2022. Bergen was minister of State for Social Development in the Harper government and Opposition House Leader under Rona Ambrose and Andrew Scheer from 2016 until 2020. She served as deputy leader of the Conservative Party and deputy leader of the Opposition under Erin O'Toole from September 2020 to February 2022. On September 6, 2022, she announced she would not be standing at the next federal election, and resigned her seat on February 28, 2023. The by-election to replace her in parliament was held on June 19, 2023. She was succeeded by her former campaign manager Branden Leslie. Background Bergen was born on September 28, 1964, in Morden, Manitoba, to a family with Mennonite roots and attended a Pentecostal church. She was the youngest of eight siblings. Her father sold car parts and her mother was a cleaner in a hospital. After high school, Bergen moved to Winnipeg and British Columbia, but returned home to Morden to raise her children and worked to help support her husband through university.