Conservative leadership candidate Jean Charest says claims he's a Liberal are 'ludicrous'

Federal Conservative leadership candidate Jean Charest is pushing back on claims made by his rival Pierre Poilievre that he is a Liberal, calling the allegation 'ludicrous.'

“When (Poilievre) says I’m a Liberal, is there anyone in the country that doesn't already know that I went to Quebec politics to fight the separatists’ cause in a coalition party that was called the Liberal Party, as is this case in British Columbia,” said Charest, in an interview airing Sunday morning on CTV’s Question Period with Evan Solomon.

Poilievre and his surrogates have been attempting to paint Charest as a Liberal, due to Charest serving as the Quebec premier from 2003 until 2012 as a member of the Quebec Liberal Party.

“I just respectfully disagree with his decision to raise the sales tax when he was a Liberal premier. He also brought in a carbon tax that makes life more expensive,” Poilievre said in an interview with CP24, adding that the federal Conservatives needed a “true conservative” to lead the party.

Charest was also the leader of the federal Progressive Conservative Party from 1993 to 1998 and held multiple portfolios in the Brian Mulroney government, including deputy prime minister.