The Liberal candidate in the Baie Verte-Green Bay byelection is a member of the federal Conservative Party, but that’s not a concern for Premier Andrew Furey.

Owen Burt says he has never hidden his political affiliation, and has been open about it on the campaign trail.

He admits he supported Conservative MP Clifford Small in the last election, and plans to continue that support.

Burt insists that doesn’t mean he can’t support the provincial Liberals.

“I actually went with Mr. Small because I think the (federal) Liberals need to replace their leader,” he said. “A lot of people are probably afraid to come out and say that, but not me. We need a new leader in Ottawa for the Liberal government, and anybody who thinks I’m following the federal government and believes a lot of the stuff they’re doing, no, I am not.”

Premier Andrew Furey notes he also continues to clash with Trudeau on several files, most notably the carbon tax.

While Burt doesn’t support the PM, Furey believes he is supportive of the direction of the provincial Liberals.

As for whether Burt could, if elected, cross the floor to the PCs, Furey has “zero” concerns about that.

He says Burt has been an “incredible Liberal in that district for a generation,” adding Burt was one of the first people he called when he decided to run for the party leadership.

The other candidates in the byelection include Riley Harnett for the NDP and Lin Paddock for the PCs.

Paddock has himself come under fire for recent comments regarding recruitment of doctors in the area.

“We need to recruit in areas that love this (place), like Germany where they adore the outdoors, not India and Pakistan where they will come here and then go to Toronto,” Paddock said during a debate in the district of Baie Verte-Green Bay last week.

This week, he clarified that he didn’t mean to single out two countries and could’ve chosen his words more wisely, citing time limitations and the heat of the debate.