Leadership: Day 1 &1/2 - News Roundup
| Canadian Press |
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
OTTAWA -- Frank McKenna is waiting to see if he'll be fired as Canada's ambassador to Washington before deciding if he wants to leap into the Liberal leadership race.
"I've got to have some communication in the coming hours or days with the new prime minister and then make some decisions on a couple of things," the putative front-runner said in an interview.
McKenna had gone to bed by the time Paul Martin, faced with the defeat of his government in Monday's election, announced he won't lead the Liberals into the next election.
Roused from his sleep by The Canadian Press, McKenna said he wasn't surprised Martin decided to step aside. Indeed, he'd been advised of Martin's decision before going to bed.
"It's what I would've done on election night under those circumstances, clean and to the point and honourable and respectful. It's what I would've anticipated."
Canada's ambassador to Washington is traditionally a political appointment. Conservative Leader Stephen Harper, who won a minority government Monday, will likely want to replace McKenna, a former Liberal premier of New Brunswick, with a Tory appointee who more closely shares his political philosophy.
Asked if he expects to be replaced, McKenna said: "That's an issue I need to address with the prime minister before I talk about it publicly."
A longtime friend and political ally of McKenna's said the former premier is a "political addict" and will be very tempted to plunge into the leadership contest.
However, the ally said McKenna is also "very careful about his career. He doesn't do things he doesn't think he can win."
But unlike the coronation of Martin two years ago, the next Liberal leader will be chosen from a potentially large field of contenders. As many as 10 candidates could end up contesting the next race.
Other potential candidates refused to rule themselves out of the game last night.
John Manley, former deputy prime minister, acknowledged some Liberals have urged him to run.
"Some may want a dynamic, charismatic leader -- some others may support me," he joked during a CBC panel.
And Manley sounded like a candidate already when he talked about the "real need for healing."
"The tribalism that has divided (the party) is not healthy. If we don't show respect for one another, it's hard to persuade Canadians to show respect for us."
But Manley later told The Canadian Press: "I have some thinking and consulting to do. I won't be saying anything until I'm ready."
Brian Tobin, former Newfoundland premier and federal cabinet minister, said he continues to "fulfil my obligations in private life" but did not rule out returning to the political arena.
He urged the party to take its time selecting a new leader.
"There is no need to rush recklessly ahead," Tobin said.
Toronto MP Maurizio Bevilacqua was also sounding statesmanlike, calling for the party to put the lingering feud between the Martin and Chretien camps behind it.
"We do not have the luxury to not include everybody," the victorious Bevilacqua said in an interview.
"Tonight's results should not become an opportunity for people to fingerpoint but rather an opportunity to focus on the future."
Bevilacqua, who at 45 is one of the youngest possible successors, said the party needs to "reach out to a new generation of Liberals across the country" and put the infighting of the past behind them."
Michael Ignatieff, the acclaimed Harvard academic who won election for the first time in Etobicoke-Lakeshore, has been touted as a possible future leader. But his supporters had hoped he'd have some time to learn the ropes as an MP before having to contemplate a shot at the top job.
"I don't want to think, talk, discuss leadership at all," Ignatieff told the CBC.
Martin hands reins to Harper
OTTAWA (CP) — Paul Martin has informed Gov. General Michaelle Jean that he's vacating the prime minister's job after Monday's Conservative election victory. Martin, 67, told Jean of his intention to resign by telephone this morning. The call was the first formal act in the transition of power from the Liberals to a Conservative minority government under Stephen Harper, 46. Harper's Tories won 124 of Parliament's 308 seats, while the Liberals took 103, the Bloc Quebecois 51 and the New Democrats 29. There was one independent elected.
Liberal leadership race starts today: experts
Liberal Leader Paul Martin speaks at his campaign headquarters in Montreal Monday night following the election loss.
John Manley is among the names being suggested for the Liberal leadership, CTV's Tom Clark said Tuesday.
Bill Graham, who was re-elected last night, said he has no interest in running for the leadership. He is shown here on Canada AM on Tuesday.
Belinda Stronach, who won re-election in her riding as a Liberal, is a possible surprise candidate for the party.
CTV.ca News Staff
Updated: Tue. Jan. 24 2006 9:42 AM ET
There are many questions this morning about the fate of the Liberal party, after Paul Martin announced he would be stepping down.
But one thing is clear -- the leadership race starts today, says CTV's Tom Clark. And that at least means Canadians won't have to face another election for at least a year and a half.
"Believe it or not, the next year and a half is going to be about the Liberal party, nobody else. Because the Liberals won't want to see this parliament brought down before they have a new leader."
Many weren't surprised that Martin would step down, after the Liberals won just 103 seats, compared to 124 for the Conservatives. But some were shocked at how quickly he announced his intentions.
"I will continue to represent with pride the people of LaSalle-Emard, but I will not take our party into another election as leader," Martin told his constituents in Montreal.
While he moved quickly, speculation about potential leadership candidates perhaps moved even faster.
Among names being suggested are the "usual suspects," as Clark calls them, of John Manley and Brian Tobin.
There may also be some surprising entries, such as Scott Brison and Belinda Stronach.
When asked this morning on Canada AM about whether she might run in the leadership, Stronach said with a smile: "You know, I'm here to serve."
Clark also suggested that Frank McKenna, Canada's ambassador to the United States, is "packing his bags as we speak" to come back to Canada. His intentions might be known fairly soon, as he would have to resign from his post.
Michael Ignatieff, Denis Coderre and Martin Cauchon have also been mentioned as possibilities.
"This is going to be a very interesting race to see who will succeed Paul Martin. One thing about the Liberals, they do not like losing," said Clark.
Bill Graham, who was re-elected last night, said he has no interest in running for the leadership. However, he said he is confident the party will pick the right person for the job.
"I think it will clearly be very, very important for the party to choose a new leader and the right leader that can bring together the wonderful strands across this country," said Graham.
"And I'm confident we will be able to do that."
In the meantime, Martin may pick an interim leader, said CTV's Robert Fife.
"I don't know this right now, but he may want to get out," Fife said.
"He's pretty beaten up right now, and certainly all the people who are around him will not be regarded very highly by anybody in the Liberal party."
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Conservatives to form a minority; Martin tells Gov. Gen. he's resigning Tuesday, January 24, 2006 Posted at 12:45 PM EST
Rideau Hall said the Liberal Leader spoke with the Governor General by telephone about 9.30 a.m. EST. The official announcement did not indicate when the new Conservative cabinet would be sworn in.
Pending recounts, the Conservatives won 124 seats to the Liberals' 103 in Monday's election. The Bloc Québécois won in 51 ridings and the NDP in 29.
As usual at election time, the senior federal bureaucracy has transition plans and briefing books ready in the event that a new government is elected. But Mr. Harper will need several days to decide on the size and makeup of his cabinet.
Mr. Martin, who said Monday he won't lead the Liberals into another election, kept a low profile. He planned no public appearances.
Also this morning, Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe tried to put the best possible face on his party's performance in the election. The Bloc lost seats and share of the popular vote in Quebec, after Mr. Duceppe's initial campaign boasts that the separatist party would win more than half the popular vote.
"We finished first [in Quebec] for the fifth consecutive time," Mr. Duceppe told a news conference, noting that Bloc candidates also knocked off several Liberal cabinet ministers. "We have the balance of power in Ottawa."
Canadians decided Monday to cautiously change the national government, giving Harper's Conservatives a slim minority and tethering the other parties to a short leash in the new House.
The results suggest that the new government may be able to function for at least 18 months, the average life for minorities in Canada.
The defeat of Mr. Martin's Liberals, and his announcement that he's stepping down as leader, sets off a leadership race that will pre-occupy that party for months, killing any appetite for forcing an early election.
Jack Layton's New Democrats increased their standings in the House, but fell short of the numbers needed to hold a clear balance of power.
Canadians don't want another election soon, Mr. Layton told supporters in Toronto on Monday night.
Today, at a news conference, Mr. Layton said the new Parliament could continue "for months and years" as long as the Conservatives co-operate to produce results for working families.
"I'm very optimistic for the future," Mr. Layton said.
The new NDP caucus isn't large enough to prop up the Tories on a confidence vote in the face of a united opposition from the Bloc and Liberals. But Mr. Layton said holding a mathematical balance of power is "overrated."
A tight confidence vote could be decided by the sole independent elected Monday, colorful former Quebec radio show host André Arthur, a federalist.
The Bloc lost seven seats and its share of the popular vote was reduced as the Conservatives picked up seats in Quebec, establishing the Tories as a second federalist option in the province.
The Conservative breakthrough in Quebec means that Canada now has two parties with MPs from all regions of the country for the first time since 1993.
In his victory speech in Calgary, Mr. Harper reached out to the other parties and leaders. He said Canadians owed Mr. Martin thanks for his service to the country and he congratulated Mr. Layton and Mr. Duceppe for running "solid and honourable campaigns … We are all democrats."
Recognizing that his minority is slim, Mr. Harper said: "To those who did not vote for us, I pledge to work for all of us."
But he made it clear he feels he has a sufficient mandate to pursue his core five planks of his platform: a federal accountability act to clean up government, cuts in the hated GST, tougher anti-crime measures, childcare credits, and reduced wait times for medical care.
Voters have asked all the parties to work together, Mr. Harper said. "We're going to govern with an open mind" and may make mistakes from time to time, he added.
New Democrats indicated throughout the campaign that they might find common ground with the Conservatives on several Tory priorities, including cleaning up government.
"We'll not just oppose, we'll propose in a way that's is balanced and fiscally responsible," Mr. Layton said Monday night.
One of Mr. Harper's first tasks will be to put together a cabinet that is balanced geographically and includes old stock Tories as well as representatives from the Reform/Alliance wing of the party.
Almost certain to join the cabinet are new Quebec MP Lawrence Cannon, a former provincial Liberal minister, Deputy Leader Peter MacKay of Nova Scotia and Rona Ambrose, an up and coming bilingual Albertan who performed well in opposition.
Some veteran Western MPs who have been with the Reform/Alliance/Conservative movement through its various permutations for years may be disappointed.
Mr. Martin conceded defeat shortly after midnight, telling supporters he had called his opponent to offer his congratulations and said he wouldn't lead the party in the next election.
"I will continue to represent with pride the people of LaSalle-Émard but I will not take our party in to another election as leader," he said.
"In the coming days, I will consult with the party leadership as to how best to ensure an orderly transition and an effective leadership in the House of Commons and the party."
There is no shortage of possible Liberal leadership candidates.
They include Frank McKenna, the former New Brunswick premier who is now ambassador in Washington; former Harvard professor Michael Ignatieff who won a seat in a Toronto riding Monday; former cabinet minister Martin Cauchon from Quebec and Ontario MP Maurizio Bevilacqua.
Other possibles are former deputy prime minister John Manley, former Newfoundland premier Brian Tobin, and Liberal MPs Joe Volpe, Scott Brison, and Belinda Stronach, who once ran for the Conservative leadership.
The Conservative gains came on the back of a swell in support in Central Canada, but the Liberals still managed to cling to seats in some key regions — helping limit the Tories' overall advance.
The Conservatives managed roughly 36 per cent of the popular vote nationally compared with 30 per cent for the Liberals, 17 per cent for the NDP and 10 per cent for the Bloc.
In Quebec, the Conservatives increased their share of the popular vote more than 17 percentage points, managing to win the party's first federal seat in that province in five years. The Liberal popular vote in the province was down 14 percentage points. The shift also saw the Bloc's share of the popular vote slip 7 percentage points.
Similarly, in Ontario the Liberals' chunk of the popular vote was down 5 percentage points. In that province, the Liberals were elected in 55 seats — down from 74 in the last sitting — compared with the Conservatives' 39.
In British Columbia — where polls had suggested a three-way battle — the Conservatives were elected in 17 of 36 seats, down from 22 in 2004. The NDP were next with 10 and the Liberals followed at nine.
The NDP, which had 18 seats in the last Commons, managed double digit gains in terms of its seat count — to 29 from 18.
"Our Canada puts ordinary Canadians first and tonight ordinary Canadians in the millions put their trust in the NDP and took a step forward," Mr. Layton told an audience in Toronto.
"We won't let you down."
Mr. Duceppe, meanwhile, promised Quebeckers a "responsible" opposition in the next Parliament.
"We will make sure Quebec moves forward because we know everything that makes Quebec move forward moves us forward toward sovereignty," he said.
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| The Gazette |
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
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On the heels of a stunning defeat, Paul Martin last night announced he was stepping down as Liberal leader and will meet with party officials immediately to begin the process of succession.
Martin spent much of his life trying to become prime minister. For a while last night, it seemed he was in no rush to leave it behind. But when he finally stood on the podium at election headquarters, there was no equivocation. He told a small crowd of party faithful he would stay on as member for LaSalle-Emard but sign off as leader as soon as possible.
"Ours will be a strong opposition, and I will continue to represent my riding with pride."
With returns pointing to a minority government for Stephen Harper's Conservatives, the Liberal leader lingered at a downtown hotel playing cards with his wife, Sheila, and their three sons before finally heading to the podium at Buffet Sorrento to concede defeat, and face the future.
Embraced by a small but vocal crowd - made up largely of new Canadians - Martin began by expressing his thanks and support to voters in LaSalle-Emard who have voted for him since he was first elected 17 years ago. "I say thank you from the bottom of my heart.
"I want to express my gratitude to all those who have served with me in cabinet from coast to coast to coast. I am so proud of what we have achieved together."
He boasted of the Liberals' strengths, especially it's history of looking after those who might otherwise be neglected or fall through the cracks. "We endeavour to ensure that no Canadian is ever left behind."
While some of their candidates were defeated, Martin said this is not the end of the road. "There will be another chance, and there will be another time. To all those who ran under the Liberal banner ... you have done your party, and you have done your country, proud."
The Liberals have much to be proud of, he said, beginning with an invigorated economy, which has "restored confidence in a country whose spirit was almost broken."
Martin said he had just called Harper and congratulated him. "The people of Canada have chosen him to lead a minority government."
Long before Martin reached the stage, Liberal cabinet minister John Manley had laid a few cards on the table. Manley, himself touted as a likely contender for the Liberal leadership, dropped broad hints Martin should waste no time in stepping aside. Michael Ignatieff, the Liberal neophyte in Toronto also mentioned as a potential leadership candidate, said Martin had "fought like a tiger" and the Liberals were down but not out. "I don't want to think, talk about or discuss leadership," Ignatieff said.
However, other senior Liberals admitted their party has suffered the effects of the sponsorship scandals for the last two elections. Serious rebuilding would be needed before the party could regain the confidence of voters, particularly in vote-rich Ontario, where the Liberals surrendered more than 20 seats to the Tories and New Democrats.
As election results poured in, showing the Liberals taking a thumping across the country, the mood at election headquarters was morose. Only when Liberal candidates from Montreal ridings started to trickle in shortly before midnight did supporters put on a brave face.
"A lot of people would rather stay home than face someone when the new is bad," said campaign worker Ajaib Sandhu, recalling the night in June 2004 when jubilant supporters rattled red and white balloons to celebrate Martin's victory. Sandhu and Harjinder Singh Sohi, who spent the day ferrying Liberal voters to polling stations, confessed there was a gap between what they hoped and what they expected. "I wish Mr. Martin well, whatever happens," Sandhu said.
That Martin would hang on to LaSalle-Emard, a solid Liberal riding in west-end Montreal, was hardly in doubt, despite challenges from May Chiu, a 40-year-old lawyer running for the Bloc Quebecois, and insurance broker Georges-Alexandre Bastien, who carried the flag for the Tories. Bringing up the rear were the NDP's Russ Johnson and Serge Bellmare of the Green Party.
As the first votes were tallied, the Liberal leader remained cloistered with his wife and close advisers, assessing the extent of the damage - knowing the best they could hope for probably wouldn't be enough to salvage Martin's political career.
Or that he would even want to, after a lacklustre, gaffe-plagued, campaign where he was stuck playing defence, fending off attacks from left, right and centre. No wonder Martin often looked battered and weary, under siege from the Bloc in Quebec and the Tories and NDP everywhere else.
pcurran@thegazette.canwest.com
Decision 2006
___________________________________________________________________ January 24, 2006 Leadership hopefuls emerging |
OTTAWA -- Frank McKenna is waiting to see if he'll be fired as Canada's ambassador to the U.S. before deciding if he wants to leap into the Liberal leadership race.
McKenna said he wasn't surprised Martin decided to step aside -- indeed, he'd been advised of Martin's decision before going to bed.
Other potential candidates refused to rule themselves out of the game last night.
John Manley, former deputy prime minister, acknowledged some Liberals have urged him to run.
"Some may want a dynamic, charismatic leader -- some others may support me," he joked.
Brian Tobin, former Newfoundland premier, said he continues to "fulfil my obligations in private life" but did not rule out returning.
Michael Ignatieff, the acclaimed Harvard academic who won election for the first time in Etobicoke-Lakeshore, has been touted as a possible future leader.
But his supporters had hoped he'd have some time to learn the ropes as an MP before having to contemplate a shot at the top job.
"I don't want to think, talk, discuss leadership at all," Ignatieff told the CBC.
posted by Manley Man at Tuesday, January 24, 2006
1 Comments:
Now that the Martinites have seen the damage they've wreaked on the Liberal party. .. good riddance to the PM sycophants.
Finally...at long last. I will now renew my Liberal membership. I've also linked up this blogsite to my website.
thanks in advance.
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