Showdown in Canada's Parliament Continues
New Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff Presents a Challenge to Harper
Dec 15, 2008
Uncomfortable with Stephane Dion’s leadership, the executive committee of the Liberal Party had a decision to make. After the October 2008, election, Dion agreed to resign as the Liberal leader pending the selection of a new leader at its next national convention scheduled for May 2009. Continuing to remain the head of any coalition or the Party represented “bad optics”.
With the recent upheaval in Parliament, the dynamics changed. Leadership candidate Dominic Leblanc of New Brunswick announced he will not run for the leadership, while at the same time, asked his supporters to back Michael Ignatieff. It appeared the executive powers of the party wanted a leader installed and ready for Harper’s January budget. Ignatieff’s only other contender, Bob Rae, initially appeared reluctant, urging the national executive to get the grassroots involved in the selection of a leader.
On December 9, 2008, Rae appeared before national television tendering his resignation as a leadership candidate, encouraging the party to unite behind Michael Ignatieff. Questions were raised if Rae had been offered anything in exchange for his resignation. Rae stated he had not even spoken to Ignatieff or his handlers in several days, but given the situation – he felt it was best for the party to present a united front. On Saturday, December 13, 2008, Michael Ignatieff was officially installed as the party’s ‘interim leader’.
While both NDP Leader Jack Layton and Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe continue to support the coalition deal they signed with Stephane Dion, the future of the coalition is not as clear under Michael Ignatieff, although not altogether ruled out. His response on the matter to the media was “a coalition if necessary, but not necessarily coalition”. He later stated he cannot promise to vote against a budget nobody read, so it made sense to put the ball in Stephen Harper’s court to see if his intentions reflect the national interest.
Ignatieff, though born in Toronto and largely educated in Canada, he left the country afterward to pursue his graduate studies and PHd; as well, Ignatieff eventually taught at Oxford and at Harvard University. In 2005, he left his position as the director of the Centre for Human Rights at Harvard to return to Toronto and shortly thereafter run for the leadership of the party he always supported. In the 2006 leadership, Stephane Dion was elected the Liberal leader.
Ignatieff was elected as the MP for Etobicoke-Lakeshore in that election and continues to represent that area. While Conservatives have criticized Ignatieff’s position as one that was not truly elected, Ignatieff appeared ready to take them on. He continues to retain the coalition strategy as a tool to force Harper to govern for Canadians, as opposed to his own partisans. While the Prime Minister approached the Opposition parties for proposals for the upcoming budget, Ignatieff was clear to Harper that this matter remains “in his court”.
A recent Star /Angus Reid Opinion Poll was conducted between December 11 -12, 2008, which showed both Ignatieff and Harper in a statistical tie for preference for Prime Minister, as well the support for the Liberal Party itself increased by a full 9% to 31%, and the preference for the Conservatives fell by 5% from 42%, showing Ignatieff is already bringing benefits to his party.
While there has been no official response by Harper on this poll, his actions represent an attempt to cling to power. Harper announced he will fill all 18 vacant Senate seats with supporters before Christmas, likely in anticipation of a possible non-confidence vote in January.
