Liberal Party of Canada: Leadership race

All the excitement and suspense is over:
Justin Trudeau wins Liberal leadership with 80% support
Calls for an end to party infighting, ‘hyphenated Liberals’

The Conservatives couldn’t wait to go on the attack
In a statement, the party said “Justin Trudeau may have a famous last name, but in a time of global economic uncertainty, he doesn’t have the judgement or experience to be Prime Minister.”

Liberal Party of Canada announcement
On November 14, 2012, the National Board of Directors will meet to call the start of the 2013 LPC Leadership race, on 5 months’ notice, as required in the LPC Constitution.
And on April 14, 2013, in Ottawa, we intend to introduce our Leader to Canadians, a Leader chosen by you.
Who’s running for the party’s top job?
Marc Garneau on Wednesday-Night.com
Justin Trudeau on Wednesday-Night.com
Martin Cauchon website
Karen McCrimmon website
Joyce Murray website

Justin Trudeau Light On Policy, But Offers Key Glimpses Of Next Liberal Platform
Justin Trudeau has made no apologies for offering little in the way of substantive policy prescriptions during the Liberal leadership race.
Indeed, Trudeau has argued it’s not the leader’s role to hand down commandments from on high to grassroots Liberals. Instead, he’s promised that if he becomes leader, he would develop the party’s platform from the bottom up, based on consultations from Liberals in particular and Canadians in general.
It’s almost over, but meantime … a bit of history
10 April
Trudeaumania vs. Anyone-but-Trudeau
(Ottawa Citizen) Will the 41-year-old Justin Trudeau be able to duplicate what his 49-year-old father, Pierre Elliott Trudeau did four-and-one-half decades ago? That convention was touted to be a coronation, but in fact was a messy, political dogfight.
Forty-five years ago, promises were made, seductions attempted, and threats were uttered in the bloody political fight of the 1968 Liberal convention, writes Tom Shoebridge. See also: The Liberal Party of Canada leadership election of 1968
7 April
Andrew Coyne: Turns out Trudeau is the Liberals’ best hope after all
The 2013 Liberal leadership campaign ended very much on form: in a hail of tedious speeches delivered to a near comatose audience in an airless bunker several storeys under the ground.
Liberal leadership candidate Justin Trudeau’s challenges just beginning: Tim Harper
Justin Trudeau’s hard work begins after the votes are counted in the federal Liberal leadership contest.
(Toronto Star) The reality check came from outgoing interim leader, Bob Rae, a welcome parting gift to those who were there to pay him tribute.
He reminded a party torn apart in the past by internecine battles that unity was vital.
He reminded the party that it is only as strong as its weakest riding association and that there will be 338 ridings that need work in the 30 months before the next election.
The easiest part of this for Trudeau is winning the race.
Assuming that is confirmed a week from now, the real hard work for him is just beginning.
John Ibbitson: Trudeau’s showcase performance low on substance, high on hope
In a barn-burner of a speech utterly devoid of substance, Justin Trudeau asked Liberals to make him leader and Canadians to make him prime minister because he stands for progress. [OUCH!]
Althia Raj — Liberal Leadership ‘Convention’: 15 Things You Need To Know
The six remaining Liberal leadership contenders made their final pitches to Grits today and said goodbye to outgoing, interim leader, Bob Rae.
The event featured 25-minute speeches from [the six remaining candidates]
But was the “showcase” really a success?
Success Or Flop?
The convention was successful. There were bums in seats and everything went off smoothly and relatively on time. It wasn’t as brash or impressive a showcase as the NDP’s convention in 2012, but it was a success.
Biggest Moment
The Bob Rae tribute video was beautifully produced and his off-the-cuff speech probably made some Liberals in the room think about what could have been if the party had selected him as leader in 2006.
Best Speech
Justin Trudeau. His speech was strongly delivered, showed he can attack his opponents and successfully defuse some of the criticism against him. He showed just how much better a politician he is compared to his opponents, but he still injected some of the corniness and over-performance he is known for. … What’s Next?
Liberals vote and we’ll watch to see how many of those 127,000 registered supporters actually cast a ballot. The results will be announced April 14 in Ottawa.
Trudeau touts Liberals as ‘irresistible alternative’
(CBC) Montreal Liberal MP Justin Trudeau backed-up his perceived frontrunner status with a passionate plea for the party’s top job.
Trudeau said he would put forward an “irresistible alternative” to the Conservatives in time for the next general election in 2015, an alternative he described as “100 per cent undeniably Canadian.”
He reiterated his promise that every Liberal, incumbent or not, would have to earn his or her own nomination. Trudeau extolled his concern for the middle class, his vision for diversity and federalism.
3 April
Kelly McParland: Liberals will hand the leadership to Trudeau with no clue on his policy views
In 10 days, Justin Trudeau will be acclaimed leader of the Liberal Party. Everyone knows this, except Martin Cauchon, who thinks it’s still a horse race and should seek help for his affliction
The competition (it’s never really been a race) has been under way for six months, 10 if you’re Deborah Coyne. We’ve learned a few things in the process, for example that a surprising number of alleged Liberals think the way to revive the party is to tie it to the NDP, which, in the 80 years since the founding of the CCF, has never formed a federal government and has been the official opposition for (almost) two years. It’s like the Montreal Canadians seeking advice on playoff strategy from the Florida Panthers.
But there’s still an awful lot we don’t know, especially about Trudeau. I don’t, anyway. Here’s just some of the things he hasn’t told us:
Bob Rae: the most underrated politician in Canada
Farewell, Bob Rae.
Barring a miracle, Justin Trudeau will have his moment in the sun next weekend as Liberals crown him leader of their federal party. Rae, the outgoing interim leader, will step aside, even though he is by far the better man.
Friends and adversaries in Parliament have already paid tribute to Rae. Prime Minister Stephen Harper thanked him “for bringing his intellect, his patriotism and his tenacity to the House of Commons.”
Intellect, patriotism, tenacity — and, one might also add, decency.
Canada badly needs politicians like Rae, who look beyond their own self-interest and constantly consider the public good.
28 March
Analysis: Bob Rae does not go gently into that good night
Ex-Liberal interim leader never rules anything out
By Michael den Tandt,
(Postmedia) Here’s the irony: Bob Rae, showered with accolades and crowned with laurel leaves by friend and foe alike this week as he gracefully stepped back from the fray, isn’t going anywhere.
A performer and political operator to his core, Rae is not leaving the stage, though his term as Liberal leader is over. Now he’s poised to leap with both feet into the most intractable cluster of social and economic problems facing this country: aboriginal poverty, reserves and resource development.
… In a House of Commons dominated by talking points and rote speeches, Rae stands out as a parliamentarian of the old school, an orator who has studied Burke and Paine, and employs their techniques. He’s witty, self-deprecating, tough when he needs to be, gracious to his opponents. He wears his commitment to public life, and the beating he has sometimes taken in its pursuance, as a badge of high honour.
27 March
Rae vows not to become Liberals’ ‘crazy Uncle Bob’ as he wraps term as interim leader
As federal MPs prepare to go back to their ridings for two weeks, interim Liberal leader Bob Rae is packing up his office.
Wednesday marked Rae’s final meeting with the Liberal caucus as the party’s caretaker boss; by the time the House of Commons resumes in mid-April, someone else will have the job of Liberal leader and the office that goes with it.
But the man chosen by the Liberals to lead the party after it was decimated in the 2011 election says while he’ll have new digs off the Hill and a new seat in the Commons, he has no intention of disappearing.
“I’m not going to be crazy uncle Bob coming down from the attic every once in a while to make a speech to the kids,” Rae told a news conference, his wife and children watching nearby. …
Rae’s many moments in politics drew tributes from his Commons colleagues Wednesday, which included an all-MP standing ovation when he rose to speak.
Jonathan Kay: How Bob Rae saved the Liberals, and became one of Canada’s great second acts
… For those who might’ve forgotten, Mr. Rae was the one-term Ontario NDP premier who led his party to electoral annihilation in 1995 — going from a 74-seat majority government to 17-seat third party status. … Mr. Rae resigned from the NDP, and began reinventing himself as a mainstream thinker in meaty policy areas such as foreign affairs, education and democratic reform. He began lecturing at universities, practising law on Bay Street, producing influential government reports and writing books.
… After Bob Rae lost the Liberal leadership in 2006, and then was muscled aside by Mr. Ignatieff’s henchmen in 2008, he might have quit the party in disgust. Instead, he guided it through the roughest patch in its 146-year history. It was a classy way for Mr. Rae to end his surprisingly successful second act.

24 March
‘Strategic voting’ dominates final Liberal leadership debate
(National Post) Murray called her proposal an “insurance policy” aimed at ensuring defeat of the Conservatives. But she said it’s much more than that, aimed ultimately at reforming the electoral system so that each party’s share of the popular vote is more accurately reflected in the distribution of seats in the House of Commons.
Trudeau retorted that “winning at all costs” is really the definition of old-school politics. …
With Marc Garneau bowing out of the race last week, Murray and Hall Findlay appeared to be jockeying Saturday over who is the second-place candidate. They got into a verbal dust-up over proposed pipelines to carry bitumen from Alberta’s oil sands to ports on British Columbia’s coast
Globe and Mail Trudeau, Joyce Murray butt heads on strategic voting
Michael Den Tandt: Justin Trudeau may be more than just a pretty face
The Liberal leadership race is over. So let’s move beyond, if such a thing is possible, the now predictable back-and-forth about Justin Trudeau’s hair, celebrity, charisma, vacuity, experience or lack of it. Separate the ideas from the man, and what do you have? What is it worth?
22 March
Weighing in on Justin Trudeau , our friends offer a good debate
David Jones: Charisma alone makes him a force not to be taken lightly
vs.
David Kilgour: Justin Trudeau: Let’s not crown him emperor until we see his new clothes
(Hill Times) Irregularities in voter registrations for the Liberal Party leadership election are being challenged ‘big time’ as scrutineers for the seven remaining candidates are poring through the qualifications of tens of thousands of potential voters, says an official with one of the leadership campaigns.
21 March
David Bertschi Quits Liberal Leadership Race The only surprise is that he had declared that he would stay in until the last vote was counted.
19 March
Liberal Leadership Vote To Be Decided Mostly By Older Ontarians
(HuffPost) The federal Liberal leadership race was supposed to help the third-place party connect with a new, younger generation of voters and expand its shrunken base.
But an analysis of those who’ve registered to vote thus far suggests it’s done neither.
Almost 60 per cent are 50 years of age or older.
Almost half reside in Ontario.
16 March
Much as we like Joyce Murray, Adam presents a highly persuasive argument against her main plank
Adam Goldenberg Op-Ed: Why Liberal-NDP cooperation won’t work
(Ottawa Citizen) Unfortunately, the best argument for consolidating Canada’s left-of-Tory parties is that they have already all but consolidated themselves. In a mad rush for the elusive “centre” — that imaginary, vote-rich 11th province where, the pollsters say, most Canadian voters reside — the Liberals, the NDP, and the Conservatives have all selectively swiped each others’ policies, priorities, and philosophies for the sake of short-term advantage. Canadians are left with mushy, mediocre moderation, a battle of political personalities coloured by constant character assassination, and, in the end, a choice between coats of paint.
With little left to lose, Liberals could use the next two years to break this slow march to the middle. For the sake of Canada’s democracy, the party could reject the simplicity of the spectrum and give Canadians a real, robust choice. Liberals could be liberals again.
14 March
Andrew Coyne: The Liberal leadership race is fast becoming a fiasco
Taken together, the loss in the space of a week of much of its potential voter base and its most serious contender mean a leadership race that is fast becoming a fiasco. Both, moreover, have a common origin: in the decision to take away from party members the prerogative of choosing the party leader, and give it to people with no connection to the party and even less commitment, the so-called “supporter” class. Because make no mistake, that is who will decide this.
That the party has steadfastly refused to disclose precisely how many of those 294,000 are actual members, as opposed to supporters, tells you all you need to know. If it had grown much from what it was, they’d be shouting it from the rooptops. And while it’s safe to assume that members are more likely than supporters to vote next month, they will still make up only a small fraction of the votes cast. The rest will be made up of those who, given the chance to join, couldn’t be bothered. And the vast majority of those are for Justin. We have always been skeptical about the introduction of the supporter category, not fully understanding the benefit of creating a group that has no responsibility to the party, and also suspecting that it offered an opportunity for sabotage by political opponents. IF one were a conspiracy theorist, one might suspect that the failure of so many to register to vote is due to a vast number of bogus sign-ups
Jonathan Kay: Marc Garneau proves Canadians don’t want smart candidates with good ideas
I’m not one of those who dismiss Trudeau as a lightweight. As I’ve noted before, he’s run two hard-fought campaigns against separatists and socialists in a tough Montreal riding. But his leadership run has been nothing but a set of bromides and media appearances. Credit to him, I guess: He’s smart enough to know that Canadians’ much-ballyhooed appetite for fresh policy ideas is mostly self-flattering malarkey.
As for Garneau, I challenge readers — even those self-selected nerds willing to read eight paragraphs into a column such as this — to recite the major planks of Garneau’s policy platform. (For the record, it’s gender equality, high-speed internet access, student-assistance reform, expansion of Pacific-directed trade, and telecom liberalization.)
Not that it matters much at this point.
Pity Marc Garneau. We said we wanted a serious intellectual promoting serious policy ideas. He was brilliant enough to fit the role perfectly. And naïve enough to think we actually meant it.
Marc Garneau’s withdrawal from Liberal leadership race saves himself humiliation: Hébert
[The consequence of] Marc Garneau’s withdrawal from the Liberal race a month before the April 14 leadership vote and a bit more than a week before the only Quebec debate of the campaign is that he will be spared a double personal humiliation
13 March
Liberal Voter Registration Deadline Extended As Trudeau Asked

Trudeau Liberal leader win ‘fait accompli,’ Garneau says

Former astronaut says it’s time for party to move forward
(CBC) “I cannot see the numbers changing because he has an overwhelming lead.”
The odds were long but not impossible when he entered the race, Garneau said. He pointed to internal polling showing he is running second, although others have said he is in third or fourth place. …
Garneau said his poll, or survey, conducted last week, contacted 50,000 supporters or party members who intend to vote in the race. Six thousand replied and of those, he said, Trudeau had 72 per cent support, he had 15 per cent, Joyce Murray had 7.4 percent and Martha Hall Findlay had 5.2 percent. Garneau gave no indication of a margin of error for the survey, or any details about how the poll was done.
“I believe in numbers, OK,” said Garneau, who has an advanced engineering degree. “The numbers don’t lie.” [Wish he had considered Adam Goldenberg’s analysis: How Justin Trudeau could lose ]
It’s time for the party to move forward, Garneau said, speaking to reporters in Ottawa Wednesday.
All along, Garneau has been wary about revealing how many supporters he had personally signed up, and how much money he has been fundraising, other than to say it would be revealed “in due course.”
However the claim from the Trudeau camp that its campaign has garnered more than 160,000 supporters was an indicator of how far Trudeau has pulled ahead of other candidates, as well as the amount of money he has raised.
Elections Canada reported on its website last month that Trudeau had fundraised in excess of $600,000. Since then, estimates have ranged from $1 million to $2 million, far more than he needs to run his campaign. The excess money will be funnelled back to the Liberal Party.
Lately, there have been indications that Garneau, if he were to stay in the race, might place third after MP Joyce Murray. Murray is said to be attracting large numbers of supporters due to her pitch for electoral co-operation with the NDP and the Green Party.
Garneau quitting bid to lead Liberals
(Ottawa Citizen) Liberal MP Marc Garneau, despite running a “solid second,” has pulled out of the party’s leadership race and thrown his support behind front-runner Justin Trudeau.
Garneau — a former astronaut and the first Canadian in space — has decided Trudeau simply has too much momentum to be stopped before the voting begins early next month.
Statement on Marc Garneau’s withdrawal from the Liberal Leadership race
(Marc Garneau.ca) now it is time for me to rededicate myself as a loyal soldier within Liberal ranks. And in time, five weeks from now, it will be time for all of us, as Liberals, to dedicate ourselves to the real task ahead, and that is building a true Liberal alternative to Stephen Harper.
Kelly McParland: Justin Trudeau finds himself stuck with fair-weather frienders
Just last week Justin Trudeau’s camp was crowing over his success in signing up 150,000 “supporters”, later increased to a possible 165,000. To be a “supporter”, all you have to do is agree to temporarily identify yourself as holding a limited interest in the Liberal leadership race, and who might emerge as the winner.
This week the numbers have taken a hit: of 294,000 brand new party “supporters” – including Justin’s total plus the other seven candidates — only 89,000 have roused themselves enough to actually register to vote. And the deadline for registering is Thursday.
12 March
How Justin Trudeau could lose
By Adam Goldenberg
(Globe & Mail) 294,000 Canadians have reportedly signed up to vote for the Liberal Party’s next leader. More than half have pledged to support Justin Trudeau.
Simple math suggests that the race is over. If every Liberal member and supporter who has promised to vote for Mr. Trudeau actually does, then he should win easily on the first ballot, before any second-place votes are reallocated among the lesser candidates. BUT …
The rules of the race require that votes be weighted by riding, all 308 of which will receive 100 points to be allocated proportionally among the candidates after each tally, and reallocated as bottom-ranked candidates are eliminated and ballots are recounted. To win, a candidate can win every vote in one more than half of the ridings, or one more than half of the votes in all 308 ridings, or something in between. The crucial implication is that the smaller the number of Liberals in any particular riding, the greater the weight each of their votes will carry. If you’re a Liberal in northern Saskatchewan, Marc Garneau’s campaign wants to buy you a beer.
And yet, if Justin Trudeau can convince the lion’s share of his supporters to vote – and, first, to register to vote before Thursday’s deadline – and unless all of them happen to live in a tiny number of ridings, then he will win the leadership before any second-place votes are counted. Until that happens, however, expect every candidate – including him – to spend the next month running for second.
Althia Raj: Liberal ‘Supporters’ Fail To Register For Leadership Vote In ‘Embarrassing’ Party Experiment
(HuffPost) An experiment by the federal Liberal party to open itself up to non-members and allow so-called “supporters” to vote in its April leadership contest may end up being more an embarrassment than a success story for the party and front-running candidate Justin Trudeau.
With a Thursday deadline looming, less than one third – 89,000 – of the 294,000 new Liberal members and supporters signed up since the leadership race began have registered to cast a ballot. A party official said the Liberals are “on track” to register 100,000 by Thursday.
8 March
Chantal Hébert: Justin Trudeau’s Lacklustre Reception Outside Ontario, B.C. Should Worry Liberals
(Toronto Star) In the past, a demonstrated capacity to recruit leadership supporters has not always translated into more support in the ballot box. In 2005, a solid recruitment campaign allowed André Boisclair to beat Pauline Marois to the leadership of the Parti Québécois. Like Trudeau, Boisclair was a big hit with younger voters and like the Liberal favourite he seduced much of his party’s aging establishment into believing that he could connect it with a new generation of voters. Two years later, Boisclair led the PQ to its poorest showing in three decades.
7 March
At Issue panelists (Liberal Supporters and the Federal Budget) are not unanimously impressed by the numbers, express some reservations about the concept of supporters who are not members, and concerns about the personality cult growing up around Justin Trudeau, comparing it to the Jack Layton phenomenon in Quebec.
6 March
This message just in from Matt Certosimo, National Membership Secretary
294,002 Members and Supporters have taken the first step toward casting a vote to choose our new Leader.
Whether or not all these individual register to vote before the March 14 deadline, the fact remains, nearly 300,000 Canadians are now helping the Liberal Party of Canada move forward. And as this movement grows so does our hope for Canada
4 March
Justin Trudeau’s campaign claims 150,000 supporters
10,000 volunteers said to be working for the Papineau MP
3 March
Liberal MPs Murray and Garneau challenge frontrunner Trudeau
Liberal leadership hopefuls make last pitch to nab new supporters before deadline
(CBC) The format of Sunday’s debate included both one-on-one exchanges and debates among groups of three.
Topics included regional development, women’s issues, agriculture and rural affairs, health care, job creation, defence, and foreign policy. Candidates were also be given time to ask questions on any topic of their choosing.
1 March
Inside Justin Trudeau’s war room
(Globe & Mail) The 41-year-old son of Canada’s 15th prime minister is still learning the finer arts of his craft. But the Liberal leadership race – in which, six weeks before the April 14 vote, he is running ahead of all seven of his rivals – offers the perfect opportunity to hone his skills and nurture an organization to bring his badly hobbled, third-place party into the next election.
His ultimate goal is to retool the machinery of power in Ottawa to respond to both the communication styles and practical needs of a new generation.
28 February
The Trudeau effect
(Ottawa Citizen) After allowing its leadership race to degenerate into a sort of cross between a beauty contest and a reality television show, Canada’s very own Liberal Party, for instance, is on the verge of handing its crown to someone it would not be entirely wrong to call a largely talentless and insufferably foppish celebrity drama queen.
This is not a nice way to describe Justin Trudeau. It is also one thing to be Italy’s best-known patron of teenaged prostitutes and quite another thing to be merely a strangely pretty 41-year-old former snowboarding instructor who would be wholly unknown to all of us if he weren’t the son of a famously glamorous Canadian prime minister.
Murray gets last-minute momentum boost from star-studded advocacy groups
(Ottawa Citizen) The Vancouver MP is getting a boost — both direct and indirect — from a host of advocacy groups that support electoral co-operation and environmental preservation. Together, the groups boast close to 1 million members — a huge pool of potential supporters for Murray to tap into.
Leadnow.ca was one of the first out of the gate and it has now enlisted the support of actress Sarah Polley, anti-globalization activist Naomi Klein and award-winning author and poet Karen Connelly, among others, in its “co-operation for Canada” campaign.
The campaign is aimed at persuading Leadnow.ca’s 225,000 members to sign up as supporters of the Liberal party by Sunday’s deadline, thereby becoming eligible to vote in April for the party’s next leader.
… The Liberal party has made it easier for advocacy groups to influence the outcome of this contest than any previous leadership race. Anyone willing to sign up, for free, as a party supporter is entitled to cast a ballot, not just card-carrying, dues-paying members.
While it’s unlikely the groups’ efforts will derail front-runner Justin Trudeau’s apparent juggernaut, some rival organizers privately worry they could propel Murray into a surprise second or third-place finish, ahead of higher profile contenders Marc Garneau and Martha Hall Findlay.
25 February
George Takach Quits Liberal Leadership Race, Endorses Justin Trudeau (After his remarks about Joyce Murray – see below – we couldn’t expect him to endorse her)
Garneau wants exclusive debate with Trudeau in Liberal race
(CBC) Liberal Party’s debate formats only gave contenders one chance to spar directly so far – reading the on-line comments indicates general approval for the idea
Trudeau not the only millionaire in leadership race
He may not even be the wealthiest of the nine contenders.
(Canadian Press) On paper at least, that title may well belong to Joyce Murray — which will likely come as a surprise to rival George Takach, who has portrayed the Vancouver MP as a lefty tree hugger who knows little about business or creating “real jobs.”
21 February
David Suzuki Endorses Joyce Murray For Liberal Leader
(Canadian Press via HuffPost) Environmental crusader David Suzuki has thrown his high-profile weight behind Joyce Murray’s bid to become leader of the federal Liberal party.
The well-known scientist, environmentalist and broadcaster said Thursday he’s endorsing Murray because of what he called her “coherent vision of Canada as a sustainable society.”
He also agrees with the Vancouver MP’s proposal for one-time co-operation among Liberals, New Democrats and Greens in 2015 in order to defeat the Harper Conservatives and implement electoral reform.
17 February
Jean Proulx notes: In case you missed it on CTV’s West Block with Tom Clark, Marc Garneau said the first thing he would do as PM would be to bring back the long-form census in support of evidence-based policy making.
Jason Kenney slams Trudeau
Mr. Trudeau is not in touch with the values or the real issues that face ordinary Canadians. I don’t really know what his background is. I don’t think he’s ever run anything. … Sounds like the Conservatives are hoping this will push Liberals to vote for Justin
16 February
Liberal leadership rivals go toe-to-toe in 3rd debate
(CBC) The themes of the debate range[d] from the role of the federal government within the federation, the future of the middle class, transit and infrastructure, job creation, immigration, international trade, and reconnecting with Canadian voters. (Globe & Mail) Rivals attack Trudeau during Liberal leadership debate
(Yahoo! news) Justin Trudeau survives and thrives amid personal attacks at the latest Liberal leadership debate
Not exactly a full-blown policy, more of a statement of aspirations, but it is a beginning.
Justin Trudeau: Investing in Canadians
… the core of Liberal economic policy should be to make Canada the best educated country on Earth. We will build Canada’s competitive advantage around a highly skilled, creative and innovative workforce, because Canadians’ ingenuity and work ethic represent the best investment we can make in an era when change is the only constant…. what should the federal role look like? It should be principled, specific and targeted at the overall goal of raising our participation rate from just over 50% to 70%. It should respect provincial jurisdiction. It should support the efforts of individual Canadians to achieve post-secondary education, whether university, college or in the skilled trades. It should support Canadians‘ efforts to continue their education throughout their lives.
There are many specific ideas worth examining closely. For example, we should take a serious look at repaying financial assistance according to the income Canadians‘ earn after graduation. We should also consider establishing a personal RESP program, to ensure working Canadians can also improve their skills. We should partner with the private and non-profit sectors to increase the amount Canadian workplaces invest in training their employees. The remainder of this campaign, and the two years that follow, should be about examining the effectiveness and affordability of these ideas, and many others.
15 Feb
Marc Garneau pushes Justin Trudeau to talk policy: Tim Harper
(The Star) The former astronaut may be the kid who lobbed a spit ball at the teacher, but he is doing Liberals a favour by pushing Justin Trudeau.
Note the origin of the attack below – Sun Media – hardly an independent voice in the media. Nonetheless, the information, IF accurate, is troubling.
Trudeau missed House business while earning thousands on speakers circuit
Justin Trudeau is one of just three MPs – all of them Liberals – to report extra income from speaking engagements in the last five years.
And, in Trudeau’s case, it appears he missed debates, votes and possibly one of his party’s caucus meetings so he could earn tens of thousands on the speaking circuit. … in documents he provided to the Ottawa Citizen, he said he had been paid $277,000 for 17 speaking engagements since becoming an MP in the 2008 general election.
A QMI agency examination of those engagements founds that nine events for which he earned $147,000 were held on days the House of Commons was sitting.
14 February
Kelly McParland: Marc Garneau challenges Justin Trudeau to take a stand. Any stand.
Garneau has made clear Trudeau should no longer expect the “hands off Justin” treatment he’s enjoyed until now. And his point goes to a fundamental issue: Should the party expect its leader to come equipped with firm policy ideas, or just go with whoever they figure will most easily attract votes?
Garneau is a policy guy. Most recently he pledged an overhaul of student loan programs so graduates would only begin repaying once they’d found a job paying at least $40,000 a year. He’s also urged Canada’s wireless market be open to foreign competitors and proposed an infrastructure investment program to “re-orient” Canada’s economy towards Asian trade.
Trudeau has made an attribute out of being vague. Acknowledging that his lack of specific policies is “frustrating both media pundits and a lot of others,” he counters that  “leadership is the beginning of a platform-development process, not the end of it.”
12 February
George Takach releases economic platform
You already know that I want to make innovation and technology the engine of our economic growth. Expanding affordable broadband services into rural Canada, boosting our high-tech infrastructure, and implementing a digital Bill of Rights to give Canadians more freedom are key parts of that effort. But there’s more we can do to build a 21st-Century economy.
11 February
Deborah Coyne Attacks Tories On Climate, The Queen And Everything In Between (VIDEO)
Coyne answered questions from HuffPost readers on gun control and why she thinks she can win.
She also explained her plan to strengthen the federal government, and gave her take on fellow candidate Marc Garneau’s attacks on Justin Trudeau, the ongoing troubles in the Senate, the role of the monarchy, Gen Y paying for Baby Boomers to retire and what she’ll do if she doesn’t win the leadership. Read the highlights below.
Garneau Proposes Major Overhaul of Student Assistance Program
Under Garneau’s proposed plan, the current six-month “grace period” of non-payment of a student loan would be abolished and instead made into an indefinite time period. No student would be forced to make payments to their student loan until they found a well paying job.
Garneau said an income threshold of about $40,000 would be instituted. Only once the student has found gainful employment and reached that salary level would repayment begin.
He added that since education is a provincial responsibility, provinces would have the option to opt out of this plan and the federal government would continue to support them.
5 February
Joyce Murray on Reddit the format is a bit confusing to read but we liked her answers.

Interview with Canada’s first astronaut Marc Garneau – Marc discusses a number of important issues and clearly lays out his four priorities for the economy:
1) Improving our productivity and innovation record,
2) Addressing investment in workplace skills,
3) Ensuring skilled, New Canadians are properly integrated into the workforce, And,
4) Tackling our unacceptably high youth unemployment rate.
Joyce Murray: Want to defeat Stephen Harper? This is the first step
3 February
Michael Den Tandt: ‘Hands off Justin’ becomes mantra of Liberal leadership race
Trudeau is already so far ahead, so obviously the winner, that no other candidate wishes to challenge him directly, gloves off, where he is weakest.
(National Post) It’s a pity the Liberal party hasn’t seen fit to have its leading lights answer questions such as these: What policies that your leaders campaigned on in 2011 and 2008 do you now think should be scrapped? What ideas do you have that are entirely new?
There’s this query, specific to Karen McCrimmon, George Takach, David Bertschi and Deborah Coyne: There was a time when a candidate for leadership was expected to first get elected somewhere once or twice, or have a policy resume suggesting national leadership potential, or do something else of national note. What makes you think you can zip past paying your dues?
25 January
Andrew Coyne: No opposition party is going to beat the Tories until they unite behind electoral reform
(National Post) Only under first past the post does it matter how the remainder — the larger part — of the vote “splits” among the other parties, since under any other system they would be represented fairly in Parliament regardless.
So the long-term answer to the opposition’s dilemma is electoral reform, based on some form of proportional representation. But that isn’t going to happen until they can figure out how to beat the Conservatives in the short term.
Fundamentally, it comes down to this: are the opposition parties serious? Do they really want to beat the Conservatives, or just talk about it? Are they serious about electoral reform, or is it, too, just a talking point? And assuming they mean either, do they realize how crucially each depends on the other? Let me put it plainly: They aren’t going to beat the Conservatives until they change the electoral system. They aren’t going to change the electoral system until they beat the Conservatives. And they aren’t going to do either until they find some way to cooperate.
24 January
Rocket man: Can Marc Garneau pull off a Liberal leadership upset?
How Canada’s first astronaut stacks up against front-runner Justin Trudeau
(Maclean’s) Since announcing his leadership bid last November, Garneau has proposed a fair amount of policy. On the economy, his platform includes eliminating capital gains tax for start-up firms and cutting taxes for companies that offer workplace training. He calls for dramatic reform of federal elections with a preferential ballot, on which voters would rank candidates instead of picking just one.
A reasoned view of supply management
Martha Hall Findlay‘s stand against the dairy monopoly shows a triumph of substance over style, but will she survive sticking her neck out? (MHF’s proposal)
21 January
Michael Den Tandt: Tepid Liberal leadership debate won’t change anyone’s mind — about anything
(Postmedia news) Trudeau emerged at the end of two-plus hours more-or-less-intact — because no one really tried to connect. Even Martha Hall Findlay, who arguably has the most to gain from a frontal assault on the leader, stuck mainly to worthy assertions of familiar Liberal themes. If one had to pick winners on points, Hall Findlay should share first place with Garneau; both outmatched Trudeau, who garbled a few of his answers. Hall Findlay, who was a plucky newcomer in the 2006 leadership race, is now a seasoned politician, with an engaging and forthright manner. Garneau, too, has clearly been honing his game: Of the nine he was consistently the most passionate and confident. With last night’s outing he can probably be said to have put his reputation for terminal dullness to rest.
But even that is a game of increments: No one really shone, when set against the standard they’ll need to meet if they win the party leadership. Only Garneau, Hall Findlay and Trudeau on Sunday looked at all capable of propping up a podium between Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Opposition leader Tom Mulcair. And that itself is a far cry from having the wherewithal to dominate and win.
John Ibbitson: Liberal leadership debate stays on script
(Globe & Mail) If the Liberal leadership truly is Justin Trudeau’s to lose, his eight opponents appear disinclined to help him lose it.
In the first all candidates’ debate on Sunday evening, the Papineau MP delivered an assured performance that the others on the stage for the most part failed to challenge.
Montreal MP Marc Garneau and former Ontario MP Martha Hall Findlay also did well, giving the strong impression that this contest involves these three plus six also-runnings.
A single debate is just that.
There are four more to come, before the April leadership vote.
But any candidate who wants to challenge Mr. Trudeau’s hegemonic lead needs to disrupt his image of unstoppability by more openly challenging his lack of experience and his vague commitments to “honest, open, strong conversations” that are devoid of content.
The eight can, of course, avoid such tactics in the interest of party unity and in hopes of gaining Mr. Trudeau’s favour after he wins.
But then why did they run in the first place?
14 January
Andrew Coyne: Hold off on the coronation of Justin Trudeau, for now
… the nine candidates (assuming Martin Cauchon’s last-minute application made it under the wire) make an impressive bunch, all in all. If several are lacking in political experience or name recognition, that should not detract from their many personal and professional accomplishments. …
None of these people is ever likely to become prime minister, but if I had half their drive or achievements, I’d count myself a success.
More important is what they have been saying. After a year and a half in which the party seemed to be squandering the opportunity to rethink its position, its century-long run as the party of power having definitively come to an end, the candidates have begun to administer the sort of intellectual defibrillation the party, not to say the country, has long needed.
11 January
‘I’m not afraid of Stephen Harper’: Findlay calls for GST hike, undaunted by relentless Tory spin machine
9 January
Marc Garneau: How we can act now to invest in young Canadians
(Globe & Mail) When I speak with young people across the country about their concerns for the future, one subject is raised with alarming frequency – young Canadians are faced with tremendous obstacles in finding career-building opportunities and the hope of middle-class prosperity is increasingly distant for many of them. … With youth unemployment at 15 per cent – double the national average – policy makers must do a better job at helping tomorrow’s leaders to position themselves to succeed today. To date we have not taken the issue of youth unemployment and underemployment seriously enough. We have been too preoccupied with ourselves, our own problems, but soon we will realize this is a mistake. Canada needs everything that our youth have to offer, and quite frankly, we owe it them and to ourselves to make sure that temporary prospects are replaced with real opportunities.

2012

22 December
Justin Trudeau Appears At The Reviving The Islamic Spirit Conference, Sparks Controversy And Defies Critics
(Canadian Press via HuffPost) Liberal leadership contender Justin Trudeau told an Islamic conference Saturday that groups who attacked his decision to attend the gathering only work to divide Canadians.
Trudeau told a crowd of thousands at the Reviving the Islamic Spirit conference in Toronto that his critics attempted to tap into “fears and prejudices” that sap the acceptance of others.
17 December
Sponsor withdraws from Islamic event Trudeau to attend
IRFAN-Canada lost charitable status in 2011 for donations to organizations tied to Hamas
(CBC) Naseer Syed, a lawyer for IRFAN, said Sunday that the group has been unfairly criticized.
He said it’s unfortunate that the controversy over Trudeau’s participation drew attention to IRFAN’s dispute with the federal tax agency and prompted the group to withdraw from the conference.
12 December
Justin Trudeau defends his decision to attend Islamic conference sponsored by organization linked to Hamas
(National Post) … The Liberal leadership candidate has defended his scheduled speech at next week’s Reviving the Islamic Spirit conference in Toronto, and the Canadian Council on American Islamic Relations condemned attempts to “smear” the gathering.
But in a letter to Liberal Party of Canada president Mike Crawley, Friends of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre CEO Avi Benlolo said Mr. Trudeau’s presence at the event would lend credibility to supporters of Hamas. On Thursday, the Muslim Canadian Congress said it had sent letters to interim Liberal leader Bob Rae and Irwin Cotler, the party’s Justice and Human Rights critic, asking them to encourage Mr. Trudeau to skip the convention. Justin Trudeau brushes aside criticism about speech at Islamic conference after allegations of links to Hamas
11 December
Kelly McParland: Marc Garneau pledges salvation to weary cellphone victims
I’m thrilled beyond expression that Marc Garneau has declared that the first plank in his platform as he seeks the Liberal leadership is a call for greater access for foreign competition to Canada’s telecom companies.
“Canadians are tired and frustrated with big bills, poor service and limited choices on wireless, Internet and phone services,” the candidate said in a release on Monday.
“Canadians pay 20 per cent more than wireless users in the US, 70 per cent more than users in France, and 100 per cent more than users in the UK and Germany. Germany, Sweden, Italy and France have no restrictions on foreign investment in telecommunications. It is time for Canada to enter fully into the global market as well.”
Hallelujah. Where do I sign up?
6 December
Greg Weston: Justin Trudeau, long shot with a short resumé
Liberals could be ‘rolling the dice for a miracle’
6 December
Marc Garneau: New taxes and spending cuts aren’t the only things government can do
(Globe & Mail) … in this global downturn, despite our poor competitiveness, Canada has emerged with relative strength. This is an opportunity. Rather than coast on our low-hanging fruit, our natural resources, if we tackle our known weaknesses, if we are smart and invest, we can build Canada into an even stronger global economic force. We can carve out new niches of comparative advantage, build new globally competitive businesses that will create thousands of jobs here at home. We need to be aggressive while our competitors are at a disadvantage. Now, is our time to get a leg up.
And growth is the key. Rather than choose higher taxes or spending cuts, let us invest wisely to build growth and growth will bring higher incomes, greater prosperity and tax revenues to fund services.
But many a politician has sold the promise of economic growth to solve all problems. The reality is economic growth is slow to build. I will not sell false promises – in the short-term, in order to bring the federal budget closer to balance, spending will need to be restrained.
In the long run however, economic growth holds the key to preventing even deeper cuts, particularly given the looming demographic shift. And Canada’s weak competitiveness is the evidence that shows that this is possible. Our unmet potential means we have the potential to grow.
2 December
Trudeau under fire for long-gun registry comments
(CBC) The federal Conservatives and Opposition New Democrats are calling out Liberal leadership hopeful Justin Trudeau for saying that the long-gun registry was “a failure,” after he spent years defending it and voted not to abolish it as recently as a few months ago.
“The long-gun registry, as it was, was a failure and I’m not going to resuscitate that,” Trudeau said during a campaign stop in the Conservative riding of Glengarry–Prescott–Russell in Ontario on Friday.
30 November
Martha Hall Findlay: We need a national strategy for energy infrastructure
Working together is the only way we can achieve our energy objectives.
Some call for a national energy strategy. I believe we can make greater progress by focusing on an achievable objective, a national strategy for energy infrastructure. …
Getting to offshore markets is an economic imperative. The emerging high-growth markets of Asia, China in particular, offer tremendous opportunity – but not if we can’t get there. Whether that be by pipeline, additional capacity to Vancouver or rail through Alaska, Canada’s ability to access Asian markets will determine the strength of our economy.
29 November
Editorial: Marc Garneau, the science candidate
(Ottawa Citizen) The way to evaluate Marc Garneau as a Liberal leadership candidate is to step away from his experience flying in space. It’s what he did on the ground that makes him a worthy candidate.
Garneau was president of the Canadian Space Agency for four years before becoming an MP. During those years he had a $300-million budget and 700 public service employees — useful training for government service. More particularly, the space agency is one of Canada’s largest funding sources for research in a variety of fields.
The agency pays grants to universities and private corporations, which in turn do research ranging from astronomy to satellite-building to the forgotten end of the space business, medicine.
There’s a real connection with our daily lives.
29 November
Tech guru Takach joins crowded federal Liberal leadership
Toronto technology lawyer George Takach launches bid to lead Liberal Party
(CBC) Call him the e-candidate.
George Takach, a Toronto technology lawyer and self-professed computer geek, is joining the federal Liberal leadership race, determined to drag the party — and eventually the country — into the 21st century. The 55-year-old joins a long list of long-shot contenders who have little chance of overtaking presumed front-runner Justin Trudeau.
28 November
Marc Garneau Eyes Earthbound Prize: Canada PM’s Office
(WSJ) “I don’t want to be remembered for what I did up there,” the former astronaut said at a Montreal rally Wednesday, where he officially launched his campaign and made several references to his time in space.
“The highest honor I can imagine, and the most important work I could ever envisage in my life, is to be Canada’s Prime Minister,” Mr. Garneau said.
Ex-astronaut Marc Garneau launches Liberal leadership bid
Quebec MP has a claim to fame that rivals Justin Trudeau’s name recognition
(CBC) Liberal MP and former astronaut Marc Garneau announced Wednesday morning he’s “throwing his hat in the ring” and entering the Liberal leadership race.
At a press conference in Montreal, Garneau said his goal is to restore integrity and principle to politics in Canada.
Under Prime Minister Stephen Harper, he said, ” We have an angry, divisive, intolerant government,” that practices the politics of exclusion. The government, he said, wraps itself in the flag, but fails veterans. It ignores scientific evidence, but, he said, he believes in a knowledge-based economy.
To those who think Liberals might be crushed between the Conservatives and the NDP, he said, “Never!” The Liberals are not the NDP, he said: “We don’t believe government can do everything.”
Speaking to reporters after his announcement, Garneau said the results in Calgary Centre for Liberal candidate Harvey Locke were very encouraging, and indicate the Liberals are once again a force in the West, dodging a question about the vote split in that riding between the three opposition candidates.
Asked again about the possibility of co-operation with the NDP, Garneau said he would not endorse a policy advanced by another leadership candidate, MP Joyce Murray, on run-off nominations. If he becomes leader, Garneau said, there will be 338 Liberals running in the next election, and as far as he’ll go when it comes to alliances with the NDP will be working with the party in the House of Commons.
26 November
B.C. MP Joyce Murray enters Liberal leadership race
(CBC) Murray says she believes Liberals, New Democrats and Greens should have the option of conducting run-off nominations to choose a single candidate in tightly contested ridings where a united progressive front would guarantee defeat of the ruling Tories.
23 November
At Issue Panel on Justin Trudeau, the Liberals and Alberta not impressed by Justin Trudeau’s Alberta remarks
Garneau to challenge Trudeau for Liberal leadership
Former astronaut Marc Garneau will tell a Montreal audience next Wednesday that he is challenging fellow MP Justin Trudeau for the leadership of the federal Liberal party.
Garneau, who was Canada’s first man in space, will join a crowded field that will include Vancouver MP Joyce Murray, who is expected to launch her leadership bid on Sunday. [see Joyce’s interview with Don Martin of CTV’s Power Play]
The three sitting MPs, along with former MP Martha Hall Findlay, are thought to make up the top tier of a field of candidates that could number in the double digits.
19 November
This is not only surprising, but deeply disappointing.
Justin Trudeau backs Chinese takeover of Nexen as way to strengthen economic ties
Justin Trudeau has come out strongly in favour of a Chinese state-owned energy company’s effort to purchase Calgary-based petroleum producer Nexen.
Justin Trudeau: Why the CNOOC-Nexen deal is good for Canada
(Justin.ca) This article appeared as an editorial in Postmedia Network publications.
Embracing Nexen Deal? Trudeau Prefers Shock Factor to Leadership
Why do political handlers confuse contrarianism with “substance”?
The Justin Trudeau campaign, keen to put to bed allegations of its candidate being a lightweight, just put out an opinion piece embracing the takeover of Nexen by China’s state owned CNOOC.
Unexpected, eh? It must therefore be substantive.
14 November
Martha Hall Findlay to run for federal Liberal leader with campaign team from Redford, Nenshi
Martha Hall Findlay is preparing to jump into the Liberal leadership race and will be supported by the team that helped propel Alberta Premier Alison Redford and Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi to power. See About Martha
Who’s who on Trudeau’s team
Trudeau has assembled quite the team: Gerald Butts, formerly World Wildlife Fund Canada’s president and CEO; Bob Rae’s former press secretary Kate Monfette; New Brunswick MP and one-time leadership hopeful Dominic LeBlanc.
Organizers describe Trudeau’s team as a flat organization, “just many people working for a common goal, sharing whatever expertise they have.”
Only three have official titles. Katie Telford is the campaign director, Luc Cousineau is the chief agent and Monfette is the national press secretary.
But the common goal is clear: Justin all the way.
17 October
John Ivison: Fiscally restrained Marc Garneau a good contrast to Trudeau-mentia
The Liberals could do worse. For a party fixated on its own navel, being led by a man who has seen the Earth from space would add some welcome perspective.
There are legitimate questions about Mr. Garneau’s chances in a contest where success will likely be gauged by who can keep their speeches short and peppered with vapid notions of hope, renewal, whatever.
Political campaigns are about inspiring passion and loyalty. It’s not an environment in which Mr. Garneau is likely to thrive, in part because of his training.
“One of the reasons I was chosen as an astronaut is my ability to keep calm under pressure … But occasionally I can get excited,” he said, despite all the evidence to the contrary.
2 October
Trudeau seeks Liberal leadership and ‘new chapter’ for party
Quebec MP posts YouTube announcement on personal website, makes announcement at rally
Excellent well-crafted, inspiring and beautifully delivered speech with emphasis on the word ‘trust’ throughout.
It’s time to ‘write a new chapter’: Justin Trudeau lays out plan to follow father’s footsteps
(National Post) Justin Trudeau returned Tuesday to the multi-ethnic neighbourhood that launched his political career five years ago to announce that he will seek the federal Liberal leadership. Speaking before hundreds of supporters in a community centre in his Montreal riding of Papineau, the eldest son of the late Pierre Elliott Trudeau sketched out a plan to follow in his father’s footsteps. “I love Montreal. I love Quebec. And I am in love with Canada,” Mr. Trudeau said. “I love this country and I want to spend my life serving it.”
Four weeks after the election of a separatist government in Quebec, Mr. Trudeau made an appeal for national unity. “My friends, I want to build a country too. A country worthy of my dreams, of your dreams. But for me, that country reaches from the Atlantic to the Pacific and from the Great Lakes to the grand North.”
28 September
Lee Berthiaume: Justin Trudeau’s good looks expected to cover up other weaknesses
Much has been made about Justin Trudeau’s good looks and easy charm, and analysts say they will be among his greatest assets as he seeks to follow in his father’s footsteps all the way to 24 Sussex.
But while those traits may go a long way to covering up other weaknesses as he seeks the Liberal leadership, analysts say there’s no guarantee they will translate into broader voter appeal — particularly if age and experience become factors.
18 September
Grits Hall Findlay, Bertschi question Liberal leadership rules; say they could favour front-runners and sitting MPs
Liberal Party officials are meeting privately with prospective leadership contenders in the party’s impending leadership race to field complaints that key rules for the contest favour MPs and front-runners.
16 September
Liberal infighting begins in debate over who should enter leadership race
The Liberal leadership race hasn’t yet started but cracks are already appearing amid debate over what constitutes a serious candidate — and concerns some contenders will use the campaign to simply raise their profiles.
The issue highlights the challenge all political parties face as they promote an open race that will produce the best possible leader while trying to prevent also-rans from dominating the field. … in setting the non-refundable fee for joining the race at $75,000, the party is hoping to limit the field to serious contenders who have a fair degree of popular support behind them and are able to raise the money from a wide range of donors.
28 June
Deborah Coyne enters Liberal leadership race
Toronto lawyer and constitutional expert Deborah Coyne has jumped into the Liberal leadership race with a call for a strong national government to replace Stephen Harper’s “absentee federalism.”
Coyne launched her bid to lead the party Wednesday, using her website to outline her platform.