Liberal Party of Canada leadership convention, 2006

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Liberal leadership convention, 2006
Date	December 2 - December 3 2006
Location	Montreal, Quebec
Campaign to replace	Paul Martin
Won by	ongoing campaign
Candidates	11
Entrance Fee	C$50,000
Spending limit	C$3.4 million
Liberal leadership conventions 1919 · 1948 · 1958 · 1968 · 1984 · 1990 · 2003 · 2006

Following the defeat of his Liberal government in the 2006 federal election, Paul Martin announced that he would "not lead the party into another election," prompting a Liberal leadership convention to replace him. The party's biennial convention has been scheduled to occur from November 29 to December 1 2006 in Montreal's Palais des congrès, followed by the leadership convention at the same venue occurring December 2 to December 3, 2006 The victor will likely lead the Liberal party during the next federal election as its presumptive candidate for the post of Prime Minister of Canada.

The party constitution lays out a process by which the party leader is chosen by several thousand delegates, who are elected by electoral district associations, women's associations, and Young Liberal clubs in proportion to the number of votes they receive at a delegate selection meeting of the general membership of that association. Hundreds of other 'ex-officio' delegates are automatically awarded delegate spots at the convention including Liberal Members of Parliament, Senators, Riding Association Presidents, Past Candidates and members of the Provincial or Territial Associations executive board.

The party constitution stipulates that the selection of delegates for the convention must occur 35 to 59 days prior to the convention itself and that only Liberals who joined the party 90 days before the delegate-selection meetings can vote for delegates or become delegates themselves. The early months of the leadership race are expected to be dominated by competing drives to sign up members likely to back various candidacies.

The convention date is approximately three years after the 2003 convention, which saw Paul Martin selected after years of conflict between his faction of the party and that of outgoing Prime Minister Jean Chretien.

Parliamentary leadership until the convention

On February 1, 2006, Paul Martin announced that he would continue as leader of the Liberal Party until his successor was chosen but he would not serve as Leader of the Opposition. ^{[#endnote_intlead]}

Later that day, the Liberal caucus selected Bill Graham, MP for Toronto Centre and outgoing Minister of National Defence, to fill that role as its interim parliamentary leader and Leader of the Opposition, heading the 103-member Liberal caucus. (The caucus was reduced to 102 members shortly thereafter when David Emerson crossed the floor) in the House of Commons. Graham named Lucienne Robillard, MP for Westmount—Ville-Marie and outgoing Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, as his deputy leader.^{[#endnote_intlead]} Alberta Senator Dan Hays, that chamber's outgoing speaker, has been tapped as Leader of the Opposition in the Senate.

Though Martin initially intended to remain the official leader until the party chose his permanent replacement, he announced on March 16, 2006 that his resignation would take effect the following weekend; once the Liberal Party executive set the date of the convention. According to media reports, Martin made his decision to end speculation that he may lead the Liberals into the next election should the Harper government fall in the next few months.[link]

Bill Graham was given the role of fully fledged interim leader (rather than just interim parliamentary leader) by the National Executive on March 18, 2006. Interim leaders are traditionally expected be neutral in leadership races and are typically individuals who are not expected to be candidates themselves. Nevertheless, Susan Riley of the Ottawa Citizen has speculated that despite the understanding that one foregoes entering a leadership contest when one becomes interim leader, the lack of strong candidates will result in a "Draft Bill Graham" movement to make him the permanent leader.^{[#endnote_Riley1]} However, Graham has vowed not to run.[link]

Endorsements

See Endorsements for the Liberal Party of Canada leadership convention, 2006.

Rules

The date and rules of the convention were decided upon by the Liberal Party National Executive during its meeting on March 18 - March 19, 2006.[link]

The party constitution required that a convention be held within a year of the leader's resignation and that the party's biennial convention be held by March 2007. The leadership convention will also serve the function of the party's regular policy convention meaning there will be debate and voting on policy resolutions and an election for the party's executive.

Selection of delegates by riding associations and party clubs will occur on the weekend of September 29 to October 1. Only those who have purchased or renewed their party membership by July 4, 2006 will be eligible to vote. There are expected to be approximately 850 ex-officio delegates who automatically gain the right to attend the convention by virtue of being a Liberal Member of Parliament, recent candidate, Senator, etc. The Liberal Aboriginal Peoples’ Commission will be entitled to send a delegation that is in proportion to the percentage of the Canadian population that is Aboriginal. All delegates except those with ex-officio status and those who gain election as independent delegates are bound to a particular candidate on the first ballot, however all delegates are free to move about as candidates drop off over ensuing rounds of voting.

Each candidate must gather the signatures of at least 300 Liberal Party members, at least 100 of which are in each of three provinces or territories and pay a $50,000 fee to enter the contest (down from $75,000 at the previous convention). The spending limit for each campaign has been set at $3.4 million, down from $4 million. All of the first $500,000 raised by each candidate will be kept by the candidate's campaign while any amount raised above that figure will be subject to a 20% levy by the party. In contrast to the previous race when the sale of party memberships was severely restricted, the executive decided to allow party membership to be purchased online.

The Convention Organization Committee, and the convention proceedings will be co-chaired by Dominic LeBlanc and Tanya Kappo. Steven MacKinnon, National Director of the party, will be the General Secretary of the convention.[link]

The deadline for candidates to enter the race is September 30.[link].

The voting is done in two stages on the ballot : 1. The top part of the ballot is the "leadership portion" which will list the names of each of the leadership candidates. Party members may vote for one a candidate or choose the "undeclared" option. 2. The next part will be the "delegate portion" of the ballot listing names of prospective delegates who are standing on behalf of the various contestants for delegate positions.

• For Riding associations there are 14 delegate positions broken down to four men, four women, two seniors (over 65) and four youths (under 26).
• For Women’s Clubs there is only one delegate position.
• For Youth and Seniors Clubs, there are four delegates of which two are male and two are female.

Ex-officio delegates can automatically attend and vote at the convention without the requirement of getting elected. Ex-officio delegates include MPs, Senators, Riding Association Presidents, immediate past candidates, and a certain number of party executive members and members of the executive of various Liberal Party Commissions (such as the national youth commission, national women's commission, national Aboriginal commission etc) and provincial sections of the federal party as laid out in Section 16(13) of the party constitution.

At the convention, the first ballot by elected delegates is pre-set according by proportional representation according to the amount of support each leadership candidate received at the delegate selection meeting (ie the "leadership portion" of the ballot cast at riding association or club meetings), even if the delegate has personally expressed support for another candidate. Ex-officio delegates can vote however they wish and it is only they who will cast ballots initially. If there is a second ballot (ie if no leadership candidate receives over 50% of the vote on the first ballot), all delegates will be free to vote according to their personal preference.[link]

Analysis

As the possibility of a 2006 Liberal leadership race emerged during the midpoint of the election campaign, most media speculation focused on the surfeit of potential candidates poised to replace Martin. Some optimistically billed this convention as being most likely to provide a broad field of skilled contenders not seen since the 1968 race that included Pierre Trudeau, Robert Winters, Paul Martin, Sr., John Turner, Joe Greene, Mitchell Sharp and Allan MacEachen. Such speculation seemed rooted in the assumption that high profile members of the Chrétien cabinet that had elected not to challenge the Martin juggernaught in 2003—most commonly enumerated as John Manley, Allan Rock, Brian Tobin, and Martin Cauchon—would return to federal politics, along with 2003 runner-up Sheila Copps and Martin's own presumptive heir Frank McKenna, prompting a balanced matchup between multiple household names.

Instead, most of the above-mentioned would-be candidates have indicated they are not interested in the race. Some commentators have stated that this is because of a prevailing view that the Liberal Party will spend an extended period in Opposition meaning that winning the party leadership comes with no certainty of becoming Prime Minister. Also some say that the reported party debt might also have something to do with them backing down.[link]

There is also the toll politics may take on one's personal life. In his decision not to run, Frank McKenna cited the fact that the prime ministership is a twenty four hour a day, seven day a week job that leaves little time for anything else. [link]

While some view the withdrawal of prominent candidates as indicating that the Liberal leadership is undesirable, others have heralded the potential for a "wide open" leadership race that is free from the baggage of the past which might do much to heal the lingering rifts in the party. [link] [link] [link]

In the field of declared contenders, the first tier of potential winners (the "big six") is most commonly cited as consisting of Scott Brison, Stephane Dion, Ken Dryden, Michael Ignatieff, Gerard Kennedy and Bob Rae. [link][link]

In May 2006, a Globe and Mail study has found that seven of the 11 candidates now running for the Liberal leadership were given passing grades when rated against the scale for a bilingualism certificate by University of Ottawa professor Hélène Knoerr. Bob Rae and Michael Ignatieff both received top scores, while Stéphane Dion (who was tested on his English fluency), Joe Volpe, Martha Hall Findlay, Gerard Kennedy and Maurizio Bevilacqua also were graded as bilingual. The remaining candidates all failed the test, whereby each candidate was asked the same 4 questions, and graded based on their syntax, vocabulary, and grammar. Hedy Fry did not finish the interview. The newspaper intially errantly reported that Kennedy and Bevilacqua had failed to meet fluency requirements in French, but later retracted this statement. [link]

Registered candidates

Individuals who have gathered the necessary signatures from 300 party members and paid the first $25,000 installment of the entry fee:

Carolyn Bennett

• [carolynbennett.ca]

Carolyn Bennett currently represents the riding of St. Paul's in Toronto, in which she was first elected in 1997. Bennett worked as a family physician at Wellesley Hospital and Women's College Hospital in Toronto from 1977 to 1997, and was a founding partner in Bedford Medical Associates. She was also President of the Medical Staff Association of Women's College Hospital and Assistant Professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto. She also served as Minister of State for Public Health in Paul Martin's government. She announced her entry into the race on April 24, 2006, emphasising health care as her primary issue.[link]

Supporters in caucus: 1 (1 MP, 0 Senators) Carolyn Bennett

Date campaign launched: April 24, 2006

Date officially registered: May 31, 2006[link]

Maurizio Bevilacqua

• [maurizio.ca]

Maurizio Bevilacqua formally declared his candidacy on April 19. A former consultant, he has been a Liberal member of parliament since 1988 and currently represents the district of Vaughan. He is a former junior cabinet minister under Chrétien, variously responsible for science and international financial institutions and is a former parliamentary secretary to the Labour Minister and to the Minister of Employment and Immigration, but was excluded from Martin's cabinet. He was the longtime chair of the Commons finance committee in which he favoured deficit reduction, tax cuts and increased productivity. Bevilacqua is supported by Liberal pollster Michael Marzolini, MPs Gerry Byrne and Roy Cullen, former Cabinet minister Roy MacLaren. He is also backed by former Chrétien organizers Tennio Evangelista, Jeff Angel and Jeff Smith. Bevilacqua is described in the media as a "right-of-centre, business-friendly Liberal". However, he is not a social conservative and has expressed socially progressive views on issues such as same-sex marriage. [link]

Supporters in caucus: 3 (3 MPs, 0 Senators) Maurizio Bevilacqua, Gerry Byrne and Roy Cullen.

Date campaign launched: April 19, 2006

Date officially registered: June 2, 2006[link]

Scott Brison

• [scottbrison.ca]

Scott Brison is the MP for Kings—Hants and was Minister of Public Works and Government Services under Martin. He had previously been a Progressive Conservative MP (since 1997) and had run for the leadership of the PC Party. Brison crossed the floor to join the Liberals shortly after the creation of the Conservative Party of Canada. An openly gay former investment banker, Brison is a fiscal conservative and social progressive. He stood for the leadership of the PC Party on a platform of Employment Insurance reform, more private involvement in healthcare, integrated defense strategy with the US, and socially liberal policies. His 2006 Liberal leadership platform emphasises the candidate as a "defender of the environment, business innovation and socially progressive values[link]. In March 2006 it was revealed that he sent emails to a CIBC banker the day before the government's announcement on the taxation of income trusts. Brison said to the banker that "I think you will be happier very soon... this week probably". The emails created the perception that he had leaked the news in advance of the announcement, and the ensuing controversy damaged Brison's image and led the Globe and Mail to question Brison's suitability as a leadership candidate.

Supporters in caucus: 8 (3 MPs, 5 Senators) Scott Brison, Mark Eyking, Michael Savage, Sen. Jane Cordy, Sen. Jim Cowan, Sen. Michael Kirby, Sen. Wilfred Moore and Sen. Gerard Phalen.

Date campaign launched: April 22, 2006

Date officially registered: May 25, 2006[link]

Stéphane Dion

• [stephanedion.ca]

Stéphane Dion was Intergovernmental Affairs minister under Chrétien, Environment minister under Martin. Before entering federal politics by his 1996 appointment to cabinet followed shortly by his election to parliament from Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, Dion was a professor of political science and noted federalist commentator. Dion is noted for his vocal opposition to Quebec sovereigntism and his support for such measures as the Clarity Act. He was considered a Chrétien loyalist who nonetheless worked well with the Martin camp. Dion announced his candidacy on April 7. [link] Former Liberal House Leader Don Boudria is his campaign chair. [link]

Supporters in caucus: 11 (7 MPs, 4 Senators) Sue Barnes, Colleen Beaumier, Bonnie Brown, Stéphane Dion, Marlene Jennings, Francis Scarpaleggia, Bryon Wilfert, Sen. John Bryden, Sen. Maria Chaput, Sen. Vivienne Poy, Sen. Claudette Tardif

Date campaign launched: April 7, 2006

Date officially registered: May 24, 2006[link]

Website: [stephanedion.ca]

Ken Dryden

• [kendryden.ca]

Ken Dryden was Social development minister under Martin. A former star goaltender for the Montreal Canadiens hockey team, Dryden was elected in 2004 as a star candidate for the Liberals. He was instrumental in putting forward a child care strategy during the Martin government. Dryden, who has written a book about the public education system, stressed the importance of improving the education system in order to keep Canada competitive. "Learning is at the core of our future -- for a person, a society, an economy, a country," Dryden said. "Learning is our only real security, our only real opportunity, and this program, years in the hoping, was the first big step towards truly lifelong learning." He also said Canada's unique, multi-ethnic mix needs to be held up as an example to the world.

Supporters in Caucus: 10 (3 MPs, 7 Senators) Ken Dryden, Tina Keeper, Anita Neville, Sen. Sharon Carstairs, Sen. Art Eggleton, Sen. Joyce Fairbairn, Sen. Jerry Grafstein, Sen. Frank Mahovlich, Sen. Marilyn Trenholme Counsell, and Sen. Rod Zimmer.

Date campaign launched: April 28, 2006

Date officially registered: May 29, 2006 [link]

Website: [kendryden.ca]

Martha Hall Findlay

Martha Hall Findlay, a Toronto lawyer, was the first candidate to officially declare she would run for the leadership when she did so on February 8, 2006 ^{[#endnote_HallFindlay]}. She has previously run as a Liberal candidate in the 2004 election, losing narrowly to Belinda Stronach in the district of Newmarket—Aurora. When Stronach crossed the floor in 2005, Hall Findlay ceded her Liberal nomination for the riding to Stronach. Hall Findlay, 45, is fluently bilingual and presently works as the principal of her own management and legal consultancy organization, The General Counsel Group, which works primarily in the high-tech and telecommunications fields in Canada and Europe.

Supporters in caucus: none.

Date campaign launched: February 8, 2006

Date officially registered: May 24, 2006[link]

Website: [marthahallfindlay.ca]

Hedy Fry

• [hedyfry.com]

Hedy Fry is the MP for Vancouver Centre and was Secretary of State (Multiculturalism) (Status of Women) under Chretien. She is most famous for being the one who unseated Prime Minister Kim Campbell in 1993. She is known for her outspoken feminism and staunch support of gay rights. Fry is the first westerner in the leadership contest. She ignited a political backlash when, on March 21, 2001, in reply to a question in the House of Commons, she claimed that crosses were being burned on lawns in Prince George, British Columbia "as we speak". No evidence of this had ever been given and, when asked to justify her claim, she stated that the mayor of Prince George had informed her of this. When asked, the mayor denied having said such a thing. It was later suggested Fry had confused Prince George with Merritt, British Columbia, where a Ku Klux Klan grand wizard was arrested following reported racist activity.[link]

Supporters in caucus: 1 (1 MP, 0 Senators) Hedy Fry

Date campaign launched: May 4, 2006

Date officially registered: June 5, 2006[link]

Michael Ignatieff

Michael Ignatieff is a public intellectual with an international reputation. A former director of the [Carr Center for Human Rights Policy] at Harvard University, he was elected to the House of Commons as MP for Etobicoke—Lakeshore in the 2006 election. [link] Ignatieff is a staunch supporter of liberal interventionism, and was in favour of the 2003 Invasion of Iraq. He also supported collaboration with the United States on a ballistic missile defence shield. However he has moved away from supporting this position recently citing his uncertainty in its benefits. Ignatieff is supported by Senator David Smith, a powerful Chretien organizer, Ian Davey (son of Senator Keith Davey), Alfred Apps, a Toronto lawyer and Martin fundraiser and Paul Lalonde, a Toronto lawyer and son of Marc Lalonde, are heading up his campaign.[link] David Peterson will be Ignatieff's honorary campaign co-chair along with former Trudeau cabinet minister Marc Lalonde. Jim Peterson will serve as Ignatieff's Ontario campaign co-chair with Aileen Carroll. Rodger Cuzner will be the Atlantic Canada campaign chair while Pablo Rodriguez, former president of the Liberal Party's federal Quebec wing, will be national campaign co-chair.[link]

Supporters in caucus: 39 (31 MPs, 8 Senators) Mauril Bélanger, John Cannis, Denis Coderre, Rodger Cuzner, Sukh Dhaliwal, Jean-Claude D'Amours, Ruby Dhalla, Wayne Easter, Raymonde Folco, Albina Guarnieri, Michael Ignatieff, Susan Kadis, Derek Lee, John Maloney, Keith Martin, Maria Minna, John McCallum, Joe McGuire, John McKay, Stephen Owen, Jim Peterson, Marcel Proulx, Geoff Regan, Pablo Rodriguez, Todd Russell, Lloyd St. Amand, Raymond Simard, Paul Szabo, Robert Thibault, Roger Valley, Paul Zed, Sen. Lise Bacon, Sen. Roméo Dallaire, Sen. Dennis Dawson, Sen. Rose-Marie Losier-Cool, Sen. Pana Papas Merchant, Sen. Grant Mitchell, Sen. Lucie Pépin, and Sen. David Smith.

Date campaign launched: April 7, 2006

Date officially registered: May 2, 2006[link]

Website: [michaelignatieff.ca]

Gerard Kennedy

Gerard Kennedy was until April 5, 2006 the Minister of Education in the Ontario provincial government of Dalton McGuinty. He resigned from cabinet on April 5 in order to enter this leadership race. [link] He was the runner up in the 1996 Ontario Liberal leadership race, having finished in first place on the first four ballots, he was defeated by McGuinty on the fifth and final ballot. Kennedy is backed by Senator Terry Mercer, former national director of the federal Liberal Party. He is viewed by the media as being on the left wing of the party.[link]

Supporters in caucus: 17 (13 MPs, 4 Senators) Omar Alghabra, Navdeep Bains, Raymond Chan, Joe Fontana, Mark Holland, Gurbax Malhi, Dan McTeague, Bernard Patry, Mario Silva, Scott Simms, Brent St. Denis, Andrew Telegdi, Borys Wrzesnewskyj, Sen. Larry Campbell, Sen. Terry Mercer, Sen. Robert Peterson and Sen. Charlie Watt

Date campaign launched: April 27, 2006

Date officially registered: May 17, 2006[link]

Website: [gerardkennedy.ca]

Bob Rae

Bob Rae was the Ontario New Democratic Party Premier of Ontario from 1990 to 1995 and was a federal NDP MP in the House of Commons from 1978 to 1982. Since leaving electoral politics and the NDP, Rae has worked on a number of contentious issues for the federal government, most notably the Air India disaster; has worked in international relations advising on constitutional issues and has conducted a study for the Ontario government on post-secondary education. Rae rejoined the Liberal Party in April 2006 (he had been a Liberal in the 1960s) and is running as a centrist vowing not to move the party to the left should he win the leadership.[link] In a speech to the Canadian Club of Winnipeg on March 13, 2006, Rae expressed his interest in uniting the 'progressive' forces of Canada in order to regain a majority government in the Canadian House of Commons. "There's a progressive record that's shared by a majority of Canadians, but so far, we have not succeeded in becoming a majority in the House of Commons, so we must think a bit about how that can happen." Rae is supported by former senior Chrétien aides such as Eddie Goldenberg and John Rae (who is Bob Rae's older brother) as well as senior Ontario provincial Liberals such as Greg Sorbara and provincial health minister George Smitherman. On May 12, Rae was endorsed by longtime Trudeau cabinet stalward Allan MacEachen [link].

Supporters in caucus: 13 (4 MPs, 9 Senators) Irwin Cotler, Ujjal Dosanjh, Lawrence MacAulay, Brian Murphy, Sen. Pierre de Bané, Sen. Michel Biron, Sen. Joan Cook, Sen. Mac Harb, Sen. Mobina Jaffer, Sen. Colin Kenny, Sen. Jim Munson, Sen. Pierrette Ringuette, and Sen. Bill Rompkey.

Date campaign launched: April 24, 2006

Date officially registered: May 11, 2006[link]

Website: [bobrae.ca]

Joe Volpe

Joe Volpe was Minister of Citizenship and Immigration under Martin. He announced his candidacy on April 21, 2006. A former schoolteacher, he was elected to the House of Commons in 1988. His top priorities will include reinvigorating the party to get it back "on a professional keel." He will aim to "make it a good corporate institution that it's been and the nation-building institution that it has always proved to be." Volpe's main campaign themes are expected to include, making education and training a higher priority and improving the system for accommodating immigrants, planks that draw on his cabinet experience as human-resources minister and immigration minister.

Supporters in caucus: 6 (6 MPs, 0 Senators) Massimo Pacetti, Jim Karygiannis, Wajid Khan, Yasmin Ratansi, Lui Temelkovski, Joe Volpe. [link]

Date campaign launched: April 21, 2006

Date officially registered: May 12, 2006[link]

Website: [joevolpe.ca]

Unaffiliated caucus members

21 MPs and 20 Senators are undecided while an additional 8 MPs and 6 Senators have declared themselves neutral in the race.

• See Unaffiliated MPs and Senators

Potential and unofficial candidates

Montreal physician Clifford Blais[link], Alberta native activist Myron Wolf Child[link] and anti-free trade activist David Orchard[link] have expressed interest in running. As of July 4th, the date by which people must join the Liberal Party to vote in the leadership race, none of these potential or unofficial candidates have either launched campaigns for the leadership, officially announced they are not running or declared their support for another candidate.

Indicated they will not run for leadership

The following high profile Liberals have indicated they do not wish to run for the leadership at this time:

• Louise Arbour, current UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and former justice of the Supreme Court of Canada (April 6) ^{[#endnote_Arbour]}
• Lloyd Axworthy, former MP for Winnipeg South Centre, MB, and former cabinet minister (February 3) [link]
• Martin Cauchon, former MP for Outremont, QC, and former cabinet minister (March 21) ^{[#endnote_Cauchon]}
• Denis Coderre, MP from Quebec and former immigration minister under Chrétien. (May 3) [link]
• Sheila Copps, former MP for Hamilton East, ON, and former Deputy Prime Minister (February 19) [link]
• Ruby Dhalla, MP Brampton—Springdale since 2004, supporting Ignatieff.(May 25) [link]
• Ujjal Dosanjh, MP for Vancouver South, BC, then outgoing Minister of Health and former NDP Premier of British Columbia (January 27) [link]
• David Emerson, MP for Vancouver Kingsway, BC and then outgoing Minister of Industry (January 24) ^{[#endnote_Emerson]} Subsequently crossed the floor to join the Conservative Cabinet.
• Joe Fontana, MP for London North Centre, ON and Labour Minister under Martin (April 19) [link], supporting Kennedy (April 27) [link]
• John Godfrey, MP for Don Valley West announced his putative candidacy on March 19 only to announce on April 12 that he will not be running due to health reasons.[link][link]
• Ralph Goodale, MP for Wascana, SK and then outgoing Minister of Finance (January 24) [link]; reconsidered (March 16) [link]; again opted out [link] (April 21)
• Bill Graham, MP for Toronto Centre, ON, former Minister of National Defence, pledged not to run when selected as interim leader (February 1) [link]
• Céline Hervieux-Payette, Senator
• Tony Ianno, former MP for Trinity—Spadina, ON, and former cabinet minister. (April 7) [link]
• Marlene Jennings, MP for Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, QC and current deputy house leader. (April 7) [link]
• Jean Lapierre, MP for Outremont, QC, then outgoing Minister of Transport and Quebec lieutenant. (February 1) [link]
• Dominic LeBlanc, MP for Beauséjour, NB, appointed co-chair of the leadership convention thus excluding him from being a candidate. (March 19)
• Ashley MacIsaac, a noted Canadian musician, indicated that he would run for the leadership [link] but later announced that his French was not strong enough and he had trouble assembling an organization so would not run. He suggested he may run for parliament in the next federal election in a Toronto-area seat. [link]
• John Manley, former MP for Ottawa South, ON and former Deputy Prime Minister (January 25). ^{[#endnote_Manley]} On March 13 the Toronto Star reported that Manley was under pressure to reconsider his decision not to run. [link]
• John McCallum, MP for Markham, ON, Defence minister under Chretien, Revenue minister under Martin. Announced May 5 that he would be supporting Michael Ignatieff. [link]
• David McGuinty, MP for Ottawa South, brother of Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty. ^{[#endnote_McGuinty]}
• Frank McKenna, then outgoing Canadian ambassador to the United States, former Premier of New Brunswick (January 30) ^{[#endnote_McKenna]}
• Anne McLellan, deputy Prime Minister under Martin
• Dennis Mills, Former MP for Toronto—Danforth, supporting Dryden [link]
• Allan Rock, then outgoing Canadian ambassador to the United Nations, former MP for Etobicoke Centre, ON and former cabinet minister (February 3) ^{[#endnote_Rock]}
• Jane Stewart, former MP for Brant, ON and former cabinet minister (February 15) ^{[#endnote_Stewart]}
• Belinda Stronach, MP for Newmarket—Aurora, former Martin human resources minister and former Tory leadership candidate (April 6) [link]
• Carole Taylor, Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Vancouver-Langara, current BC Minister of Finance and former chair of the CBC (January 31) [link]
• Brian Tobin, former MP for Humber—St. Barbe—Baie Verte, NL, former cabinet minister and former Newfoundland Premier (January 31) ^{[#endnote_Tobin]}
• Paul Zed, MP for Saint John, supporting Ignatieff [link]

Timeline

Past events

• January 23 2006 - Surprising many, once the result of 2006 federal election indicated his government would fall to Stephen Harper's Conservatives, in the early hours of the morning after the election, Prime Minister Paul Martin announced his intention to resign as Liberal party leader. He stated: "I will continue to represent with pride the people of LaSalle—Émard, but I will not take our party into another election as leader".
• January 25 2006:
• * John Manley ↑  informs the media that he will not seek the party leadership, stating "While I hope to play a role in the renewal, healing and unification of the Liberal party, I have decided for personal reasons that I will not be a leadership candidate" [link]. On election night Manley appeared on CBC television's coverage of the election, and immediately after Prime Minister Paul Martin's announcement was asked whether he might seek the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada. Manley's response at that time was to poke fun at himself saying: "Some may want a dynamic, charismatic leader. Some others may support me."
• *Former Premier of New Brunswick Frank McKenna announces his resignation as Canada's ambassador to the United States. Although submitted in the context of giving Harper the opportunity to appoint an Ambassador who will support Harper's vision of U.S. - Canada relations, it was widely speculated that he was lining up for a run at the federal Liberal leadership.
• January 30 2006 - ↑  Surprising many pundits, Frank McKenna announces he will not run for the leadership. Prior to this, McKenna had been tipped and widely reported as the race's frontrunner. [link]. While recognizing the significance of the leadership McKenna acknowledged: "You’ve got pretty good odds of being the prime minister if you’re leader of the Liberal party." [link] However, he put an end to his association with the 2006 Liberal Party leadership race, explaining that he did not want "his life to become consumed by politics." [link] as he had allowed it to become when he was premier of New Brunswick. He also said his decision was in part because: "I reminded myself of my vow upon leaving office that, having escaped the trap, I wouldn’t go back for the cheese." [link]
• January 31 2006 - ↑  Brian Tobin announces he will not seek the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada. [link] Mr. Tobin rationalized his stepping out of the running as an opportunity for the Liberal Party to heal, revitalize and rejuvinate itself. In his words: "...I think it's time for new blood and I think it's time for new players and I think this is an opportunity for the Liberal party to renew itself and, in the process, to heal itself a little bit as well." and that: "I think that I've had my opportunity and I made my contribution. I enjoyed it enormously," (both quotes)[link]
• February 1 2006 - ↑  Martin announces that he will remain leader of the Liberal Party until his successor is chosen but will not take on the position of leader of the opposition, allowing caucus to chose a parliamentary leader. Later that day the Liberal caucus chooses Bill Graham for that position, and Lucienne Robillard is named as his deputy. [link] Martin subsequently moved up the date his resignation became effective to March 19, 2006.
• February 3 2006 - ↑  Both Lloyd Axworthy and Allan Rock announce they will not run for the leadership of the Liberal party. [link]
• February 8 2006 - ↑  Martha Hall Findlay becomes first to declare candidacy for the leadership. [link]
• March 1 2006 - ↑  The Toronto Star reports that Gerard Kennedy is seriously considering a leadership bid and that he is backed by Senator Terry Mercer, former national director of the Liberal Party of Canada. [link]
• March 9 2006 - ↑  Scott Brison is revealed to have sent an email to an investment banker in November 2005 prior to the Martin government's change of policy on income trusts. It is also revealed that the RCMP had interviewed Brison as part of its investigation on an alleged leak of information on the policy shift and related claims of "insider trading". Though Brison insists he was only passing on public information, his judgement in the matter has raised questions about his suitability as a candidate for the party's leadership.[link]
• March 13 2006 - ↑  Bob Rae gives a speech to the Canadian Club in Winnipeg outlining his views of the problems facing the country. He says he'll make up his mind on whether he'll run for the Liberal leadership in the next few days.[link]
• March 14 2006 - Mark Marissen, Martin's chief organizer in British Columbia, reportedly commits to manage the Dion leadership campaign. This likely confirms Marissen's wife Christy Clark is not considering a run at the leadership herself. [link]
• March 18 2006:
• *The federal Liberal Party's national executive holds the first of two days of meetings to decide on the date of the leadership convention as well as the preliminary rules for the contest.
• *Paul Martin formally resigns as leader and Bill Graham is appointed interim leader of the party until the convention.
• March 19 2006:
• *Convention rules and spending limits are finalized.
• *A press conference is held at 3 p.m., during which the date and location of the convention, the entrance fee for candidates, spending limits and other details of the process for selecting the new leader are announced. [link]
• *↑  Don Valley West MP John Godfrey becomes the second declared candidate for the leadership. "I intend to run [...] I just don't think this thing, in the end, is going to be won by money." [link]
• March 23 2006 - At the King Edward Hotel in Toronto, Paul Zed and Dennis Mills host a cocktail reception honouring Sheila Copps for thirty years in public life. The event is attended by virtually every declared or rumoured leadership hopeful, and is viewed by most as the public launch of the leadership race.
• March 29 2006 - ↑  Vaughan MP Maurizio Bevliacqua confirms in a television interview that he will likely be a candidate.
• April 5 2006
• *Gerard Kennedy resigns from the Ontario cabinet clearing the way for him to enter the federal leadership contest.[link]
• *According to the Globe & Mail, Bob Rae has submitted his application to join the Liberal Party.[link]
• April 6 2006 - Belinda Stronach announced she wouldn't join the race citing the way the contest is structured. Sources close to Stronach also cite her lack of French as a factor. [link]
• April 7 2006
• *The leadership campaign formally starts on this date, the first in which candidates can officially register and the date from which time window for the selection of delegates and party membership is counted.[link]
• *Stéphane Dion joined the race. His stated priorities include economic and social development, environmental sustainability and a better public health services. [link]
• *Michael Ignatieff officially declares his candidacy.[link]
• April 8, 2006 - The Alberta wing of the Liberal Party holds its annual convention in Edmonton. A "leadership panel" is organized which is billed as the first opportunity for declared and prospective candidates to appear and "debate" each other. Declared candidates Clifford Blais, Stéphane Dion, John Godfrey, Martha Hall Findlay, Michael Ignatieff, and Gerard Kennedy, participate along with undeclared candidates Maurizio Bevilacqua, Carolyn Bennett, Scott Brison, Ruby Dhalla, Joe Fontana, Hedy Fry, John McCallum, Bob Rae, Joe Volpe, and Paul Zed.[link] Denis Coderre was absent due to a prior commitment. [link] Ken Dryden could not attend due to a family wedding.[link]
• April 19, 2006 - Greater Toronto Area MP Maurizio Bevilacqua officially enters the race. [link]
• April 21, 2006 - Toronto MP Joe Volpe enters race.[link]
• April 23, 2006 - Nova Scotia MP Scott Brison enters the race.[link]
• April 24, 2006 - Former Ontario Premier Bob Rae and Toronto MP Carolyn Bennett formally declare their candidacies.[link]
• April 27, 2006 - Toronto MPP Gerard Kennedy enters the race.
• April 28, 2006 - Toronto MP Ken Dryden launches his campaign.
• May 4, 2006 - Hedy Fry announces her leadership bid.
• June 1, 2006 - Following demands for an investigation and accusations that he had violated the Elections Act, Joe Volpe gives back $27,000 in donations given by the children of Apotex corporate executives who had exceeded the legal limit for their own individual donations.[link]
• June 10 2006 - The first formal leadership debate of the campaign occurred in Winnipeg. [link]
• June 17 2006 - Moncton hosted the campaign's second formal debate. [link]
• July 4 2006 - Deadline for anyone wishing to vote in the leadership election to take out party membership if they are not a member already or if they are a former member whose membership has lapsed. Those who were formerly "Life members" (a defunct category in Newfoundland and New Brunswick) have until the end of September to renew.
• July 13 2006 - The Toronto Star reports that Gerard Kennedy appears to have signed up more new members than any other candidate. The article says that it had been "conventional widsom" that Michael Ignatieff and Bob Rae were the leaders in the race but "(t)hese numbers would indicate a change in the dynamic of the race". [link]

Upcoming events

• August 21 - August 24, 2006 - Vancouver - National Liberal Caucus meets in Vancouver, BC
• September 29 - October 1, 2006 - "Super Weekend" during which all riding associations and party clubs elect delegates to the convention.
• September 30, 2006 - Deadline for candidates to formally register.
• November 29 - December 1, 2006 - Liberal biennial convention.
• December 2 - December 3, 2006 - Liberal leadership convention.

Notes

↑  Riley's response as a member of the CBC's political panel when asked who was the frontrunner in the race to succeed Martin was to mention Bill Graham's name (and no others) and speculate on a possible "Draft Graham" movement developing, CBC News Morning: The Weekend Edition, March 18 2006

↑  As reported in the Riverviews (community newspaper of Riverview (Ottawa), June 2006 edition, page 8. "David McGuinty, M.P. gives Liberal leadership race a pass."

See also

• Liberal leadership conventions for the results of all past conventions.
• Leadership convention for more information about the selection of party leaders in Canada.

External links

• [Liberal Party of Canada website]
• *[Liberal leadership convention site]
• [Liberal Leadership Odds Blog]
• [openpolitics.ca: Liberal Party of Canada leadership convention, 2006]
• [Overview]

2006 Liberal leadership candidates
Bennett | Bevilacqua | Brison | Dion | Dryden | Fry | Hall Findlay | Ignatieff | Kennedy | Rae | Volpe

 

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