The leadership vote’s rules tilt the map in favour of western ridings with smaller membership bases
OTTAWA — The past several years have been lean times for Liberals west of Ontario, but insiders are hoping that a spirited leadership race that happens to overweight western Liberal constituencies could be just the thing help the party rebuild bridges in the region after nearly more than a decade of frosty relations under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s leadership.
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“I’m already seeing tons of excitement for the upcoming leadership campaign,” said Kent Hehr, a lifelong Alberta Liberal and ex-Calgary MP.
“The one thing that does happen is that you hear from everybody across the country… every riding has the same weight in this leadership race. So you’re going to hear a lot more from places where Liberals haven’t been elected,” said Marissen.
Hehr estimates there are currently around 1,000 Liberal members in his downtown Calgary riding. He expects this number to grow as contenders make their pitches to voters in the coming weeks.
“If people get out there and hustle with a strong message, anything can happen,” said Hehr.
“You have Mark Carney, Chrystia Freeland and Christy Clark, all three of them grew up out West,” said Hogan. “Maybe there’s something there.”
Notably, none of the major candidates that were expected to come from Quebec have materialized: Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon, Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly and Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne have all declared they don’t intend to run.
Hehr said the rules give an edge to better-organized campaigns with stronger ties to local riding associations.
“You have to have people on your team who can pick up the phone and ask ‘hey, can you search your database for a guy I met at the gas station in Zama City, (Alta.)?’” said Hehr.
Ex-Vancouver Liberal MP and former federal cabinet minister Ujjal Dosanjh said that much of the blame for the Liberal party’s collapse in Western Canada lies at the feet of Trudeau.
“(Trudeau’s) really severed all of his relationships with traditional Liberals before he came in,” said Dosanjh. “He had new people that he recruited and put into those positions.”
Dosanjh, who had been an NDP premier of B.C. later tapped by Paul Martin to run for the Liberals federally, said that Trudeau purposefully marginalized party elders.
Trudeau has also played up regional divisions more than past Liberal leaders.
“(Trudeau) certainly hasn’t helped grow western Liberal leadership, in any sense of the term,” said Dosanjh.
Dosanjh said he’s hopeful that the next leader of the party will be more of a unifying figure.
“You want someone who understands the national unity issues on our plate,” said Dosanjh.
National Post
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