Category: 2006 Federal Liberal Leadership Race

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2006 Federal Liberal Leadership Race Alberta Tories Ed Stelmach Federal Liberals Jim Dinning Stephane Dion

premier-designate ed stelmach.

Saturday December 2, 2006 was a very bad day for political frontrunners.

We saw Stephane Dion ride from fourth place on the first ballot to defeat frontrunners Michael Ignatieff and Bob Rae at the Federal Liberal leadership convention in Montreal.

We also saw Ed Stelmach ride from third place on the first ballot of the Alberta PC leadership race to overwhelm both frontrunners Jim Dinning and Ted Morton on the third ballot.

I did make it out to the Alberta PC leadership party at the aviation centre and I can say it was quite an entertaining peice of political theatre. As with the Federal Liberal race, I did enjoy seeing the frontrunners go down in a blaze of glory. (and I’ll give a shout out to Duncan, Allie, and Blake who were all there).

So, what does an Ed Stelmach led-PC Party mean for Alberta’s political scene?

– Ed Stelmach is the first Alberta Premier from rural Alberta since Social Credit Premier Harry Strom from 1968-1971. Will Ed Stelmach take the Tories the root of Social Credit…
– This race very much manifested itself into a Northern Alberta/Edmonton (Stelmach) v. Calgary (Dinning) & Southern Alberta (Morton).What affect does this have on Tory support in urban Alberta? In southern Alberta? Calgary?
– Can Ed Stelmach appeal to Edmonton and Calgary voters? Does Stelmach’s victory bode well for Kevin Taft’s Alberta Liberals?
– What happens to Ted Morton? It was Ted Morton’s supporters who pushed Ed Stelmach over the top on the third ballot (to the effect of 28000 for Ed Stelmach to 4000 for Jim Dinning).
– What happens to Jim Dinning and the Calgary crew? Jim Dinning was Calgary’s candidate…
– What does Ed Stelmach stand for? This isn’t a personal attack, just a legitimate question. Ed Stelmach’s policy positions on this campaign were not exactly the most well developed. We shall wait and see…

I will have more thoughts on “What now?” later this afternoon…

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2006 Federal Liberal Leadership Race Federal Liberals Stephane Dion

…is a vulnerable position.

Being presumptive nominee that is. Random.

Stephane Dion has been selected as Federal Liberal leader over Michael Ignatieff.

Disaster averted?

Canada Liberals choose Stephane Dion as leader

MONTREAL, Dec 2 (Reuters) – Canada’s official opposition Liberals on Saturday unexpectedly chose former Environment Minister Stephane Dion as their new leader despite political shortcomings that could hinder his chances in an election expected next year.

Dion, in fourth place after the first round of voting, beat former Harvard academic Michael Ignatieff on the fourth and final ballot at a Montreal leadership convention. Dion won by 2,521 votes to 2,084.

Will we see another presumtive nominee defeated tonight?

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2006 Alberta PC Leadership Race 2006 Federal Liberal Leadership Race

presumtive nominee…

Just as the Federal Liberals are holding their leadership selection today, the Alberta PC’s are out voting for their second and third ballot choices for their new leader.

I have no clue who is going to win this one. Last weekend’s results on their first ballot resulted in a Jim Dinning-Ted Morton-Ed Stelmach playing feild.

Today’s second-third ballot results will depend on a lot of things.
– How many memberships were the camps able to sell this week.
– How effective are the defeated candidates in getting their networks out to support endorsed candidates (Dave Hancock, Mark Norris, and Lyle Oberg’s endorsement of Ed Stelmach).
– How effective will the camps be in getting out their vote today.

I guess we’ll see. Premier Jim Dinning? Premier Ed Stelmach? Or Premier Ted Morton?

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2006 Federal Liberal Leadership Race Gerard Kennedy Stephane Dion

dion pulls ahead.

So, I’m sitting around watching CPAC‘s coverage of the Federal Liberal leadership convention.

Jean LaPierre is being interviewed. I wondered what happened to him.

They are getting ready for the third ballot. Stephane Dion, Michael Ignatieff, and Bob Rae are on the ballot. I was disappointed that Gerard Kennedy was knocked off the second ballot, but it’s not overly surprising because he was fairly close to Dion for the third-fouth place position.

Here are the live third ballot resutls….

Michael Ignatieff – 1660
Bob Rae – 1375
Stephane Dion – 1782
Total – 4817
Needed to win – 2410

Stephane Dion pulls ahead on the fourth ballot. It’s a Dion-Ignatieff showdown…

Very interesting turn of events…

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2006 Federal Liberal Leadership Race Federal Liberals Gerard Kennedy Michael Ignatieff Stephane Dion

that other leadership race.

The Federal Liberals are chosing their leader this weekend. Though I was mysteriously left off the Edmonton Strathcona ballot during the delegate selection meetings, I had decided months ago that I would sit out this Liberal leadership convention.

Though I support Gerard Kennedy for the Federal Liberal leadership, finances and interest level had a lot to do with my lack of Montreal presence this December weekend. I think Kennedy would do well as leader. When I met Kennedy this summer I wasn’t overly impressed by the speech he delivered, but when I was able to talk with him one-on-one I was very impressed at the types of ideas we talked about. He is a fresh face for the Federal Liberals with actual elected political experience in government and in opposition. Something that will benefit the Liberals greatly in the next election.

Of the other candidates, I don’t mind Stephane Dion.

Michael Ignatieff is interesting, but hasn’t impressed me during this campaign (or when I met him), and continues to rub me the wrong way.

I find the Bob Rae phenomenon to be the most interesting though. He has a train car worth of political luggage, but continued to surprise me with high level quality supporters such as Ralph Goodale. So, I’m puzzled. He’s intellegent and articulate, but what would happen if he won? Would the Liberals implode and lose all their seats in Ontario? Probably not. The unpopularity of Mike Harris‘ Government is fresher in the mind of Ontarians and former Harris-era Ministers Jim Flaherty and John Baird cruised to Federal victory in January 2006. Could Rae do the same?

This said, I think there is potential for it to be a while before I again become actively involved with the Federal Liberals.

Hopefully whoever is chosen as Leader will do their best to bring the Liberal Party of Canada back to Canadians. Hopefully they can pose a compeditive challenge to the Conservative minority in what will most likely be a Spring 2007 election.

As I do have many friends at this convention, I will direct you to their blogs for their on-site commentary: Gauntlet, CalgaryGrit, and Nic.

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