I can’t imagine anyone seriously thought he would run, but Dalton McGuinty has made it official that he will not be entering the Federal Liberal Leadership Race. While the race will not officially kick off for another 3 weeks, with each passing day it becomes more and more clear that
Continue readingTag: — 2013 LPC Leadership Race
Calgary Grit: Great Moments in Political Analysis
You’ve got to love anonymous Liberals: A source in one of the developing campaigns for two Ontario Liberals who have been laying groundwork for a federal leadership bid for several months said initial activity by McGuinty organizers has included extensive public opinion polling. “I’ve heard from a couple of sources
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Ready Or Not, Here He Comes
Xavier Trudeau (left) has quickly emerged as the 2051 Liberal leadership frontrunner. Today marks the 12 year anniversary of the first time Liberals recognized there was something special about Justin Trudeau. Justin’s moving eulogy of his father brought Liberals to tears but, Liberals being Liberals, it also made many of
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Trudeau’s Challenging Cakewalk
With victory almost assured, Trudeau can work on his form, rather than swing for the knock-out Now that we have confirmation about what we’ve known all summer, and now that we’ve exhausted every conceivable boxing-is-politics metaphor, we can begin speculating about what the Justin Trudeau leadership campaign will look like.
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Meet David Merner
David Merner, or as he will soon be known to Canadians watching Liberal leadership debates – “that guy standing next to Justin Trudeau” On Sunday, long shot Liberal leadership candidate David Merner sat down for brunch with a few Toronto area bloggers, for an informal chat about the future of
Continue readingCalgary Grit: The Table Stakes
Forget Mark Carney. We need “electable” candidates like Jim Karygiannis in this race! Now that we know who can run for Liberal leader (namely, anyone with $75,000 and 300 signatures), the question becomes who should run: “We have to be careful not to think that somebody who wants to raise
Continue readingCalgary Grit: “Adorable! Cute as a button. A good left hook, you really gotta love him”
The most Twitter followers AND a theme song? John Ivison is right – this race is over. It’s no “Ted Morton is the Man“, but The Justin Trudeau Song is kind of catchy.
Continue readingCalgary Grit: The Race Is On
Justin Trudeau and Martha Hall Findlay appear ready to roll The Liberal Party has released the rules for its leadership race, effectively sounding the starting pistol. The finish line will be April 14th in Ottawa, when the leader is announced. There’s still no word on exactly how that vote will
Continue readingCalgary Grit: After Sleepy Summer, Liberal Leadership Race Should Heat Up
Bob Rae’s fateful decision to sit out the Liberal Leadership Race was expected to sound the starting pistol for a busy summer of campaigning from a crowded field of candidates. I don’t want to discount the dozens of Liberals who have spent August feeling the effects of Merner-mania, but it’s
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Liberal Leadership Round-Up
Who has two thumbs, a vintage belt buckle, and might be running for Liberal leader? The “will he or won’t he” dance of Justin Trudeau continues, with reports that Gerald Butts will be heading up his leadership team – should Justin run, of course. Trudeau’s trip to the Stampede did
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Liberal Leadership Wednesdays: Coyne4Leader
Future CPC attack ad: “Deborah Coyne climbed Mount Kilimanjaro – were the Rockies not good enough for her?” It’s worth noting that at this stage in the Liberal Leadership Race, the line between a “declared” and “undeclared” candidate is a thin one. Until the rules and entry fees are set,
Continue readingCalgary Grit: The Name Game
Despite all quantitative evidence to the contrary, trust me when I say Quebecers hate these two men more than the Boston Bruins In today’s Globe & Mail, Lysianne Gagnon takes aim at Justin Trudeau: Is Justin Trudeau really the Liberals’ best option? If the Toronto Liberal intelligentsia believe that Justin
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Issue Management
I spy with my little eye, someone running for leadership In her Star column today, Chantal Hebert supposes that the Quebec Nation resolution might resurface as a divisive issue during the Liberal Leadership race, as it did in 2006. While I don’t think there’s any appetite to revisit that specific
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Trudeau’s Poll Position
Many Canadians polled have heard of this man It’s no secret that Liberals love power above all else, so it’s hard for any Liberal to stay immune to Trudeaumania when you see headlines like “Justin Trudeau could lead Liberals to first place, new poll shows” or “Trudeau could be Grits’
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Bob Builds His Liberal Party Legacy
As in 2008 (above), Rae has stepped aside for the good of the party As I hoped would be the case, Bob Rae has taken a pass at the Liberal leadership race. Despite Rae’s solemn pledge not to run for the permanent leader position, this news comes as a bit
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Rae’s Play
Rae has milked the interim leader title for all its worth In perhaps the least surprising news story of the year, Bob Rae appears set to announce his candidacy for Liberal leadership for the third time in the last six years. Say what you will about the man (and I’m
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Liberal Leadership Update: Trudeaumania?
The Liberal Party’s National Executive is set to meet next Wednesday to set the party’s leadership race rules. Shortly thereafter, Bob Rae will announce his intentions and, from there, the dominos will fall. With BBQ season soon upon us, it won’t take long to figure out who’s running, even if the formal declarations take a
Continue readingCalgary Grit: An update on all the people MAYBE running for Liberal leadership
The expectation is that rules for the Liberal leadership race will come down in June, setting the stage for a summer of getting to know the men and women wanting to lead Canada’s third party. But while we won’t know the rules of the race for another month or two,
Continue readingCalgary Grit: The Race for Third
Back in February I asked readers of this blog who they thought would run for Liberal leader, and who they’d consider voting for. Admittedly, this is as far from a scientific poll as you’ll ever get, and I won’t pretend that the 500+ voters in this straw poll are all
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