Goodbye Minister of Finance Takhar. Hello Minister Responsible for Seniors Takhar. You win some, you lose some. Or so I hear. Regardless, win or lose, we can all take home valuable lessons from the OLP leadership race – and with no fewer than 5 other Liberal leadership races ongoing in
Continue readingTag: 2013 OLP Leadership Race
Calgary Grit: As Good as Being There
The mainstream media coverage of this weekend’s OLP leadership convention has focused on backroom deals and electoral implications – but this misses the very human element of leadership conventions, which is where blogs still hold a certain degree of relevance. I therefore encourage everyone to read the following accounts –
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Convention Math
On Saturday, Maple Leaf Gardens was a cauldron of emotions. There were tears, broken promises, dashed dreams, and shrieks of pure unadulterated joy. That’s to be expected when you bring 2,000 people with very different motivations and beliefs together, and ask them to figure out who will govern a province
Continue readingCalgary Grit: #Wynning
I’ll post a recap of the weekend that was and thoughts on the road ahead tomorrow, but for now let me take a moment to congratulate Kathleen Wynne on her well deserved victory. She’s a likable candidate with an impressive record who ran a great campaign, and I was proud
Continue readingCalgary Grit: The Case For Kennedy
This weekend, Liberals from across Ontario will gather at Maple Leaf Gardens for what is likely to be one of the last grand old leadership conventions in Canada. Having 2,000 delegates decide who governs a province of 13 million doesn’t scream “grassroots”, but it makes for one heck of a
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Down to the Wire
We’re now down to the stretch drive in the OLP leadership sprint, with the following (still unofficial) delegate count after this weekend’s round of voting: Pupatello 506 Wynne 468 Kennedy 259 Takhar 244 Sousa 204 Hoskins 104 Independent 67 It’s a fractured field, and that becomes even more apparent when
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Getting Dumped
He may have baked you lasagna, but Glen has moved on and found someone new. Today, Glen Murray bowed out of the Ontario Liberal leadership race and David Merner took a pass at the federal job. The reaction to both announcements has ranged from a shrug to an in-depth analysis
Continue readingCalgary Grit: How They Stand
It’s been hard to get any kind of quantitative read on how the candidates stack up in the Ontario Liberal Party leadership race to date. Gerard Kennedy may be leading the polls among Ontarians, Sandra Pupatello may be winning the endorsement race, and Kathleen Wynne may have raised more money
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Leadership for Change
Yesterday, Steve V blogged about why he’s running as a delegate for Gerard Kennedy in the OLP leadership race, and the point he circled back to was that, for better or worse, Gerard is more genuinely committed to changing the way politics is done in this country than any politician
Continue readingCalgary Grit: 2013 A Make It Or Break It Year For The Liberal Party
Making predictions in a sport as unpredictable as politics is very much a fool’s errand. I don’t think anyone saw Dalton McGuinty’s retirement or Justin Trudeau’s left hook coming in 2012. Hell, even something as routine as an Alberta PC election victory turned into a whirlwind thriller. What we do
Continue readingCalgary Grit: OLP News Roundup
Bits and pieces of news from the Ontario Liberal Party leadership race, in advance of tonight’s debate in Ottawa. The Policy Candidate: Glen Murray has released the most detailled policy proposals and routinely peppers his speeches with more facts and figures than you’ll see in a fourth year economics class.
Continue readingCalgary Grit: The Air War Begins
The Ontario Liberal Party’s leadership race has been largely fought on the ground until now. With such a tight timeline, the campaigns were forced to focus almost exclusively on signing up new members until November 23rd. There have been polls, endorsements, and a few policies rushed out the door, but most of the race has taken place outside of the public eye. Heck, Harinder Takhar didn’t even declare until after the membership deadline. With that deadline passed, today’s debate in … →
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Make a Difference
I recognize that most readers of this blog either: a) Don’t live in Ontario or b) Have pretty strong political beliefs So any pitch to join the Ontario Liberal Party is either a case of preaching to the choir, or preaching to atheists. However, if you are an unaffiliated Ontarian and want to make a difference, the deadline to sign up as an OLP member to vote for the next Premier of Ontario is midnight Friday. All Ontario residents 14 … →
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Kennedy for Ontario
After some bleating about how no one wanted the “poisoned chalice”, an impressive field of six candidates has declared for the OLP leadership race: Glen Murray, Sandra Pupatello, Eric Hoskins, Kathleen Wynne, Charles Sousa, and Gerard Kennedy. All have Cabinet experience, and all are ready to step into the Premier’s chair. I have nothing negative to say about any of the six and will gladly campaign for whichever one of them scrambles across the finish line first in this race. … →
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Your Weekly OLP Leadership Update: Can Kennedy Restore a Liberal Camelot?
With the membership cut-off fast approaching, it seems likely we’ll have a good idea of the field of candidates to replace Dalton McGuinty within a few days. This week, Laurel Broten, Brad Duguid, and George Smitherman added their names to the list of those taking a pass, prompting a round
Continue readingCalgary Grit: OLP Leadership Update
While Federal Liberal leadership aspirants are free to subject their candidacy to a year-long striptease before declaring, Ontario Liberals do not have the luxury of time. With the membership cut-off in just four weeks, there’s little time to play coy. Yasir Naqvi mulled it over for a few days before
Continue readingCalgary Grit: OLP Leadership Mad Dash
While the federal Liberals chose a lengthy marathon to replace Michael Ignatieff, their provincial cousins sounded the starter’s pistol on a mad sprint this past weekend. Heck, maybe “roller derby” is the more apt sports analogy. The next Premier of Ontario will be selected on January 25th, but the date
Continue readingCalgary Grit: After 16 Years of McGuinty, What’s Next for OLP?
Sixteen years ago, Dalton McGuinty won the Ontario Liberal leadership race at 4:30 am, after 5 rounds of voting. Always one to defy expectations, McGuinty worked his way up from 4th place over the course of 9 hours in what was truly one of the wildest leadership conventions in Canadian
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