Senators struggling to stay valid in vote
Sen. David Smith is a legend in federal Liberal party circles. He has played a leading role for the party in every election since 1965, when he helped Lester Pearson get re- elected, and he served as Liberal campaign co- chair in both 2008 and 2011.
But now Smith and other members of the Senate, many of whom have also been actively involved in previous federal campaigns, are wrestling with what they can — and cannot — do to help their respective parties win the 2015 federal election.
Blame the Mike Duffy Senate expenses affair, the suspensions of two other senators from the red chamber, and a sweeping study by the Auditor General that found numerous spending irregularities among both current and retired members of the chamber. Senators — even those appointed specifically because of their past service and loyalty to their parties — are no longer necessarily seen as assets on the campaign or fundraising trail.
On the Conservative side of the aisle, the landscape has changed markedly. So far, the Tories haven’t used senators the way they did in 2011, when political superstars such as Duffy were prominently featured by the party, both to boost candidates and raise funds.
But even though he faced tense questioning last week about the Duffy affair, Conservative Leader Stephen Harper didn’t shy away from noting, during a rally in Markham, Ont., that he had appointed Canada’s first senators of Vietnamese ( Thanh Hai Ngo), South Korean ( Yonah Martin) and Filipino ( Tobias Enverga) descent.
The party’s official line, delivered in an email last week by spokeswoman Meagan Murdoch, said the Conservatives were not restricting senators’ involvement in that campaign, and that each senator “will determine their level of participation.” She would not say whether the national campaign would be tapping them for campaign events or other specific duties.
Conservative Sen. Michael MacDonald of Nova Scotia said from his perspective, nothing has changed from previous elections. While he hasn’t been asked yet to host any rallies or otherwise contribute to the national campaign, “it’s a two- month campaign that’s just started.”
The week before the election was called, MacDonald made two funding announcements in Nova Scotia on behalf of the government. MacDonald said he has made several such announcements in the past when a minister is unavailable, and that local residents see him as an important link to the federal government. He said he would “be proud to introduce the prime minister at any event, but I haven’t received any indication they want me to do that.”
In the meantime, he plans to help local Tory candidates in any way he can. “I’ll probably sometime during the campaign knock on a few doors for some friends of mine who are running or something,” he said.
Oddly, the ground might be trickier for senators who are not Tories — such as Smith.
In January 2014, relatively early in the developing Senate spending scandal, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau kicked all his senators out of the Liberal caucus. But while the move stripped them of any special standing and sent a signal they were not welcome to mingle with Liberal MPs, Trudeau could not boot them out as party members. In fact, their decision to rebrand themselves as Independent Liberal senators affirmed their loyalty to the party.
Liberal party spokesman Olivier Duchesneau said these senators “have no official roles in the Liberal campaign.” Several Independent Liberals confirm that no one in Trudeau’s office has called for advice, and no one from the national campaign has shared strategy or asked for fundraising help.
But that doesn’t mean Independent Liberal senators are out entirely. Smith and others say they have received numerous calls from local Liberal campaigns asking for advice or inviting them to events. That’s where things get, as he says, “muddy.”
Smith, who lives in the Toronto riding of University- Rosedale, where Liberal MP Chrystia Freeland is running for re- election, said those calling him have been “mainly friends,” and that he’s been happy to share his thoughts and help in other ways.
“There are people who have asked me to show up at the odd event, and I have shown up at the odd event,” he said. “But I do not have any role, and I’m not seeking any role ... I’m serving the campaign from the outside rather than the inside.”
Smith, who admits he’s still not happy at being kicked out of the Liberal caucus, said the party has made it clear it doesn’t want senators to do fundraising. As for the rest, “you have to ask them,” he said, referring to the party leadership.
Fellow Independent Liberal Sen. Jim Munson says he spoke to several local Liberal candidates before the election, and expects to be knocking on doors like any other volunteer.
In past elections, he has sometimes been on the party leader’s plane.
This time, “It is different in the sense that we’re not members of the national caucus,” Munson said.
“But that shouldn’t stop you from helping out a local MP. If asked, and I have been asked, I’ll help campaign for the local candidates.”
Independent Liberal Sen. Larry Campbell feels differently. While some of his colleagues in the upper chamber may be involved in the election, “from my point of view, it’s not condoned in the party.”
Campbell, who lives in Green party leader Elizabeth May’s B. C. riding, and has endorsed May there for the second election in a row, said whenever he gets a call from someone who wants his help, he tells them to ask Liberal headquarters if it’s all right. Nobody has ever called back, he said.
“I don’t want to show up and do a speech or whatever and then get the candidate in trouble,” he said. “So I respect the fact they want us to be independent of the process.”