Trudeau to bear bull’s-eye in debate
Liberal leadership hopefuls see candidate as their main target
OTTAWA — Justin Trudeau is expected to be the main target when the federal Liberal Party’s nine leadership candidates take to the stage in Vancouver on Sunday for the first of five debates.
But anyone expecting the gloves to come off will probably be disappointed as most predict cordial exchanges as the party tries to put decades of party infighting behind it — and keep the Conservatives from getting ammunition for new attack ads.
At the same time, questions remain over whether the party has really learned from its past mistakes and isn’t again waiting with bated breath for a leader to emerge and fix all their problems.
Liberals held off on replacing Michael Ignatieff right after the last election because they didn’t want a leadership race to distract from important rebuilding that needed to happen within the party and in ridings across the country.
Some Liberals say that effort has been going strong and is starting to bear fruit, with donations flowing in and more than 100,000 people expected to cast votes for the next leader in April, including about 55,000 members and 45,000 “supporters.”
“Are we a party that is lacking in organization in the field? Absolutely,” said Alexandra Mendes, president of the federal party’s Quebec wing. “But it’s getting there.”
Mendes said the number of donors in Quebec has been increasing substantially, “and I think the leadership race is helping it because it’s generating interest across the country.”
But some say there still hasn’t been enough done to reconnect with Canadians and generate interest in the federal Liberal Party.
And others fear what efforts have been underway are slowing to a crawl as attention turns to the leadership campaign, and the party’s tendency to look to its leader for salvation begins percolating again.
“I think that too much is on hold as a result of the leadership dynamics and too many people are waiting to see who the leader will be before undertaking that work,” said Akaash Maharaj, former national policy chair for the federal Liberals.
“I can understand the argument that there’s no point in going down this road until we know who the leader is and the direction he will take the party in. But that is part of the problem.”
Leadership candidate David Bertschi said there are some Liberals still looking for a “quick fix” to the party’s problems.
Sunday’s two-hour debate marks the first time the nine people who have thrown their hats in the ring for the federal Liberal leadership will appear on stage together
They will discuss a range of topics, from aboriginal issues and the environment to Canada’s engagement with the Pacific Rim and electoral co-operation with other parties.
At least one leadership candidate, Vancouver MP Joyce Murray, has come out in favour of such co-operation to end the Conservatives hold on federal government power.