Federal Liberal hopefuls target Conservatives
Papineau MP Justin Trudeau and his fellow federal Liberal leadership candidates are nearly unanimous during a debate on Sunday as they dismiss suggestions the third-place party should team up with the NDP to defeat the Conservatives in the next election.
VANCOUVER — Liberal leadership candidates were nearly unanimous Sunday as they dismissed suggestions the third-place party should team up with the NDP to defeat Stephen Harper’s Conservatives in the next election.
Speaking at their first leadership debate, the majority of candidates said Liberal values and principles are different from New Democrats, and the party’s challenge isn’t just beating the Conservatives but giving Canadians a reason to vote red.
“It’s not just a question of replacing Harper,” Montreal MP and presumptive frontrunner Justin Trudeau said. “It’s a question of giving Canadians a better option.”
The Harper government was the main target through most of the debate as the nine contenders trained their sights on the Conservatives instead of each other.
They repeatedly warned of the danger the prime minister posed to Canada’s democracy, his environmental record and his failure to address the concerns raised by aboriginal peoples.
But electoral co-operation figured prominently, with Vancouver MP Joyce Murray the only candidate to support working with the NDP and the Greens.
“Canada is too important to let Stephen Harper win the election in 2015,” she said. “We have to get rid of Stephen Harper.”
The other candidates quickly shot down that idea and maintained the Liberal party is still a viable alternative capable of beating the Conservatives on its own.
“For all of the Liberals here and for all the Liberals watching, where did our confidence go?” asked former MP Martha Hall Findlay. “We are the true alternative, and the NDP can’t say this.”
The majority of candidates agreed some type of electoral reform was necessary in the future, with most supporting preferential balloting that would eliminate the firstpast-the-post system.
But that was seen as putting the cart before the horse, with the candidates agreeing hard work and reconnecting with Canadians was essential to return to power first.
“We have disconnected from our grassroots,” Trudeau said.
The candidates engaged in debate over what the party actually stands for — with a number of contenders taking issue with Trudeau’s refusal to lay out clear policy plans.
“Our challenge as a party is we can’t just keep saying things and hope Canadians will believe it,” Hall Findlay said.
Trudeau largely stuck to his message of hope and the need to re-engage with a new generation of voters while defending the need for a strong middle-class.
“My plan is for reaching out to people across the country who are not polarized,” he said. “Who don’t want to be voting against, but who want to be voting for a powerful option in the middle.”
Montreal MP Marc Garneau took a more combative tone in what appeared to be an attempt to shed his bookish, calm image.
Hall Findlay repeatedly called upon the party to start standing up for what it believes in, while Toronto lawyer George Takach consistently talked about his plan to use science and technology to grow Canada’s wealth.
The next Liberal leadership debate will be held in Winnipeg on Feb. 2, with voting to take place between April 6 and April 14, when the final results will be announced in Ottawa.
The party expects more than 100,000 eligible voters, including 55,000 members and 45,000 “supporters.”