Michael Ignatieff visits Vancouver
Today I got to meet my second candidate, Michael Ignatieff who made a stop in Vancouver and spoke to a large crowd well over a 100 people at the Roundhouse Community in Yaletown. Since it was a nice sunny day in normally rainy Vancouver, although he joked about this being what the weather is always like in Vancouver, his speech was reasonably short.
Stephen Owen gave an introduction to him as someone who has a strong understanding of both domestic and global politics and could help lead Canada into the future as a global player. He talked a lot about nation building and the role the Liberals have played as the primary institution in building Canada at least during the 20th century and his goal to ensure this can continue through the 21st century. He talked about the importance of both a strong economy and social justice. He specifically mentioned the Pacific Gateway and the importance the province of British Columbia will play in the future of Canada as the new economic giants will be in Asia and all of Canada will need to come through British Columbia in order to trade with Asia. He later came around a met with the crowd, which was quite a diverse crowd of both young and old as well as people from many different cultures. In addition to Stephen Owen being there the media was also there as will as city councillor Peter Ladner, who was one of only two NPA members elected in 2002 and proved to be one of the more responsible city councillors when one considers how left wing many of the others were.
I haven't yet decided on my endorsement but so far I have been impressed with the two candidates I met. I would happily take either one of them as prime-minister over Stephen Harper.
Stephen Owen gave an introduction to him as someone who has a strong understanding of both domestic and global politics and could help lead Canada into the future as a global player. He talked a lot about nation building and the role the Liberals have played as the primary institution in building Canada at least during the 20th century and his goal to ensure this can continue through the 21st century. He talked about the importance of both a strong economy and social justice. He specifically mentioned the Pacific Gateway and the importance the province of British Columbia will play in the future of Canada as the new economic giants will be in Asia and all of Canada will need to come through British Columbia in order to trade with Asia. He later came around a met with the crowd, which was quite a diverse crowd of both young and old as well as people from many different cultures. In addition to Stephen Owen being there the media was also there as will as city councillor Peter Ladner, who was one of only two NPA members elected in 2002 and proved to be one of the more responsible city councillors when one considers how left wing many of the others were.
I haven't yet decided on my endorsement but so far I have been impressed with the two candidates I met. I would happily take either one of them as prime-minister over Stephen Harper.
posted by Monkey Loves to Fight at 10:38 PM
16 Comments:
I've heard Ignatieff is a very engaging speaker and has charisma that the television cameras don't pick up. Did you find that?
That is certainly the impression I got when I spoke to him. He is definitely a soft spoken individual and very well thought out analysis. The only problem here is he gives rather complex answers, which I personally like, but the public seems to prefer simple 10 second sound bytes versus full explanations, which is too bad.
He probably just needs a little more time to make the transformation from professor to politician
I would say that is probably the case. Anyways since your blog says you are a Tory, I would be interested in what you think his chances would be of winning, especially since you are from Ottawa, which outside the city centre which mostly Tory. Since most voters are swing voters, who is chosen as the leader could make a big difference on the results of the next election.
To tell you the truth, I haven't really had many conversations with people about the candidates, but instead listening to the pundits, reading blogs, etc.
So far I've been impressed with both him and Stephane Dion. I sincerely do want the strongest candidate to win, because a strong Canada needs both a strong government and a strong opposition, regardless of which party espouses which title.
Upon hearing the news that he scored 2nd highest in a ranking of bilingualism among the candidates, I can only see this as helping his campaign.
I suppose to give you a better answer than that I would have to wait a few weeks or months in order to develop a better idea.
The writ will probably drop two months after the leadership convention after Februay's budget. I Igs can't win two months after becoming leader, then he will be pushing 65, by the time there is another election. An older candidate really does need to be electiomn ready if chosen as leader.
Also, try not to go by only the candidates you have met. 20 million Canadians will not meet the Liberal leader personally when they vote. It is not a good gauge to decide who can win the next election against the Tories.
There are really only two candidates in my mind who will be ready 2 months after the Leadership Convention to face a General Election. Those would be Brison and Dion. Both have 10 years experience in the House. My choice is Brison as he has the charisma, experience and new break-away ideas to inspire. Dion is good, but after having a Quebec leader for 30 of the past 35 years its time for a change.
Brison can be the leader through 2 elections without senior years creeping up on him a becoming an issue.
S.b. certainly has some good points. Brison and Dion are both good candidates and I might endorse either of them. Also Michael Ignatieff and Maurizio Bevilacqua are good ones too.
And Matt I fully agree that a democracy needs a strong opposition. Even if I don't agree with the Tories, I think a strong Tory presence keeps the government more honest and accountable than with a weak opposition.
That's interesting what you said, Robert. I really do like Dion but there's something about him that I couldn't place my finger on - I think you named it when you said that 30/35 years have had a Quebecer PM.
I haven't paid much attention to Brison, but I never really thought that he'd be a serious contender. Perhaps I'll have to look more into each candidate.
Ignatieff, Rae or Dion will never get support in the west and will be seen as easterners who have dominated the Liberal Leadership since confederation. The Liberal Party has never elected a western born leader with strong roots in this important but neglected area of Canada. The Liberal Party seems destined to the opposition benches for years to come, and rightfully belong their with their arrogance. They lost Quebec to the conservatives, and have little chance of forming a government with the baggage ridden folks such as Dion,Igntieff and Rae.
Bob, Gerard, Maurizio, those are checked off on my 'to do list'... Apparently today I missed a mini-leadership gathering downtown - hope you got to see them, Miles. Right now I'm putting my eggs in the Rae basket because of his experience and credibility in both english and french. I know the argument is that Ontarians will not forgive nor forget, but I think we are underestimating them. Rae has really spent a lot of time accomplishing things since then, serving at various levels and areas, and severed his NDP roots about 10 years ago. Plus he's as mean a fighter as we could need against dirty tricks Stephen.
West of Ontario - I agree the West has been ignored in the past, but that doesn't mean the next leader automatically must come from the West. I care about the person and their ideas not where they are from. And when considering how much time all the contenders have spent in the West, I think they do care. Also I think it is too early to predict the Liberals will be in opposition for a long time. They just about won the last election and could win the next.
Imsparctacus - I agree Bob Rae is a smart person and has learned from many of his mistakes. However, I've talked to many people from Ontario who aren't aligned with anyone party and they still have bad memories of him. I agree he would be one of the best for re-building Liberal support in Quebec, however considering how badly hammered we got, at most we will pick up a dozen seats in Quebec and and this would likely be offset by a loss of around 15 seats in Ontario (905 Belt), Bob Rae would hold the 416 though. I think we do need to attack Stephen Harper hard, but we also need an alternative vision. We cannot win just by demonizing Harper, we must stand for something as well.
Did his thumbs have anything to say?
There is an alternative. I"m a member of the Progressive Canadian Party, and we are calling upon all former PC'ers to join us in rebuilding the PC alternative.
cjschnurr@yahoo.com
Thanks.
Chris Smurr - Thanks for the offer, but no thanks. I got involved in politics not because of any loyalty to any one party, but rather because I wanted to make a positive difference. Therefore I prefer to support a party that can actually win seats and some day form government versus one who cannot even win a seat in the House of Commons and 90% of Canadians have never heard of.
I may not agree with the Liberals on everything, but I feel they are the best choice of the three national parties. I prefer to work within one of the major parties so I can make a difference versus a fringe party that won't make a difference.
The name is Chris Schnurr, not Smurr.
No need for snide swipes. We are actively building the alternative to all three parties. The Cons, Libs, and NDP are more of the same - no matter the leader.
Give us time - our message is catching on as our growing membership indicates. Just because you or friends haven't heard of us makes not the reality ;)
Take care.
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