Liberal Leadership: Where is Glen Murray?

Probably the smartest move Paul Martin made in his political career was to resign the night he lost the election. I don't say this out of spite, but because the speculation about the next liberal leader has garnered as much attention as the Conservatives' transition from opposition to government. So who are the players and what are there chances?

After McKenna, Manley, and Tobin bowed out of the race, who the next Liberal leader is anyone's guess. Considering that out of those actively organizing for the race, two are former conservatives, one a former NDP, and one who doesn't have a history in any party, you'd be correct to wonder if there are any Liberals out there who actually want the job!

There are some candidates who are already actively organizing. These are the Also rans:

Belinda Stronarch and Scott Brison are seeking support, but neither speaks French well enough to debate in that language. (Harper, incidentally, improved his French rather quickly and now does alright. It just goes to show what can happen with dedication). As well, being former conservatives wouldn’t help them any. Brison did well in his position as Minister of Public Works, whereas Belinda has never appeared to have the political instincts necessary to take on such an important job as leader of the Liberal party.

Ken Dyrden is rumoured to be contemplating a run, but his French is poor as well. The advantage of having Dryden as leader is that name recognition goes a long way, and he might be the only unilingual anglophone in Canada who could convince Quebecers to vote Liberal in a few years time. The problem is that Ken Dryden is a respected public figure who enjoys a certain degree of moral authority; even Conservatives were cautious not to attack him too much as Canadians hold their former star goaltender close to their hearts. If he were to become leader of the Liberal party, he would become fair game, and any corruption scandal even remotely linked to a Dryden administration would have an irreversible effect on his public image. Ken would have to ask whether or not this would be worth it.

Carolyn Bennett, a Toronto MP, may try to throw her name in the hat, as will Maurizio Bevilacqua, a Martin backer from the beginning who was betrayed when the man left him out of cabinet.

The Contenders

Former cabinet minister Joe Volpe is said to be wanting to take a stab, and his French is quite good. He doesn't have a very high profile right now, having served in two ministries during Martin's brief tenure, but that could change in the course of a leadership race. Volpe is a guy who will probably appeal to a lot of 'new' Canadians, and I suspect he'll at least be considered.

Michael Ignatieff - Although he looked like a long shot a few months ago when rumours started spreading of his return to Canada, Ignatieff is now looking like more and more like a potential leadership contender. Although well-known to political science students and enthusiasts, his name wont ring a bell with the average Canadian. His stance on the Iraq war will be unpopular with Liberals, as will the fact that he spent the better part of the last 30 years living in the U.K. and the U.S.A. I don't think that living abroad should be an impediment for anyone entering public office. However, a 27 year absence only ended in order to run for office raises a few suspicions about the man's commitment to Canada. His thoughts on foreign policy are well known, yet where he stands on domestic issues is cloudy. Whether or not he could survive a leadership race could determine whether or not enough withstand a Conservative offensive which I imagine would consist of more or less the same material. One way or another, electing M. Ignatieff as Liberal leader would be a big risk, as no-one knows how he would be received by the Canadian electorate.

Another big risk is Bob Rae, former NDP premier of Ontario. It's hard to say whether or not Ontario has forgiven him for his lacklustre 4 years at the helm of Canada's most populated province. Either way, he'd have a relatively clean slate with the rest of Canada, which doesn't really remember Bob Rae or what he did/did not do whilst in power in Ontario. I have a feeling that Mr. Rae wouldn't do as bad as some think in Ontario, considering Tony Clement and Jim Flaherty were recently elected in that province, and the Mike Harris years are far more fresh in people's memories than the Rae years.
Bob Rae also has the added advantage of having more political experience than anyone else considering a run, and he also knows federal and provincial governments inside and out. He's also rumoured to be an Ignatieff fan, so I imagine that if he doesn't finding himself running against the former Harvard academic, he may be backing his buddy. Either way, I think it is safe to say that Bob Rae is on the verge of making a political comeback, and will be one of the new faces that will help re-design the Liberal party of Canada.

Lastly, the guy who I think probably should throw his name in the hat is former Winnipeg Mayor Glen Murray. Born and raised in Montreal, Murray served as mayor of Winnipeg from 1998-2004, when he resigned to run for Paul Martin's Liberals. Murray lost that race for a number of reasons, probably the biggest being that he assumed he could easily win, and the voters would not allow themselves to be taken for granted. Besides that, Murray ran in a suburban seat, even though his popularity was strongest amongst the urban core. Nevertheless, his tenure in Winnipeg continues to be regarded as a success by most people. At a time when Canadian cities are under increasing pressure to provide essential services without many options for raising revenues, a new deal is needed, and Glen Murray could be the person to deliver. Of course, a new deal was part of Paul Martin's vision as well, but his vision was so broad and encompassing that people could not identify the man with the cause.

Fluently bilingual and with one foot in Quebec and one in the West, Glen Murray could be the leader the Liberal's need to stop the Conservative's from breaking into their traditional strongholds, whilst making new ground west of Ontario. One could question whether or not being openly gay would decrease his chances of bringing home a Liberal majority, but my feeling is that anyone who wouldn't vote for a candidate because he was gay probably stopped voting Liberal a long time ago. In other words, it's a demographic they wouldn't reach anyways. Others might be enticed by the idea of electing a gay Prime Minister, as it would send a message to the world about Canada's progressive nature. At the same time, however we'd have to recognize before bragging that we still haven't managed to elect a female Prime Minister, and so countries such as Liberia and Chile appear to be a bit ahead of us in that department.

I've tried to find Glen Murray's email address to inquire as to whether or not he's considering a run, but so far have been unsuccessful. If anyone has more luck than me, please do send it along.

Take care,

MCA