The Outremont Headache Returns

Remember the fun times Stephane Dion had figuring out who to run in Outremont, and the calamity than ensued? Well...it's baaaaaaack!

Martin Cauchon, the former justice minister who made history with same-sex marriage and his effort to decriminalize marijuana, has apparently lost in his bid to re-enter politics.

The Liberal Party is expected to run a prominent businesswoman in Montreal's Outremont riding, a onetime Liberal fortress Mr. Cauchon once held for 11 years.

Leader Michael Ignatieff announced Monday that the nod will go to a woman, amid reports the party is courting Nathalie Le Prohon. She was the president of Nokia Canada and has been a senior executive at IBM and Hydro-Quebec.

Mr. Ignatieff said he had already discussed his choice with Mr. Cauchon.

“I made a decision,” the Liberal Leader told a Toronto news conference.

If you haven't been following this story, the scuttlebutt is that this is merely the extension of a decade long Coderre versus Cauchon feud - Cauchon wants back into politics and Ignatieff's Quebec lieutenant Denis Coderre doesn't want him back.

Now, frequent readers will know I like Martin Cauchon a lot more than Denis Coderre. Always have. But, even when I put that aside and shuffle the names around, I can't help but take Cauchon's position here.

Let's say it's 2007 and both Justin Trudeau and Pierre Pettigrew are making noise about a run in Papineau. Well, even though I'd rather see the star newcomer get the nod over the riding's former MP, I certainly couldn't argue against an open nomination.

Now let's say my buddy Jean Lapierre decided to make a comeback and wanted to fight for the nomination in Outremont (in this scenario, let's assume he's going for the Liberal nomination) - well, good on him.

And that's all Cauchon is asking for here. An open nomination battle.

I can see the benefits in appointing star candidates. And I recognize the need to have more female candidates running in winnable ridings. But it seems obvious this isn't about either of those things - this is nothing but a Quebec turf war (in the Liberal Party? GASP!). And that's the type of thing this party really needs to move beyond.

So whether you're a Coderre man or a Cauchon man, it's hard to argue against Outremont going to an open nomination. Quite simply, Ignatieff made the wrong call here and I hope he reconsiders his decision.