An update on all the people not running for Liberal leadership - Part 2

Yesterday, I looked at the ten names being tossed around most frequently for Liberal leadership - Rae, Leblanc, Trudeau, McGuinty^2, Garneau, Brison, Coderre, Cauchon, and Kennedy.

Today, a look at some long-shot candidates.


Mark Carney: The Bank of Canada governor would have instant credibility on the economy and, unlike many bankers, he's not uncharismatic. There is, of course, still the question of whether or not he's a Liberal - but no one seems too concerned about that.


Naheed Nenshi: The superstar Mayor of Calgary set Twitter abuzz when he tried out his French at a Toronto speech last year. I'd love to see Naheed toss his cowboy hat into the ring, but we're still 5 or 10 years away from having this conversation. At the rate we're going, the Liberals will have cycled through another three leaders by the time Nenshi is ready to run.


Gregor Robertson: Like Nenshi, the assumption is that Vancouver's Mayor will one day run provincially or federally. Yes, he was an NDP MLA provincially, but that's never stopped anyone from running for Liberal leader before, nor should it.


Ralph Goodale: There's a movement afoot to convince Goodale to run. Admittedly, his age and his french would make him a long shot, but the race would benefit immensely by having a Western Canadian of his stature in it.


Amanda Lang: To the best of my knowledge, there is only one Liberal in the country floating her name as a possible leadership candidate, but it may not be as far fetched as it sounds. We've seen media personalities jump to politics before, and as a business reporter she could make the economy her issue. And hey, her dad was a Liberal MP! I have no idea how she'd fare in the political game, but the idea of a well-spoken, attractive 41 year old woman from Manitoba leading the party certainly sounds good on paper.


Mark Holland: Young and fiery, Holland can give one heck of a speech. Even if he doesn't run for leader, I'd be shocked if he doesn't try to win back his seat in 2015.


Navdeep Bains: Another young star who lost his seat last May. Bains could count on widespread support from the Sikh community if he ran.


Martha Hall Findlay: Rev up the engine on the big red bus! The darling of the 2006 leadership race would enter this contest with a higher profile and would be treated as a "top tier" candidate by the media out of the gate.


Siobhan Coady: Any tour of "defeated rising stars" should include Coady, a well liked MP who can ask tough questions with emotion and confidence.


Geoff Regan: As a Liberal MP who has been in Ottawa for a decade and is still young enough to run, Regan should not be overlooked. Jane Taber recently floated his name as a possible candidate.


Jane Stewart: She's an accomplished women, with an impressive resume inside and outside of politics. As the "Draft Jane" team says, "everybody loves Jane". She's said she isn't running, but so has everyone else - we may yet get a "See Jane Run" headline or two.


Sheila Copps: She ran her presidential campaign as if she was running for leader. Even though she didn't win, she raised her profile and put a team together - two things that could be useful should she decide to try for the top prize again.


Jean-Marc Fournier: It wouldn't surprise me to see a provincial politician jump into this race, a la Kennedy in 2006, and Fournier is the name I've heard the most rumours about. Quebec's Justice Minister worked in Michael Ignatieff's office so he has federal connections to complement his 15 years of experience in provincial politics. Of course, with a resume like this, he might have his sights set on Jean Charest's job.


Borys Wrzesnewskyj: The Epoch Times, the must-read source for all your Liberal leadership gossip, reported that Wrzesnewskyj is planning a leadership bid, much to the horror of journalists everywhere who will now need to learn how to spell and pronounce his name.


Robert Ghiz: The 37 year old Premier of PEI has said "never say no" but wants to spend time with his two young children.


Belinda Stronach: She made some noise prior to the convention, so I wouldn't rule out a return to politics.


Andrew Coyne: There are Facebook ads and buttons, making this the best funded campaign to date.


Frank McKenna: You all knew this was coming as the punch line. Yet two commenters on David Akin's blog and one delegate I talked to in Ottawa suggested McKenna un-ironically. Some rumours will never die...


That's 28 names I've floated over the past two days, and I expect we'll hear a few others before all is said and done. By all means, float some more in the comments section.

Given the mood for change in the Liberal Party, it wouldn't at all surprise me if someone we're not even talking about ends up winning this thing.

Exciting Race Brewing for LPC Presidency

Given the challenges facing the Liberal Party, January's national executive elections could very well be the most important in the party's history. And the way it’s going, it looks like there will be more star power in the race for LPC president than in the race for LPC leader.

Party veterans vie for Liberal presidency
By Jeff Davis, Postmedia News

OTTAWA — Former deputy prime minister Sheila Copps and recently defeated Liberal politicians Mark Holland and Siobhan Coady are all gearing up to challenge for the presidency of the Liberal Party of Canada.

While many would be loath to lead such a gravely wounded party, loyalists are rallying around a Liberal banner they believe can rise again.

Copps says the crushing electoral defeat Liberals suffered got her — and many other Liberals — thinking of a return to active politics.

"When we came out of last election and we were reduced to third party status, I think it was a wake up call for a lot of who have been on the sidelines," she told Postmedia News Wednesday.

The duties of a federal party president are onerous, including party organization, fundraising, expanding membership and liasing with local riding associations.

The article mentions a lot of names who I'm very happy to see mentioned. Sheila Copps' exit in 2004 remains one of the saddest chapters in recent Liberal history, so seeing her back in the fold is outstanding news. Liberals need to let old grievances die and work together, or else the party won't be around in 10 years.

I'm a big fan of Siobhan Coady, and her name would likely be floating around in leadership discussions if she hadn't lost her seat on May 2nd. I'm also a fan of Mark Holland, who gave a barn burner speech on party renewal at this spring's Alberta Liberal convention.

The article also mentions Kingston and the Islands riding president Ron Hartling as a possible candidate. While I don't know Ron personally, there's something to be said for looking past the star power and picking a hard worker who will spend his or her time rebuilding the party, rather than doing panel shows. I've also heard of several other candidates kicking the tires.

So for me it will all come down to who has the best ideas and the clearest roadmap for rebuilding the party. I'm sure we'll hear a lot of talk about "renewal", "engaging members", and "the post-subsidy fundraising world" from all the candidates - but we need more than buzzwords at this point. It's going to take concrete ideas and a dogged determination to implement them.

A moment of silence for our fallen comrades

The hardest part of last night for me was watching so many quality MPs go down in defeat. All too often, the individual casualties of a blood bath like this are overlooked, and aren't given a proper farewell. So let me take a minute to thank a few of my favourites for making a difference.

Gone is Gerard Kennedy, who I had the honour of supporting for leader five years ago. One of the reasons I backed Gerard was because he was one of the few people back then who recognized the need to renew and rebuild the Liberal Party. We all recognize that now, and I can only hope Gerard will be a part of that rebuilding, even if it's not as an MP.

Gone is Ken Dryden, arguably the heart of the Liberal Party. Dryden is one of the most thoughtful politicians you'll ever meet and he believed in politics for a purpose, not just politics for the sake of politics. Dryden's vision of Canada will be missed at a time when the Liberal Party tries to come to grips with what it truly believes in.

Gone is Siobhan Coady, a rookie MP who appeared to have a bright future ahead of her. She is exactly the kind of accomplished woman we need more of in politics, and she was one of the few MPs who could ask a tough question with emotion, while still avoiding hyperbole.

Gone is Glen Pearson, one of the few MPs able to rise above the hyper partisanship that infects most who go to Ottawa. Pearson talks in sentences, not sound bytes. He was one of the few who genuinely wanted to make Parliament work, unlike the many who only talk about making Parliament work.

Gone is Ujjal Dosanjh, a quality MP. Gone is Mark Holland, a fierce fighter. Gone is Navdeep Bains, a great MP and a great person. Gone is Martha Hall Findlay, the spunky underdog of the 2006 leadership race.

There are others who I've forgotten or just didn't know as well, but who are equally deserving of praise. I thank them all for their service to the Liberal Party and to their country.

Then there are those who never got a chance to go to Ottawa. Strong candidates, like Christine Innes, who I spent much of this election trying to keep up with as she sprinted door to door to meet voters. And let's not forget all those who put their names forward to run, knowing it would take a miracle for them to win. Having volunteered on a lot of campaigns like that over the years, I fully appreciate the kind of commitment and idealism that takes.

Finally, there is the one MP who lost a lot more than his seat last night. Long time readers will know I've always had doubts about Michael Ignatieff's ability to lead the Liberal Party, and I took issue with the way he commandeered the leadership of the party.

Still, I've warmed to the man greatly over the past year, and I always did like the concept of Michael Ignatieff. If I was writing a Canadian political drama a la West Wing, I'd probably create a protagonist a lot like Michael. He is, after all, exactly what voters say they're looking for in a leader. He's intelligent. He has seen the world. He's not a career politician. It's hard not to fall in love with the concept of Michael Ignatieff.

Yesterday, we found out just how easy it is to not fall in love with the reality of Michael Ignatieff. In the real world, politics is a job like any other, and we shouldn't be surprised when the guys who have been doing it their whole lives prove to be better at it than the guy who picked it up in his late 50s. Michael Ignatieff simply was not able to connect with voters the same way Jack Layton could connect with voters.

I'll write up a proper post-mortem on what went wrong for Michael Ignatieff the party leader in the coming days but for now, a moment of silence for Michael Ignatieff the MP, who didn't deserve to lose his seat. We need accomplished individuals like him in politics, regardless of the party they run for.

A lot of good people lost their jobs last night, Michael Ignatieff among them.

Ridings to Watch - Atlantic Canada

I've already profiled close races in BC, Alberta, and the Prairies. Today, a look at some of the ridings in Atlantic Canada to watch on election night.

With small poll sample sizes in the Atlantic Provinces, it's hard to get a sense of what will happen on election night. Moreover, Atlantic provinces don't always follow the national trends.

So feel free to share any on the ground intel you have in the comments section.


Newfoundland

The ABC campaign is no more, with Premier Kathy Dunderdale endorsing the Conservatives. Dunderdale's influence is certainly less than Williams', but the Tories could take back Avalon, where Senator Fabian Manning is running for them. Liberal Siobhan Coady could also be in tough against the NDP in St. John's South-Mount Pearl.


PEI

The Liberals would love to win back Egmont from Gail Shea, with the Tories targeting Wayne Easter in Malpeque. Charlottetown could also be in play, due to Shawn Murphy's retirement.


Nova Scotia

My projection model gives the NDP a good chance to grab Dartmouth-Cole Harbour and Halifax West from the Liberals. The orange wave could also claim Tory incumbent Gerald Keddy in South Shore-St. Margaret's.


New Brunswick

Dominic Leblanc should be safe, but there's an outside chance Brian Murphy or Jean-Claude D'Amours could fall if the Liberal vote collapses. At the same time, Miramichi or Saint John could flip Liberal if things break their way.