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Monday, November 9, 2009 8:50 AM

A silly test

Robert Silver

The headlines in advance of today's four by-elections couldn't be plainer: they are a test of Michael Ignatieff. His political skills, his leadership, heck, I want to raise the stakes even higher and make them a test of his manhood.

And what a test they are. In the last quarter-century, by my count, we have had eight general elections. That means in these four ridings, carry the six, there have been 32 writ periods. The number of times the Liberals have won any of these ridings in the last 32 chances?

Once. The Nova Scotia seat in 1993. One out of 32.

Sure that qualifies you to be the Blue Jays starting shortstop next season but as a political test of any meaning?

Jean Chrétien won three majority governments (12 shots at these four ridings) and won one out of 12, so when the party has been at its most dominant, these four ridings were tough. Now that the Liberals are at something less, they are even bigger long-shots.

Just a bit of perspective.

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Silver-Powers Contributors

Robert Silver

Robert Silver is a Toronto-based energy lawyer, entrepreneur and consultant. He currently advises energy companies looking to build clean electricity projects in Ontario. He has been involved in projects that have brought more 3,000 megawatts of clean and renewable energy to Ontario. Robert has also been involved in a number of innovative conservation and energy efficiency projects. He is a highly sought after speaker on energy, infrastructure and environment issues.

An active federal and provincial Liberal, Robert was Gerard Kennedy's National Policy Director during the 2006 Liberal Leadership Campaign. Prior to returning to the private sector, he worked for Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty as a special policy advisor. He received his law degree from the University of Western Ontario, where he won two North American and two Canadian National Debating Championships.

 

Tim Powers

Tim Powers is Vice-President of Summa Communications based in Ottawa.

Originally from St. John's, Tim began his career as an assistant and advisor to the Honourable John C. Crosbie, then Minister of Fisheries and Oceans. Thereafter, he acted as advisor to the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. He also served as the Director of Policy and Research to the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada. Generally, he has been involved with federal election campaigns in one way or another since the great Free Trade debate of 1988. From handing out leaflets to knocking on doors to TV talking (thankfully his time as a bouncer helped with that) he has had the good fortune of doing a bit of everything.

Tim has a Master of Sciences degree (Media and Communications) from the London School of Economics and has studied Public Sector Management at Harvard University. Currently, he serves as a lecturer in the Faculty of Communications at the University of Ottawa.