Stéphane Dion says he is not a quitter, but he will likely be forced to, after the Liberal Party under his leadership plunged last night to historic lows in popular support and lost seats across the country.
"It's tough to see all those colleagues who lost tonight. I want to thank them for fighting to the end with all the courage of the Liberals," Mr. Dion said.
He had earlier spoken to Conservative Leader Stephen Harper, offering congratulations and his co-operation in tough economic times.
"The Canadian people have spoken and chosen a very conservative government," Mr. Dion said. "We Liberals will do our part to make sure that this parliament works."
Saying the global economic crisis is the most important issue facing the country, Mr. Dion said the economy would be his top priority in Opposition.
"Politicians from every political party can work together. Given the composition of the 40th parliament, this is more important than ever. ... I ask Mr. Harper to make the same commitment," Mr. Dion said.
The applause was less than enthusiastic and people cleared out quickly after his brief remarks.
Long-time Liberals were predicting Tuesday's electoral performance would put Mr. Dion's position at the helm of the party in danger.
"I think under any scenario where we lose seats, Dion must go," said a party strategist who has worked with Mr. Dion and his two predecessors.
Another long-time Liberal said on Tuesday night: "It will be tough for him to have the … authority to lead. We are the natural governing party."
As polls closed, the Liberals were at 26.2 per cent of the vote, below even the 28.02 per cent under John Turner in 1984.
At dissolution the Liberals had 95 seats. The party ended the night with 76. Senior Liberals believed that if they could hold between 80 and 90 seats they would have a good base from which to rebuild.
The losses will have Liberals sharpening their knives and looking for their next leader.
Mr. Dion faces a leadership review that could take place by next May in Vancouver.
Potential contenders Michael Ignatieff, Bob Rae and Gerard Kennedy won their seats. There was also informed speculation last night that former deputy prime minister John Manley is interested in running. And there could be a push for Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty to run federally.
Michael Ignatieff told CTV last night that it would be "indecent" to talk about leadership now. He also said that the Liberals will be a responsible opposition that will work from the political centre.
Across the country on Tuesday night, long-time and prominent Liberals fell. In the Maritimes, the party lost Charlie Hubbard in Miramichi, Paul Zed in Saint John and former Chrétien cabinet minister Robert Thibault in West Nova.
In Ontario, Karen Redman was defeated in Kitchener Centre, as was former Chrétien minister Diane Marleau in Sudbury, Ont. Floor-crosser Garth Turner, who was elected in 2006 as a Tory, went down to defeat in his Halton riding as a Liberal. In Churchill, Man., former actor and aboriginal activist Tina Keeper was defeated.
In B.C., former minister Raymond Chan was defeated in Richmond while former provincial premier Ujjal Dosanjh won in a narrow contest with Tory challenger Wai Young. Campaign co-chair and Senator David Smith called the results "frustrating."
"We've got to do a serious postmortem … obviously people who care about those issues, I mean it's frustrating, because I don't think anybody is more committed to those causes than Stéphane," he said.
From Day 1 the polls and the pundits were against Mr. Dion. But throughout the 38-day campaign the Liberal Leader got up every morning seeming energized as he boarded his old Boeing 737 Air Inuit plane and put on the comfy red sweater he likes to fly in.
Then he would go out to riding after riding and make his stump speech about a "fairer, greener, richer Canada."
"I will never quit," he said last Sunday. "I will stay for my country. I'm the leader! I am the leader. And I'm working to win. I'm not a quitter."
The co-chairman of his campaign, Mark Marissen, characterized the effort as "kind of like the little engine that could."
He believes Mr. Dion had a "very strong finish."
But Liberal insiders who declined to be named for this story believe their leader did two things wrong: He failed to connect with Canadians and he pushed a Green Shift carbon-fighting plan that voters did not understand.
In his speech last night, Mr. Dion declared that: "The global economic crisis is the most important issue facing our country at this time." But the campaign he led only adopted that view in its closing week.
Earlier in the campaign, his advisers told him to focus on the economy, as it became clear that the credit crisis in the U.S. was about to go global. The advice was to talk up the economic stewardship of the Chrétien/Martin Liberals who slayed the $42-billion deficit left by the Mulroney Conservatives.
With time running out, the Liberal message did turn toward the economy and away from the Green Shift plan — just as Stephen Harper's comments on the economic outlook seemed to hurt the Conservatives.
The Liberals even came out with a new slogan: "Always there for you." It was aimed at asking their former electorate to come home.
Not nearly enough voters accepted the invitation.
With a report from Tenille Bonoguore
