Don Martin questions why Michael Ignatieff is spending so much time wooing Western Canada.
Not pulling his punches, Martin mocks:
"That's still got to be a dream, if not a delusion, which is why it's a curious strategy for a Liberal leader to focus on the West when, to paraphrase former premier Ralph Klein, he would be better off hunting where the ducks are.
"There's got to be stronger growth potential from hard-selling the brand in Ontario outside of the party's crumbling Toronto fortress or rebuilding the base in Quebec where Liberals could displace Conservatives as the federalist choice."
Some smart strategery from Mr. Martin.
First off, surely it is a false dichotomy to suggest that Ignatieff can focus on either Ontario or the West, but is incapable of doing both.
Gum, meet walking.
More to the point, there are many of us Liberals who have been advocating a "308-riding strategy" for some time.
While I may not be crazy about Ignatieff's oil sands messaging, I do think he's doing the right thing strategically by spending political capital on Western Canada.
As I have argued previously, the short game is for the Liberal Party to win the next election. To that end, Martin is absolutely right that Ontario and to a lesser extent Quebec is the priority.
Longer term, the priority is to stop writing off 100-plus seats before the writ is dropped each election.
But in the short- to medium-term, Ignatieff's efforts in Western Canada aren't about seats - they're about money. Money that the Liberal Party desperately needs.
The single easiest fundraising the Liberal Party can do under the current rules is to get more votes.
That obviously can't be the exclusive fundraising strategy, but the 308-riding strategy is, in part, about maximizing votes in currently "unwinnable" ridings.
If Ignatieff can get even 100,000 additional votes in Alberta and Saskatchewan next campaign, it likely won't translate into a single additional seat. But it would represent almost $1-million over four years in additional public subsidy for the Liberal Party.
Seems to me that makes the weekend in Saskatchewan worthwhile.
