Toronto MP Carolyn Bennett continued the spate of Liberals announcing their candidacy for the party's leadership, pitching a platform Monday centred on social justice and progressive government.
Ms. Bennett's announcement makes her the seventh formal candidate in the race. Over the weekend, former Liberal cabinet minister Scott Brison also threw his hat in the ring.
Former Ontario NDP premier Bob Rae is expected to announce his candidacy later Monday.
During her campaign launch at Women's College Hospital in Toronto, Ms. Bennett took sharp aim at Prime Minister Stephen Harper's leadership style and his vision of Canada.
“Stephen Harper, never misses an opportunity to say that on Jan. 23, Canadians voted for change,” she said.
“What is change ? Is change trying to get a majority government by turning Canadians against each other?”
For example, she said, Mr. Harper's child-care proposal – which is to include a $1,200 annual allowance to families for each child under six – pits parents who are able to stay home against those returning to the work force.
She also said his leadership is “completely off the mark” and “doesn't reflect Canadian values or the reality of Canadian society.”
“Modern leadership doesn't happen from the top of a pyramid; it happens from the centre of a circle,” she said. “He doesn't get it that you can't create long-term effectiveness by micro-managing and controlling every aspect of his team, by treating his ministers and caucus members like puppets.”
Ms. Bennett, who worked as a family physician before entering politics, is one of two women seeking the Liberals' top job. Toronto lawyer Martha Hall Findlay has also entered the race.
She first ran for public office in 1995, looking to take the St. Andrew-St. Patrick seat in the Ontario legislature. She lost to Progressive Conservative Isabel Bassett.
In 1997, she ran federally, winning a clear victory in the St. Paul's riding.
Ms. Bennett now plans to travel the country talking to Canadians about the challenges facing the Liberal Party and the country.
“I want to lead the Liberal Party,” she said. “I want to help the party regain the trust and confidence of its membership and the citizens of Canada.
“The old top-down style of political leadership no longer has any place in Canadian society. There's very little oxygen at the top of a mountain – it's richest at the grass roots.”
Ms. Bennett's campaign will also focus on democratic and health-care reform.
“We have to engage Canadians in the democratic process not just on Election Day, but every day,” she said.
“We have to show them we know how to listen and respond appropriately. We have to put them back in the centre.”
The Liberals select their new leader in December. The party's top job was left open after former prime minister Paul Martin stepped down following the Liberals' loss in the January election.
In addition to Ms. Bennett, Mr. Brison and Ms. Hall Findlay, declared candidates for the job include MP Michael Ignatieff, former environment minister Stéphane Dion and Vaughn MP Maurizio Bevilacqua.
Ontario MPP and former provincial education minister Gerard Kennedy is also expected to join the race.
