The Liberal leadership race is approaching a crucial juncture, with the delegates for its Montreal convention being selected across the country over the weekend of Sept. 29 to Oct. 1.
globeandmail.com invited all of the candidates to come on-line before that delegate-selection process.
We were pleased to have Ken Dryden take part in this series of live on-line discussions.
The questions and Mr. Dryden's answers appear at the bottom of this page.
Ken Dryden (Tom Hanson/CP)
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As Jane Taber wrote in her Globe profile of Mr. Dryden, Ken Dryden: the star who hates to lose, the former hockey player has emerged as a candidate who has demonstrated he's got passion and enthusiasm for Canada and its future. He was encouraged by many Canadians, he told Taber, to run because he's a good listener and is connected to the the country through his hockey and his work as an educator and writer.
He weighed the reasons for running and "came away feeling he had a good story to tell: that Canadians are successful people, that the biggest achievement of our next prime minister over the next decade will be for Canadians to have a 'bigger sense of ourselves,' that in this global world we have to be good listeners and that compromising is not always a bad thing," wrote Taber.
Mr. Dryden was first elected to the House of Commons in 2004. He was appointed social development minister and put together a national child-care program that was acceptable to the provinces, something no other government has been able to achieve.
Before entering the political scene, Mr. Dryden became a Canadian household name as a Montreal Canadiens goalie and winner of six Stanley Cups. After retiring, he authored four books on subjects including hockey and education.
Editor's Note: globeandmail.com editors will read and allow or reject each question/comment. Comments/questions may be edited for length or clarity. We will not publish questions/comments that include personal attacks on participants in these discussions, that make false or unsubstantiated allegations, that purport to quote people or reports where the purported quote or fact cannot be easily verified, or questions/comments that include vulgar language or libellous statements. Preference will be given to readers who submit questions/comments using their full name and home town, rather than a pseudonym.
Rasha Mourtada, globeandmail.com: Good afternoon, Mr. Dryden, and thank you for joining us today to answer questions from the readers of globeandmail.com. Let's get started. What is the single most-important reason why you should be elected leader of the Liberal party and have a chance to become the Prime Minister of Canada?
Ken Dryden: I've been everywhere in this country. People talk to me. They want me to know about their lives, about their communities. I know this place. It's in my bones.
We're an immensely successful country by any international measure — economic, social, quality of life. We need to know that to know what our ambitions should be. It means taking on big things — Kyoto and climate change; Kelowna and fairness for aboriginal peoples; early learning and child care. It means an inclusive, generous, optimistic Big Canada.
Jim Sheppard, Executive Editor, globeandmail.com: Where do you place the eight remaining candidates now in terms of being front-runners, middle-of-the-pack or well-behind-the-rest? What's your strategy since it appears no one will win on the first ballot at the convention?
Ken Dryden: There are several answers. Among Liberal party members, I'm tied for fourth. Among Liberals in general, I'm tied for first. Among the public in general, I'm first.
Our challenge is to win the country and to elect a leader who has the best chance of doing that. I can win.
The stakes in the next election are clear: It's Kyoto or it's not; Kelowna or it's not; child care or it's not. It's a generous, inclusive, connecting Big Canada, or it's not.
Every delegate at the Montreal convention is really a surrogate for the 32 million Canadians who are not there. We have to give ourselves our best chance to win. We owe that to Canadians.
Ranald Walton, Hamilton, Ont.: How could you live in Montreal for so long and not speak French?
Uncle Stan, Winnipeg: Some people have criticized your French . . . [Given that] how can you, as opposed to any other contender, convince Quebecers to vote Liberal again?
Ken Dryden: Thank you, Uncle Stan and Ranald. There are lots of reasons, and none of them very good. I spoke more and better French than the other Anglophone players at the time. I did more interviews. Then I was gone from a French-speaking environment for 25 years. I lost some of what I had, and certainly didn't build on what was there.
