Three of four federal by-election wins appear to have given Stéphane Dion a shot in the arm as the victors rallied around the Liberal Leader on Tuesday, with one demanding an end to questions about his leadership.
Former Liberal leadership candidate and newly elected MP Bob Rae was first out of the gate Tuesday, telling CBC News that the party must put an ”absolute stop” to speculation over Mr. Dion's future.
”The leadership issue, as far as I'm concerned, is behind the party,” Mr. Rae said. ”We, all of us, have an obligation to make that very clear to everyone ... and to say look, we're building a team that's going to win the next election under the leadership of Stéphane Dion, and that's the way it is.
”All of this other speculation ... it's not healthy and we really need to put an absolute stop to it,” he added.
Liberal candidate Joyce Murray celebrates her by-election win with Liberal MP Ujal Dosanjh in Vancouver on Monday. (Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press)
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Mr. Rae sailed to an easy victory in the Liberal stronghold of Toronto Centre Monday night. (The NDP candidate finished second, but only three votes ahead of the Green candidate.) Fellow Liberal and former leadership candidate Martha Hall Findlay thumped her rivals in the Toronto riding of Willowdale – a seat that went to the Progressive Conservatives during the Brian Mulroney years.
Mr. Dion said that his former rivals only strengthen the Liberal bench.
”I think the leadership race proved that our team has a great deal of depth and as leader of the party I'll use that depth,” Mr. Dion said in French at a news conference Tuesday.
”The fact that I have such a robust team means that I'm in a stable situation. When you're leader, you mustn't be afraid to work with strong people.”
The Liberal grip on Vancouver-Quadra, a party stronghold for a quarter-century, loosened significantly last night. Former B.C. environment minister Joyce Murray won the seat by only 151 votes – 0.6 per cent – over Deborah Meredith, running for the Conservatives. It was a massive shift from the last federal election in 2006 when Stephen Owen had a 21-per-cent lead over his Tory rival.
Mr. Dion attributed the near-loss to a surge in Green Party support by voters who wanted to express their disapproval of the Conservatives' handling of the environment.
Desnethé-Missinippi-Churchill River in Northern Saskatchewan was expected to be a close race. But it turned heavily toward the Conservatives after early results and Rob Clarke, an aboriginal who is a 17-year veteran of the RCMP, surged ahead of Joan Beatty, the former provincial New Democrat who was hand-picked by Mr. Dion.
The loss in Saskatchewan may have tempered any Liberal desire to take down the Conservative minority in the very near future. The Conservatives had been careful to keep expectations low and repeatedly pointed out that the seats being contested were the Liberals' to lose – so the win by Mr. Clarke will undoubtedly be trumpeted as a sign of success by supporters of Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
Mr. Dion refused to tip his hand on when he might force an election, saying only that each day brings the country closer to one and that the Liberals will choose their time.
”Our priority is to be sure that this government will be kept accountable and that Parliament will work,” he said.
Mr. Rae, a former New Democratic premier of Ontario who has been acting as the Liberal foreign affairs critic even though he was without a seat in Parliament, was emotional after his win Monday.
”What we have done tonight is to embrace a new politics in Canada that looks to what we owe each other, to what we can do together for Canada, to what we can do together for our families and for our communities,” Mr. Rae told the appreciative crowd.
”We do not have the best possible government in yet in Canada, and we are going to get it. We can do better.”
The Saskatchewan riding was tough to call in the lead-up to the vote, having switched from the Conservatives to the Liberals in the last general election when Gary Merasty won by just 67 votes. It has been held by all three parties in the past 10 years, and the Liberals won by just 67 votes in 2006.
Ms. Beatty's campaign was troubled from its inception. Mr. Dion chose to bypass the nomination process to anoint her as his chosen candidate, a move that angered supporters of David Orchard. Mr. Orchard, whose support played a crucial role in Mr. Dion's leadership victory, was unhappy with the way he was treated, and his devoted backers worked behind the scenes to persuade traditional Liberals not to vote this time.
The race was described by some band leaders as pitting aboriginal voters in the riding's north against non-aboriginals in the south. All three major parties ran aboriginal candidates this time, but Ms. Beatty had by far the highest profile.
Mr. Clarke said his goal was to work on issues of northern development, including a road linking northern Saskatchewan to Fort McMurray, Alta.
Even so, there was also a risk for the Liberal Leader in adding more strong voices to his caucus.
”It's a bit of a two-edge sword for him. Obviously if the Liberals won all four, or three of the four by-elections, they'd be [saying] ‘good job, no referendum on the leadership,' ” said Gerald Baier, who teaches political science at the University of British Columbia.
But Mr. Rae is ”one of the pretenders [to the Liberal leadership] if something goes bad.”
Still, Dr. Baier said, Mr. Rae already had a prominent role in the party and holding a seat in the Commons ”might actually limit his flexibility.”
In Vancouver, Joyce Murray down played her narrow win, suggesting Mr. Owen built impressive margins over several campaigns. ”I'm a first-time candidate running here. I am delighted at my win,” she said.
She conceded it was a tight race. ”An election is always suspenseful. It is never over until it's over.”
With reports from Gloria Galloway, Joe Friesen, Ian Bailey and The Canadian Press
