Sheila Copps is seeking the Liberal Party presidency.Facebook photo
As the contest for president of the much diminished federal Liberal Party draws to a close, two candidates – one a fixture of Canadian politics and the other a bright light in the backrooms – have emerged as leading contenders.
Sheila Copps, a former MP and cabinet minister in the government of Jean Chrétien, and Mike Crawley, a former president of the party's Ontario wing, took time this week to boast about endorsements they have received from Liberal luminaries.
In a five-candidate field, Ms. Copps and Mr. Crawley are the ones who are attracting the kind of attention and support needed to emerge victorious from the vote at a party convention next week in Ottawa. Here are some of their views.
On the need for renewal
Ms. Copps says the party must change drastically to survive.
"We have been dining out for too long on former glories such as the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Medicare and more," she said in a manifesto released to party members. "Along the way, we have compromised our party by allowing backroom strategists to turn it into an exclusive club."
Mr. Crawley agrees that Liberals have spent too much time looking back. "Every vote we earn in the next election is going to come from what we do between now and the next election. And a lot of that has to be about bringing in new ideas."
How to bring about change
Ms. Copps, in an interview with The Globe and Mail, said she would first focus on rebuilding in 80 ridings where the party has all but lost its presence. And she said she hopes to build name recognition for Liberal candidates between elections.
One way to do that, said Ms. Copps, is to set up a tour office that would send high-profile Liberals to speak at events in the ridings. She has already enlisted the support of past Liberal prime ministers in this endeavour.
Mr. Crawley, also in a Globe interview, said he is interested in those Canadians who did not vote – Liberal supporters and others.
"In the last election there are some estimates that only around 25 per cent of those between 18 and 34 voted," he said. "We've got to figure out how to get those people re-engaged in the political process, re-engaged in a political party, hopefully ours."
Should interim leader Bob Rae, who took the job saying he would not run for the permanent leadership, be allowed into that race?
A few weeks ago, Ms. Copps said it should be up to voters, and not the party executive, to decide who should be able to run for leader.
"The executive has to step out of the way and let democracy blow through the Liberal Party," she said. "We have had leaderships where people have been crowned, which has not been healthy for the party."
Mr. Crawley takes a similar stand.
Mr. Rae "accepted the [interim]position on the basis that he would not contest that [race]" he said. "And I think it's between him and the membership of the party if he changes his mind or views that circumstances have changed."
Some party members are suggesting American-style primaries should be used to select a leader.
Ms. Copps says she is in favour of the primary system.
It would create the "potential for literally thousands" of voters. "With those numbers, anything can happen but wouldn't you want to have a great crop of candidates? The more the merrier."
Mr. Crawley said primaries might work at the riding level to select candidates. But he is not in favour of using them to elect a leader.
"I think if you are going to elect the leader of the party, you've got to also be a member of the party," he said. "I want to build a party with 500,000 or a million members, I am not interested in just having supporters."
The people who have endorsed Ms. Copps include:
Sitting MPs: Wayne Easter, Kevin Lamoureux, Dominic LeBlanc, Joyce Murray and Massimo Pacetti
Former MPs: Herb Gray, Lloyd Axworthy, Iona Campagnolo, Maria Minna, Gurbax Singh Mahli, Bonnie Brown and Karen Redman
The people who have endorsed Mr. Crawley include:
Former MPs: Gerard Kennedy, Belinda Stronach, Omar Alghabra and Navdeep Bains
Many Young Liberals also support Mr. Crawley.
With a report by Jane Taber