Skip to main content
jane taber

Michael Ignatieff is shown in a still from his pre-election ad campaign.

This is what we do know: The forest in which Michael Ignatieff is sitting, addressing the nation in a series of pre-election television ads, is real.

What we do not know is where the forest is. And that is becoming a hot topic around Parliament Hill these days. Macleans columnist Andrew Coyne has joked that the ad was taped in Narnia. Funny, but we know that's not true. The rest, however, remains a mystery.

Ian Davey, Mr. Ignatieff chief of staff, likes it that way. He enjoys keeping the press guessing.

"It's a real forest, that's all I can tell you," Mr. Davey says.

And then he shuts up, refusing to say more and joking that his boss is actually sitting in Sherwood Forest - the British wood made famous by Robin Hood. Mr. Ignatieff lived in Britain for about 20 years, through the 80s and 90s.

Still, Mr. Davey's little bit of insight puts to rest the intense speculation as to whether the forest is, in fact, real. There were serious rumours the forest, with the sun sparkling among the leaves, had been digitally inserted behind Mr. Ignatieff.

On Sunday, Government House Leader Jay Hill was chatting with Liberal House Leader Ralph Goodale just before their appearance on CTV's Question Period. Mr. Hill was in the Ottawa studio; Mr. Goodale was in Regina but could hear Mr. Hill through the magic of television.

Their conversation turned to the pre-election ads since the second in the series, this one on jobs, had just been released.



<object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="https://www.youtube.com/v/tcyFdwoWBAY&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="https://www.youtube.com/v/tcyFdwoWBAY&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>


Mr. Hill said he had heard the forest was fake. Mr. Goodale quickly corrected him. "It's a real forest," he said. Asked if it was a forest in the Gatineau Hills, near Ottawa, Mr. Goodale said "no" and then allowed that it was not a forest anywhere in the National Capital Region. He, too, is refusing to say any more.

Other senior Liberal sources were asked what they knew.

Rocco Rossi, the Liberal Party's national director whose BlackBerry is practically attached to his thumb, did not return an e-mail inquiry.

Jill Fairbrother, Mr. Ignatieff's director of communications, says the party isn't disclosing the location because it wants it to look like it's any forest in Canada.

A senior strategist says, "No idea. Near Toronto, I think." Hmm, that would make sense as most of Mr. Ignatieff's senior staff and strategists come from Toronto.

Says another Ignatieff official: "I honestly don't know where they ended up."

Party president Alf Apps was not much more help: "It is a Canadian forest for sure - free of Tory trolls, NDP nymphs and bad Bloquiste beasts. A veritable paradise for Liberals."

Meanwhile, more ads are to come, according to Liberal officials. The plan is to roll out new ones, dealing with all sorts of different issues, on a regular - perhaps even weekly - basis leading up to a potential election.

This is the biggest pre-writ ad buy in Liberal history, according to insiders. But the mystery remains: Just where is Michael Ignatieff? A leafy copse in the Rosedale ravine?

Interact with The Globe