479
OTTAWA — Liberal Party officials prepared a memo in 2006 warning their incoming new leader to prepare an immediate ad campaign to counter an expected assault from the governing Tories aimed at destabilizing whoever won.
However, Stéphane Dion opted instead to hang onto the bulk of a $4-million war chest he inherited upon taking over the top job, responding to a Tory ad blitz with a limited run of upbeat commercials.
When he announced his decision to step down as Liberal Leader on Monday, Mr. Dion said a Tory onslaught supplemented with substantial amounts of cash helped define him with the public and he never recovered.
But Liberal sources told The Globe and Mail a transition team prepared a booklet for whoever was chosen to head the party recommending several actions, including advertisements aimed at opposing a Tory onslaught. The party had just $4-million in the bank after the leadership campaign.
Liberal Leader Stephane Dion pauses as he speaks to media in Ottawa Monday. (The Canadian Press)
Videos
Dion to stay on until new leader elected
Stephane Dion says he will resign as Liberal leader, clearing the way for a leadership contest as the party struggles to recover from an election battering
The Liberal Leader did not offer to resign, questions about his viability as Liberal leader are swirling.
Related Articles
The Liberals opted to hang on to most of the cash because they feared that they might not be able to raise more if an election were called.
Moreover, at least one senior Dion supporter said that the Leader disallowed advertisements critical of Mr. Harper.
“Positive ads don't move votes,” said the supporter. Several Tory commercials in early 2007 questioned Mr. Dion's leadership qualifications, depicting him in a now-iconic shrug, palms up and arms outward.
The Liberals responded with a pair of limited ads, one of which showed him banging a gavel at the end of a conference on the environment.
Mr. Dion has said he wants to stay on as interim leader to rebuild the party's fund-raising structure to ensure the restrictions he experienced aren't repeated.
Meanwhile, the race to replace him intensified as pressure built on former New Brunswick premier Frank McKenna to run for the leadership.
Although some close to Mr. McKenna were saying just a few days ago that his candidacy was unlikely, he is mulling it over more seriously as several senior Liberals have mounted a draft campaign, they said.
“Frank has just been bombarded with missives from people all across the country trying to persuade him to run, and he's in the throes of reflecting on all of that,” said former Ontario premier David Peterson, a long-time friend of Mr. McKenna.
Mr. McKenna's entry into the race would probably make a big splash, and make a contest that so far is shaping up with two front-runners – Michael Ignatieff and Bob Rae – into a three-way fight.
But Mr. McKenna has repeatedly turned down efforts to draw him into federal politics, including a refusal to run for the Liberal leadership in 2006 in which he virtually ruled out a return to politics.
Mr. Peterson, who was Ontario co-chair of Mr. Ignatieff's last leadership campaign, is one of several senior Liberals pushing him to run this time.
Several others, who spoke on condition they not be named, said Mr. McKenna is showing an increased level of interest in running, asking hard questions about the feasibility of mounting a successful bid.
Mr. McKenna, 60, now vice-chairman of the TD Bank, also has to decide if he wants to make the personal and family sacrifices required for a high-profile leadership bid.
But there are no indications he has started to organize, and at least one MP who would expect an early stage call seeking his support said he has not been contacted.
“Yes, there are people around him and around me that have told me that he's increasingly interested,” said Moncton MP Brian Murphy, who supported Mr. Rae in the last race, but hasn't backed anyone for the coming contest.
If Mr. McKenna did enter the race, his support among key players in the business community would probably mean he could raise money more easily than most.
Several senior Liberals say that many party members want a third major contender because they are concerned that a race between the two hardened camps of Mr. Rae and Mr. Ignatieff could be divisive, much as the Chrétien-Martin wars were.
To that end, Mr. Rae said yesterday he and Mr. Ignatieff have discussed how to reduce the animosity that erupted between their camps last time:
“We've talked about the importance of civility, talked about the importance of people working together, talked about the importance of how we build the party, talked about the importance of how we make sure that we can defeat the Conservatives.”
The prospect of another polarized contest is also encouraging lesser-known Liberals – such as New Brunswick MP Dominic LeBlanc and Montreal MP Denis Coderre – to consider taking the plunge.
With a report from The Canadian Press
