The Canadian Rant

Yesterday the Liberals were scrambling to figure out a way to select a new leader fast so that they would be ready when Parliament resumes in January. There was indecision in how to go about selecting a new leader whether it be by caucus vote or full online/phone voting. Dominic Leblanc dropped out of the race leaving just former Ontario NDP Premier Bob Rae and Michael Ignatieff, both frontrunners in the last leadership race when Dion won. Rae has made the choice for the Liberals much easier today as he is expected to drop out of the leadership race which will leave just Ignatieff and the only contender. Once the new leader is selected Dion will be stepping down as Liberal leader immediately allowing the Liberals to get set for the budget Harper is set to announce when Parliament resumes in mid-January. Michael Ignatieff is a well know academic who has a PhD from Harvard and has been a professor at many prestigious universities in the world including both Oxford and Harvard. As I hav...

Another new twist has occurred in the question of who will be replacing Stephane Dion as leader of the Liberal Party. Last week we saw Dion sign a coalition deal with Layton and the NDP to bring down the Conservative government to replace it with their own coalition government. If this were to occur Dion would become prime minister and the Liberal leadership convention in May would determine the new leader and the new prime minister. But now, Harper has suspended Parliament and halted the future of a coalition government until at least January. And as I said last week, the coalition has already begun to break down and it will unlikely last until then. In reaction to this the Liberals want to act fast and get a new leader as soon as possible. So instead of waiting until the leadership convention in May they are trying to come up with a new way to elect a leader. Dion is expected to announce his resignation as early as this weekm if not today so that a new leader can take over to be hea...

Harper was able to dodge a bullet by convincing Governor General Michaelle Jean to suspend Parliament until the new year. The coalition deal struck by the Liberals and the NDP, supported by the Bloc, will be unable to force a non-confidence vote anytime soon to bring down the Conservative minority and form a coalition government with outgoing Liberal leader Stephane Dion as Prime Minister. On Wednesday night Harper issued a national address broadcast on TV to the country vowing to stop the coalition at all costs. His message was followed by responses from the other party leaders on Harper's comments. The video of Liberal leader Dion was not only late going to air but it was of very poor quality prompting remarks of just how bad things are getting for the Liberal party. Since 2006 the Liberals have gone through two federal elections, a leadership race and are headed into another so they are getting low on financial support. This may be part of the reason they opposed the recently u...

Yesterday, the Liberals and the NDP signed a coalition deal with the support of the Bloc Quebecois in hopes that they will force a non-confidence vote in the House of Commons and bring down Harper and the Conservatives. Then they will form a coalition government with Stephane Dion becoming the Prime Minister until the Liberal leadership convention in May. The proposed cabinet would include both Liberal and NDP cabinet ministers. And the Bloc, although not officially a part of the coalition will be supporting it. Currently the non-confidence vote is scheduled for next Monday, Dec. 8th. I would like to point out exactly how absurd this "coalition" actually is. We've all lived through Liberals governments in the past, unless you've been born in the last three years, and it can sometimes be tolerable. But for the NDP and the Bloc to have any say in the way this country is run is ridiculous. Only the Liberals could hatch a deal with a separatist party allow them some contr...