Liberals consulting MPs, party base on nomination rules for next election: spokesperson Caley

The Liberal Party is consulting MPs, past candidates, and riding associations on how it should draw up the rules for MPs seeking a nomination to run for the party again in the next election. The Conservative Party was first out of the gate, announcing nomination rules last month. A spokesman for the Liberal Party told The Hill Times that the party was consulting rank and file members and MPs on the rules for the next election, whenever it’s called. “Right now, the Liberal team’s priority is ensuring that all Canadians are healthy, safe, and supported through this difficult time,” wrote Braeden Caley, senior director of communications for the Liberal Party, in a statement to The Hill Times. “Our party is continuing to hear ideas from Liberal MPs, past candidates, EDAs, and registered Liberals across Canada on the best process to help elect even more Liberal MPs whenever the next campaign eventually arrives, and we’ll have more to share about that process in due course.” Mr. Caley said the party underwent a similar exercise before the 2019 election and set specific targets to meet for MPs who don’t want to face nomination challenges. “The party undertook a similarly broad consultation in building the process on the road to the 2019 campaign, and that kind of thorough feedback is always an important consideration to us,” said Mr. Caley. Prior to the 2019 election, the Liberal Party set requirements for their incumbent MPs if they wanted to seek re-election without undergoing the regular nomination process. According to the rules announced in January of 2018, incumbent MPs were required to have participated in at least two “voter-contact-day-of-action” door-knocking events in the last 12 months in their respective constituencies; attempt to knock on at least 3,500 doors or make 5,000 phone calls; raise funds equivalent to 50 per cent of the expected election expense limit for 2019; submit a written plan to raise the other half; sign up at least 30 new monthly donors; and secure signatures of support from at least 150 registered Liberals in their riding. The party had set an Oct. 1, 2018, deadline to meet these conditions. However, the party was flexible and gave MPs more time provided they showed progress towards meeting the targets. In a minority Parliament an election could happen at any time; all it takes is the loss of one confidence vote in the House. To get every piece of legislation through in the House, the Justin Trudeau (Papineau, Que.) Liberals need the support of at least one other political party. In return for their support, the opposition parties always make certain demands to satisfy their own party base, which are not always in sync with the governing party’s agenda. Sometimes the governing party in a minority will attempt to engineer its own defeat in the House and trigger an election when it sees a rise in its support and an opportunity to win a majority government. This is typically done by introducing legislation that opposition parties cannot support. Liberal MP Ken Hardie wants his leadership to use similar nomination rules for incumbent MPs as the ones used by the party prior to the 2019 election. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade For the last few weeks, the Ottawa bubble has been awash with speculation that the governing Liberals could trigger a fall election, as they are now polling well ahead of the other parties. Liberals, however, deny this speculation, saying they have no interest in even discussing this subject and want to focus all their attention on helping their constituents fighting the COVID-19 crisis. They say now is not the time to discuss another election, when millions of people have applied for emergency financial relief from the government, and thousands of people have tested positive for COVID-19. By deadline last week, there were 64,922 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country, and 4,408 Canadians had died. In not-for-attribution-based interviews, MPs acknowledged that the support for their party will go up and down during different phases of the crisis depending on how satisfied Canadians are with the government’s performance. After the crisis is over, the government will likely have to undertake measures to tighten the budgetary belt, and reduce the government deficit that is expected to reach $250-billion or more. Those measures will undoubtedly be unpopular with some voters. Moreover, Canadians will have to pay taxes on the emergency financial relief they’re collecting now, which will add another burden on them. Liberal MPs and other senior government officials are also keeping a close eye on the ongoing Conservative leadership contest, and know that a strong new Conservative leader could give the governing party tough competition in the next election. The Liberals won 157 of 338 seats in the last election. The Conservatives won 121, the Bloc 32, the NDP 24, the Greens three, and one Independent MP was elected. Recent polling numbers show that if an election were held now, Liberals would likely win a majority government. According to a Leger poll released last week, if an election were held now, 44 per cent of Canadians would support the Liberal Party, 26 per cent the Conservatives, 16 per cent the NDP, and six per cent would vote for the Green Party. The online poll of 1,526 Canadians was conducted between May 1 and May 3, and had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. A weekly rolling Nanos poll suggested last week that the Liberals were leading the pack with the support of 36.9 per cent of Canadians, followed by the Conservatives who had the support of 25.7 per cent of Canadians. The NDP's support was at 19 per cent and the Green Party was at 8.4 per cent. To carry the party's banner in the next election without a nomination challenge, each Conservative MP will have to raise $15,000 by the end of this year, according to Conservative Party's new rules announced last month. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade Liberal MPs interviewed for this article said they would like to see nomination rules similar to those used by the party before the last election. “When we were asked to meet the targets last time it was difficult, but it was all very beneficial to do as well, simply because you raise money, you need money for your campaign, you make phone calls, you do your door knocks, which we should be doing anyway,” said Liberal MP Ken Hardie (Fleetwoods-Port Kells, B.C.), in an interview with The Hill Times. “All things considered, hitting the target of fundraising might be more difficult because of . But, at the same time, it’s the sort of thing we should be doing. We’ll all have time to ramp up the fundraising after we get through the current situation. Some kind of target is very reasonable, there’s no reason for MPs to get a free ride.” Liberal MP Wayne Easter (Malpeque, P.E.I.) agreed: “Same as they were last time,” said Mr. Easter, a former cabinet minister, who is now the chair of the House Finance Committee. Mr. Hardie also said that he was not aware of any conversation behind the scenes that would suggest that the party was planning on calling an election this year. “I’m not privy to any ruminations on that,” Mr. Hardie said. “We’ve work to do to get us through this.” According to the Conservative Party’s nomination rules for incumbent MPs, if an election were to be called between now and June 2021, all MPs would be protected from nomination challenges. If an election is held after June of next year, Conservative MPs can still carry the party’s banner without a challenge provided they raise $15,000 by Dec. 31, 2020. If any Conservative MP fails to meet the deadline, they would have to then raise $25,000 by April 30, 2021. If an MP did not meet either of the two deadlines, their ridings will be open for nomination challenges. Considering such a low threshold to be acclaimed as the party’s candidate, all MPs are expected to meet the threshold. According to Conservative sources, the caucus had recommended the financial target as the sole requirement for qualification as a candidate for the next election to the national council, the elected 20-member governing body of the party. The council accepted. Conservative MPs told The Hill Times that the reason the threshold is so low is that fundraising is going to be a major challenge even after the pandemic is over. By deadline last week, the NDP had not yet finalized the nomination rules for caucus members. The Hill Times

Liberals consulting MPs, party base on nomination rules for next election: spokesperson Caley

Liberal MPs want the party to bring back the same nomination rules that it put in place before the last election.

To keep reading, subscribe and become a political insider.

Only $7.76 a week for an annual subscription.

Become a Political Insider

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10