Tory turns red over leadership

Tory leadership race? The campaign has hardly begun, and once again there are Tories in Quebec who are looking to replace their leader. Meeting with the Conservative candidate in Mansfield Lawrence Cannon, some locals joked that they wanted him to win in Pontiac riding so that he could take a run at the party leadership. "Planning for the county is very important and you have to think long term," said Joan Bertrand, brother of former Pontiac Liberal MP Robert Bertrand."And after this next election, I see - and it's a dream but I don't think so - Mr. Harper will step down and there will be a race for the leadership, and Mr. Cannon will be running, so we will have the next prime minister in our county." Her comments drew some chuckles from her friends at the table, including Mr. Cannon, who was a Cabinet minister in former premier Robert Bourassa's Quebec government. "That's not scripted," he said, turning red and shaking his head."No, no." And the winner is... Early tracking polls seem to confirm Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe won the Frenchlanguage leadership debate. Mr. Duceppe, the most experienced party leader on the federal scene, brushed aside every attack with ease. Prime Minister Paul Martin had a few good lines, but was simply not focused or coherent enough to strike a cord with the Quebecois voters he needed to convince. TV reports in Quebec criticized Stephen Harper's language skills, over the questions he didn't understand, while pollster Jean-Marc Leger said Jack Layton is like the brother-in-law you must reluctantly invite to your house party. Mr. Layton may talk a lot about many different things, but at the end of the day, no one is listening to what he's saying, Leger joked. Speaking of the debate, in a brilliant display of hard-hitting journalism, a radio host last week asked a pollster on air whether he had watched it. "Yeah, even though there was a hockey game on last night," answered the pollster. The high-scoring duel between the Habs and Oilers might have been more entertaining than the new format debate with no direct exchanges between candidates. Non-agression pact... Mr. Duceppe had reporters in stitches last week in the middle of a scrum after arriving for a rally in Gatineau, Que., last week. As the Bloc leader answered a question, about anti-missile defence, one reporter accidentally hit him with a tape machine. "I wouldn't say that you're attacking me," Mr. Duceppe chuckled. It was a sideswipe at Parti Quebecois leader Andre Boisclair. In September, during a PQ leadership race stop in Quebec City, Mr. Boisclair snapped in the middle of a testy scrum in close quarters. He was facing a barrage of questions over his previous consumption of cocaine and accused anglophone reporters of attacking him and invading his personal space. Election chatter... There's no doubt people are talking about the federal election campaign, but it may take an extraordinary effort from candidates to explain Canadian politics to the average voter. While Bloc candidate Christine Emond Lapointe welcomed her party's deputy leader Michel Gauthier into her Buckingham campaign office in the Pontiac riding for an early morning meeting, locals in town were not exactly sure what was going on. Across the street, at a local bistro, a waitress said most of her clients told her they were sick of all politicians. And even she wasn't sure about why everyone is campaigning in December. "Normally, isn't there a longer period between elections?" she asked, while mixing up a cappuccino."If we just had a campaign, how come there's another one so soon? Do you know why they decided to have another election?" Tory leadership race? The campaign has hardly begun, and once again there are Tories in Quebec who are looking to replace their leader. Meeting with the Conservative candidate in Mansfield Lawrence Cannon, some locals joked that they wanted him to win in Pontiac riding so that he could take a run at the party leadership. "Planning for the county is very important and you have to think long term," said Joan Bertrand, brother of former Pontiac Liberal MP Robert Bertrand."And after this next election, I see - and it's a dream but I don't think so - Mr. Harper will step down and there will be a race for the leadership, and Mr. Cannon will be running, so we will have the next prime minister in our county." Her comments drew some chuckles from her friends at the table, including Mr. Cannon, who was a Cabinet minister in former premier Robert Bourassa's Quebec government. "That's not scripted," he said, turning red and shaking his head."No, no." And the winner is... Early tracking polls seem to confirm Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe won the Frenchlanguage leadership debate. Mr. Duceppe, the most experienced party leader on the federal scene, brushed aside every attack with ease. Prime Minister Paul Martin had a few good lines, but was simply not focused or coherent enough to strike a cord with the Quebecois voters he needed to convince. TV reports in Quebec criticized Stephen Harper's language skills, over the questions he didn't understand, while pollster Jean-Marc Leger said Jack Layton is like the brother-in-law you must reluctantly invite to your house party. Mr. Layton may talk a lot about many different things, but at the end of the day, no one is listening to what he's saying, Leger joked. Speaking of the debate, in a brilliant display of hard-hitting journalism, a radio host last week asked a pollster on air whether he had watched it. "Yeah, even though there was a hockey game on last night," answered the pollster. The high-scoring duel between the Habs and Oilers might have been more entertaining than the new format debate with no direct exchanges between candidates. Non-agression pact... Mr. Duceppe had reporters in stitches last week in the middle of a scrum after arriving for a rally in Gatineau, Que., last week. As the Bloc leader answered a question, about anti-missile defence, one reporter accidentally hit him with a tape machine. "I wouldn't say that you're attacking me," Mr. Duceppe chuckled. It was a sideswipe at Parti Quebecois leader Andre Boisclair. In September, during a PQ leadership race stop in Quebec City, Mr. Boisclair snapped in the middle of a testy scrum in close quarters. He was facing a barrage of questions over his previous consumption of cocaine and accused anglophone reporters of attacking him and invading his personal space. Election chatter... There's no doubt people are talking about the federal election campaign, but it may take an extraordinary effort from candidates to explain Canadian politics to the average voter. While Bloc candidate Christine Emond Lapointe welcomed her party's deputy leader Michel Gauthier into her Buckingham campaign office in the Pontiac riding for an early morning meeting, locals in town were not exactly sure what was going on. Across the street, at a local bistro, a waitress said most of her clients told her they were sick of all politicians. And even she wasn't sure about why everyone is campaigning in December. "Normally, isn't there a longer period between elections?" she asked, while mixing up a cappuccino."If we just had a campaign, how come there's another one so soon? Do you know why they decided to have another election?" Tis the season, eh... The current federal election has definitely put a cramp into the usual number of Christmas parties normally held at this time in political Ottawa, but there are some still happening, especially on the diplomatic circuit. The Hill Times' newsroom can't keep up with Anne Marie Creskey, the young and talented publisher of Embassy, Canada's foreign policy newsweekly, who has been going to more parties than you can shake a stick at. Ms. Creskey, who most recently worked in New York City for six years for Nylon magazine and Teen Vogue, attends many functions night and day in her regular work week for The Hill Times' new weekly sister publication. But Ms. Creskey, who is the daughter of Jim Creskey, co-publisher of The Hill Times, may have some competition with her new wag-about-town status. Also regularly spotted at many parties around the capital city has been British Ambassador David Reddaway and U.S. Ambassador David Wilkins, who incidentally has been going to more parties, lunches and cocktail receptions than former U.S. Ambassador Paul Cellucci ever did during his time in Ottawa. Another good party man? Jonathan Fried, Prime Minister Paul Martin's senior foreign policy adviser and head of the Canada-U.S. Secretariat in the Privy Council Office. The Hill Times

Read the latest Election 2025 stories

Tory turns red over leadership

To keep reading, subscribe and become a political insider.

Only $7.76 a week for an annual subscription.

Liberals could pick up five to six seats in Alberta, but NDP’s bleed in votes could also help Conservatives, say strategists

Conservatives target labour vote as NDP support wanes, but union leader says there’s ‘no substance’ behind catchy slogans

Canada needs a national strategy for security, trade, and economy to contend with Trump, say political science experts

AFN election priority report urges parties to make ‘clear, firm’ pledges to First Nations

Arctic security takes spotlight as Canadian sovereignty remains key campaign issue

Tariffs ‘still devastating’ despite ‘reciprocal’ reprieve, says Senator on Canada-U.S. council

Tariffs ‘still devastating’ despite ‘reciprocal’ reprieve, says Senator on Canada-U.S. council

The federal public servants running in election 2025

Major third parties wind down ads in writ period, but organic ‘authenticity’ better than polished spots, say strategists

Who’s who on Mark Carney’s 2025 Liberal campaign team

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Day 13: Poilievre eyes Trois-Rivières, Carney targets Scarborough

Does size really matter? Rethinking public service reform

Canada urgently needs a new growth strategy in response to Trump’s economic war

What Canada needs now is more robust, visionary diplomacy, not more military spending

Health security must be recognized as a pillar of national security

Day 12: Tariff drama pivots to the auto sector—and retaliation

Day 12: Tariff drama pivots to the auto sector—and retaliation

News

Get free news updates

Opinion

Submit a guest opinion article

resources

Follow us

Advertise

subscribe

get help

Get free news updates

Submit a guest opinion article

Tory turns red over leadership

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