Over the past year, there have been thousands of articles written about Justin Trudeau, his father, and his leadership campaign. Since it hasn’t been a big secret he was going to come out on top, we’ve also seen thousands of articles about what his win means. So rather than rehash
Continue readingTag: — 2013 LPC Leadership Race
Calgary Grit: How I’m Voting
Unlike past leadership contests where I’ve been fighting on the front lines for my candidate, I’ve watched the federal race largely as a spectator. Being away from a campaign offers a different vantage point, and I’ve enjoyed blogging my opinions candidly, as I slowly made up my mind who to
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Final Power Rankings
There isn’t a lot of suspense surrounding Sunday’s Liberal leadership vote. Pick the metric of your choice – fundraising, endorsements, hair volume – and Trudeau leads his nearest challenger by at least a 4:1 ratio. I wouldn’t put a lot of stock in Twitter support, but Justin has 10 times
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Showcase Showdown
It doesn’t compare to the high stakes floor crossings and backroom deals that define delegated conventions, but yesterday’s Liberal Showcase still offered the speeches, signs, buttons, and hospitality suites politicos have come to expect at these gatherings. Justin Trudeau had cowbells. Martin Cauchon made swag history, handing out Liberal-red socks.
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Updated Power Rankings Show Trudeau in Control
Karen McCrimmon recognizes the odds she’s facing When I released my first set of LPC Power Rankings in early February, I was a bit surprised to see Justin Trudeau up at 66%. These rankings aren’t intended to be a first ballot predictor, but they came pretty close to the mark
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Liberal Leadership Power Rankings
Justin Trudeau is head and shoulders ahead of his closest competitors During the NDP leadership race, I got into the habit of tabulating “Power Rankings” of how the different candidates fared on fundraising, Facebook, Twitter, polls, and any other shred of quantitative data I could claw my hands onto. The
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Liberals One-on-One
The moderator failed to ask the tough questions, such as “Mr. Bertschi, why on earth are you wearing that scarf?“ My mind has been on the Ontario Liberal leadership race the past few months, so I’ll admit to not having paid close attention to the federal contest. Not wanting to
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Cast Your Vote
The always insightful Pundits Guide reviews the federal Liberal Leadership rules and deadlines here, and suggests someone take it upon themselves to set up a sample ballot for the people of the Internet to stuff. So, here you go. Cast your vote.
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Cauchon is in
Considering how long people have talked about Martin Cauchon running for leadership and how long Martin Cauchon has resisted the urge to run for leadership, it was surprising to see him jump into the LPC race mere hours before the deadline to declare. It will be interesting to see how
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Getting Dumped
He may have baked you lasagna, but Glen has moved on and found someone new. Today, Glen Murray bowed out of the Ontario Liberal leadership race and David Merner took a pass at the federal job. The reaction to both announcements has ranged from a shrug to an in-depth analysis
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Rumeur Du Jour
I’m hearing that signature sheets are being circulated for a Martin Cauchon Liberal leadership run. If this is true, he’s cutting it close – the deadline to enter is this Sunday. To date, 7 candidates have officially declared. Rumour has it David Bertschi will become an official candidate today, and
Continue readingCalgary Grit: 2013 A Make It Or Break It Year For The Liberal Party
Making predictions in a sport as unpredictable as politics is very much a fool’s errand. I don’t think anyone saw Dalton McGuinty’s retirement or Justin Trudeau’s left hook coming in 2012. Hell, even something as routine as an Alberta PC election victory turned into a whirlwind thriller. What we do
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Liberal Leadership Pool
Who will cross the finish line first? While a Justin Trudeau cakewalk in the Liberal leadership race doesn’t seem quite as inevitable as it did two weeks ago, most pundits still regard his win as inevitable. However, while discussing the relative strengths of the Coyne and Takach campaigns over drinks
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Interview with David Bertschi
After brunch with David Merner and my trip to the George Takach launch, my tour of lesser known Liberal leadership candidates lands on David Bertschi today. While not an “official” candidate yet, Bertschi has been campaigning longer than most. He was the first candidate to launch a website, and even
Continue readingCalgary Grit: George Takach Joins the Field
Last Thursday, George Takach became the…I dunno…54th? 55th? person you’ve never heard of to declare for the federal Liberal leadership race. Takach launched at Toronto’s MaRS Discovery Centre, before flying to Calgary (as all Liberal leadership candidates are constitutionally mandated to do). On paper, Takach is likely the least exciting candidate in the race. He has never run for office, and it’s not like Toronto lawyers are crying out for their voice to be heard in the Liberal Party. However, … →
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Bring on the Astronaut Puns
The moment headline writers have been waiting for all summer has finally arrived, with Marc Garneau set to formally launch his Liberal leadership candidacy this week. Despite having a lengthy string of post-nominal letters after his name, and the most impressive CV of any Member of Parliament, Garneau enters this leadership race as a heavy underdog. Ironically, the astronaut simply lacks the star power to compete with Justin Trudeau. Despite being a genuine Canadian hero and an experienced parliamentarian, Garneau … →
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Canada’s Greatest Losers
Last week, Martha Hall Findlay and Karen McCrimmon declared their candidacies for the Liberal leadership race. This week, George Takach has taken the plunge. I’ve posted one blog interview with David Merner, and will have others with David Bertschi and Alex Burton next week. Deborah Coyne, meanwhile, has already released more fresh ideas than we’ve seen from Stephen Harper during his entire tenure as Prime Minister. These are seven very different candidates with seven very different messages, but the one … →
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Not Just a Pretty Face
To date, Justin Trudeau has run a safe leadership campaign. He’s smiled, talked about how he loves Canada, and made helping the Middle Class his core theme. That’s a perfectly acceptable way for Justin to introduce himself to voters, but it’s still the most innocuous campaign theme imaginable – even a “pro-sunshine and pro-puppies” message would have forced Justin to answer tough questions about skin cancer and pit bulls. You won’t find anyone who disagrees with helping the middle class. … →
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Liberal Heartland Calgary
Wednesday was not a typical day for Calgary Grits. While leadership candidates must all fly into town, knowing the party’s weighted-by-riding leadership system makes a vote there far more valuable than a vote in Toronto, I have never seen a serious candidate launch their leadership campaign from the heart of Conservative country. But there was Martha Hall Findlay at the Stampede grounds, declaring her intentions to run for Liberal leader. It’s tempting to write off the Calgary launch as a … →
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