

Currently released so far... 12689 / 251,287
Browse latest releases
2010/12/01
2010/12/02
2010/12/03
2010/12/04
2010/12/05
2010/12/06
2010/12/07
2010/12/08
2010/12/09
2010/12/10
2010/12/11
2010/12/12
2010/12/13
2010/12/14
2010/12/15
2010/12/16
2010/12/17
2010/12/18
2010/12/19
2010/12/20
2010/12/21
2010/12/22
2010/12/23
2010/12/24
2010/12/25
2010/12/26
2010/12/27
2010/12/28
2010/12/29
2010/12/30
2011/01/01
2011/01/02
2011/01/04
2011/01/05
2011/01/07
2011/01/09
2011/01/10
2011/01/11
2011/01/12
2011/01/13
2011/01/14
2011/01/15
2011/01/16
2011/01/17
2011/01/18
2011/01/19
2011/01/20
2011/01/21
2011/01/22
2011/01/23
2011/01/24
2011/01/25
2011/01/26
2011/01/27
2011/01/28
2011/01/29
2011/01/30
2011/01/31
2011/02/01
2011/02/02
2011/02/03
2011/02/04
2011/02/05
2011/02/06
2011/02/07
2011/02/08
2011/02/09
2011/02/10
2011/02/11
2011/02/12
2011/02/13
2011/02/14
2011/02/15
2011/02/16
2011/02/17
2011/02/18
2011/02/19
2011/02/20
2011/02/21
2011/02/22
2011/02/23
2011/02/24
2011/02/25
2011/02/26
2011/02/27
2011/02/28
2011/03/01
2011/03/02
2011/03/03
2011/03/04
2011/03/05
2011/03/06
2011/03/07
2011/03/08
2011/03/09
2011/03/10
2011/03/11
2011/03/13
2011/03/14
2011/03/15
2011/03/16
2011/03/17
2011/03/18
2011/03/19
2011/03/20
2011/03/21
2011/03/22
2011/03/23
2011/03/24
2011/03/25
2011/03/26
2011/03/27
2011/03/28
2011/03/29
2011/03/30
2011/03/31
2011/04/01
2011/04/02
2011/04/03
2011/04/04
2011/04/05
2011/04/06
2011/04/07
2011/04/08
2011/04/09
2011/04/10
2011/04/11
2011/04/12
2011/04/13
2011/04/14
2011/04/15
2011/04/16
2011/04/17
2011/04/18
2011/04/19
2011/04/20
2011/04/21
2011/04/22
2011/04/23
2011/04/24
2011/04/25
2011/04/26
2011/04/27
2011/04/28
2011/04/29
2011/04/30
2011/05/01
2011/05/02
2011/05/03
2011/05/04
2011/05/05
2011/05/06
2011/05/07
2011/05/08
2011/05/09
2011/05/10
2011/05/11
2011/05/12
2011/05/13
2011/05/14
2011/05/15
2011/05/16
2011/05/17
2011/05/18
2011/05/19
Browse by creation date
Browse by origin
Embassy Athens
Embassy Asuncion
Embassy Astana
Embassy Asmara
Embassy Ashgabat
Embassy Apia
Embassy Ankara
Embassy Amman
Embassy Algiers
Embassy Addis Ababa
Embassy Accra
Embassy Abuja
Embassy Abu Dhabi
Embassy Abidjan
Consulate Auckland
Consulate Amsterdam
Consulate Adana
American Institute Taiwan, Taipei
Embassy Bujumbura
Embassy Buenos Aires
Embassy Budapest
Embassy Bucharest
Embassy Brussels
Embassy Bridgetown
Embassy Bratislava
Embassy Brasilia
Embassy Bogota
Embassy Bishkek
Embassy Bern
Embassy Berlin
Embassy Belmopan
Embassy Belgrade
Embassy Beirut
Embassy Beijing
Embassy Banjul
Embassy Bangkok
Embassy Bandar Seri Begawan
Embassy Bamako
Embassy Baku
Embassy Baghdad
Consulate Barcelona
Embassy Copenhagen
Embassy Conakry
Embassy Colombo
Embassy Chisinau
Embassy Caracas
Embassy Canberra
Embassy Cairo
Consulate Curacao
Consulate Ciudad Juarez
Consulate Chennai
Consulate Casablanca
Consulate Cape Town
Consulate Calgary
Embassy Dushanbe
Embassy Dublin
Embassy Doha
Embassy Djibouti
Embassy Dili
Embassy Dhaka
Embassy Dar Es Salaam
Embassy Damascus
Embassy Dakar
Consulate Dubai
Embassy Helsinki
Embassy Harare
Embassy Hanoi
Consulate Ho Chi Minh City
Consulate Hermosillo
Consulate Hamilton
Consulate Hamburg
Consulate Halifax
Embassy Kyiv
Embassy Kuwait
Embassy Kuala Lumpur
Embassy Kinshasa
Embassy Kingston
Embassy Kigali
Embassy Khartoum
Embassy Kathmandu
Embassy Kampala
Embassy Kabul
Consulate Kolkata
Embassy Luxembourg
Embassy Luanda
Embassy London
Embassy Ljubljana
Embassy Lisbon
Embassy Lima
Embassy Lilongwe
Embassy La Paz
Consulate Lahore
Consulate Lagos
Mission USOSCE
Mission USNATO
Mission UNESCO
Embassy Muscat
Embassy Moscow
Embassy Montevideo
Embassy Monrovia
Embassy Minsk
Embassy Mexico
Embassy Mbabane
Embassy Maputo
Embassy Manila
Embassy Manama
Embassy Managua
Embassy Malabo
Embassy Madrid
Consulate Munich
Consulate Mumbai
Consulate Montreal
Consulate Monterrey
Consulate Milan
Consulate Melbourne
Embassy Nicosia
Embassy Niamey
Embassy New Delhi
Embassy Ndjamena
Embassy Nassau
Embassy Nairobi
Consulate Naples
Consulate Naha
Embassy Pristina
Embassy Pretoria
Embassy Prague
Embassy Port Of Spain
Embassy Port Louis
Embassy Port Au Prince
Embassy Phnom Penh
Embassy Paris
Embassy Paramaribo
Embassy Panama
Consulate Peshawar
REO Basrah
Embassy Rome
Embassy Riyadh
Embassy Riga
Embassy Reykjavik
Embassy Rangoon
Embassy Rabat
Consulate Rio De Janeiro
Consulate Recife
Secretary of State
Embassy Suva
Embassy Stockholm
Embassy Sofia
Embassy Skopje
Embassy Singapore
Embassy Seoul
Embassy Sarajevo
Embassy Santo Domingo
Embassy Santiago
Embassy Sanaa
Embassy San Salvador
Embassy San Jose
Consulate Strasbourg
Consulate St Petersburg
Consulate Shenyang
Consulate Shanghai
Consulate Sapporo
Consulate Sao Paulo
Embassy Tunis
Embassy Tripoli
Embassy Tokyo
Embassy The Hague
Embassy Tel Aviv
Embassy Tehran
Embassy Tegucigalpa
Embassy Tbilisi
Embassy Tashkent
Embassy Tallinn
Consulate Toronto
Consulate Tijuana
USUN New York
USEU Brussels
US Office Almaty
US Mission Geneva
US Interests Section Havana
US Delegation, Secretary
UNVIE
Embassy Ulaanbaatar
Embassy Vilnius
Embassy Vienna
Embassy Vatican
Embassy Valletta
Consulate Vladivostok
Consulate Vancouver
Browse by tag
AF
ASEC
AR
AEMR
AMGT
AE
AU
AID
AORC
APER
AS
AM
AFIN
AMED
AJ
AGR
ACOA
ANET
ASIG
ABLD
AL
AA
APECO
AGAO
AY
AGMT
APEC
AINF
AG
ACS
AECL
AFFAIRS
ABUD
ASUP
ADANA
AADP
AMCHAMS
ARF
ASEAN
ADPM
ATRN
ALOW
APCS
ADCO
ACAO
AORG
AROC
AO
AODE
ACABQ
AX
AMEX
AFGHANISTAN
AZ
AND
ARM
AQ
ATFN
AMBASSADOR
ACBAQ
AFSI
AFSN
AC
AUC
ASEX
AER
AVERY
AGRICULTURE
ASCH
AFU
AMG
ATPDEA
ASECKFRDCVISKIRFPHUMSMIGEG
AORL
ADM
AN
AIT
BU
BR
BL
BO
BA
BB
BG
BM
BBSR
BH
BEXP
BK
BD
BTIO
BT
BE
BY
BF
BX
BP
BRUSSELS
BILAT
BIDEN
BC
BMGT
BWC
BN
BTIU
CH
CG
CF
CU
CE
CVIS
CASC
CO
CS
CA
CIDA
CBW
CW
CMGT
CI
CODEL
CY
CPAS
CJAN
CD
CWC
CDG
CIA
CL
CROS
CAPC
CTR
CT
CR
CBSA
CEUDA
COM
CFED
CV
CACS
CARSON
CLINTON
CN
CONS
CM
CAC
CIC
COPUOS
CDC
CONDOLEEZZA
CICTE
COUNTER
COUNTRY
CBE
CKGR
CHR
CVR
COUNTERTERRORISM
CITEL
CLEARANCE
COE
CARICOM
CB
CSW
CITT
CACM
CDB
CJUS
CTM
CAN
CLMT
CBC
CNARC
CIS
EG
EZ
EUN
ECON
ETRD
ECPS
EFIN
ENRG
ETTC
EPET
EINV
EAID
EAIR
EWWT
EU
EAGR
EC
ELAB
EIND
EN
EMIN
ESENV
ENNP
EFIS
ELTN
ET
ECIN
EFTA
ES
EINT
EI
ENGR
ETRDEINVECINPGOVCS
ENVI
ETRDECONWTOCS
ECINECONCS
ELN
ELECTIONS
ENVR
EXTERNAL
EXIM
ETRO
ENIV
ESA
ER
EK
EUR
EFINECONCS
EUMEM
EUREM
EPA
ERNG
ENERG
ECA
ETRC
EINVEFIN
ETC
EAP
ECONOMY
EINN
ECONOMIC
EXBS
ECUN
ENGY
ECONOMICS
EIAR
EINDETRD
ECONEFIN
EURN
EDU
ETRDEINVTINTCS
ECIP
EFIM
EAIDS
EREL
EINVETC
ECONCS
ETRA
EAIG
EUC
ERD
ETRN
EINVECONSENVCSJA
EEPET
EUNCH
IS
IZ
IR
IC
IO
IN
ID
IGAD
IT
ILC
IAEA
ITU
ICAO
IMO
IBRD
IMF
ICJ
IAHRC
ITF
INRA
INRO
IWC
IQ
IV
ICRC
ICTY
INRB
IEFIN
ILO
ITRA
ITALY
IBET
ISRAELI
IL
INTELSAT
IRC
IDP
ICTR
IRAQI
IPR
IIP
INMARSAT
ITPGOV
ITALIAN
INTERNAL
IRS
IA
INTERPOL
IEA
INR
IZPREL
IRAJ
IF
ITPHUM
ISRAEL
IACI
INDO
IDA
ISLAMISTS
KSPR
KNNP
KWBG
KAWK
KISL
KPAO
KN
KS
KIPR
KCRM
KDEM
KIRF
KJUS
KHLS
KSCA
KOMC
KAWC
KV
KFRD
KWMN
KTIP
KPWR
KSUM
KGHG
KTIA
KTFN
KIRC
KCOR
KACT
KMDR
KGIC
KOLY
KUNR
KIDE
KMPI
KPKO
KCFE
KVPR
KRAD
KPAL
KFRDCVISCMGTCASCKOCIASECPHUMSMIGEG
KTEX
KTDB
KFSC
KZ
KSEP
KFLU
KE
KU
KPLS
KRVC
KRIM
KSTH
KG
KFLO
KPOA
KICC
KDDG
KPRV
KTBT
KBCT
KSAF
KMOC
KDRG
KBIO
KREC
KSTC
KVRP
KBTR
KMIG
KENV
KNSD
KCGC
KWAC
KFRDKIRFCVISCMGTKOCIASECPHUMSMIGEG
KWMM
KPRP
KNEI
KPAI
KO
KVIR
KX
KMCA
KCRS
KMFO
KID
KCIP
KNAR
KR
KCRCM
KBTS
KSEO
KHDP
KFIN
KOCI
KGIT
KNUP
KPAONZ
KNUC
KNNPMNUC
KERG
KSCI
KTLA
KHIV
KCSY
KTRD
KMRS
KNPP
KJUST
KCMR
KTER
KRCM
KCFC
KSAC
KCHG
KREL
KFTFN
KCOM
KLIG
KDEMAF
KAID
KGCC
KICA
KHUM
KSEC
KPIN
KESS
KDEV
KWWMN
KOM
KWNM
KRFD
KRGY
KIFR
KWMNCS
KPAK
KOMS
KHSA
MPOS
MOPS
MARR
MTCR
MNUC
MASS
MX
MCAP
MAR
MTRE
MASC
MK
MG
MTCRE
MI
MD
MA
MO
MY
MU
ML
MRCRE
MAS
MEDIA
MC
MR
MIL
MW
MARAD
MAPP
MZ
MP
MOPPS
MTS
MLS
MILI
MEPN
MEPI
MEETINGS
MERCOSUR
MT
MCC
MIK
MAPS
MV
MILITARY
MDC
MEPP
MASSMNUC
MUCN
MQADHAFI
NATO
NG
NL
NZ
NT
NW
NO
NU
NS
NPT
NASA
NI
NK
NSG
NE
NORAD
NAFTA
NP
NATIONAL
NSSP
NSF
NA
NGO
NV
NR
NDP
NIPP
NZUS
NH
NC
NEW
NRR
NAR
NATOPREL
NPG
NSC
NPA
NSFO
OPDC
OPRC
OEXC
OTRA
ODIP
OIIP
OVIP
OPIC
OPCW
OAS
OREP
OSCE
OSCI
OES
OFDP
OECD
OCS
OIC
OPAD
OVP
OHUM
OFFICIALS
OIE
OTR
OMIG
OSAC
OBSP
OFDA
ON
OCII
PREL
PGOV
PARM
PINR
PTER
PHUM
PK
PREF
PM
PHSA
PA
PINS
PE
PBTS
PCI
PO
PL
POGOV
PAK
PEL
PGIV
PROP
PP
PBIO
POL
POLITICS
POLICY
PINL
PBT
PMIL
POV
PTBS
PG
POSTS
PALESTINIAN
PROV
PNAT
PINF
PRL
PAS
PDOV
PRAM
PREO
PAHO
PHUMPGOV
PAO
PREFA
PSI
POLITICAL
PAIGH
PARMS
PROG
PTERE
PRGOV
PORG
PS
PGOF
PKFK
PSOE
PEPR
PPA
PINT
PMAR
PRELP
PNG
PFOR
PUNE
PGOVLO
PHUMBA
PSEPC
PNR
POLINT
PGOVE
PHALANAGE
PARTY
PDEM
PECON
PGOC
PY
PLN
PHUH
PF
PHUS
PU
PARTIES
PCUL
PGGV
PSA
PGOVSMIGKCRMKWMNPHUMCVISKFRDCA
PHUMPREL
RS
RU
RW
REACTION
RCMP
RSO
RO
RP
ROOD
RM
ROBERT
RICE
REGION
RSP
RF
RIGHTS
RIGHTSPOLMIL
RUPREL
RELATIONS
RFE
REPORT
SY
SP
SOCI
SMIG
SNAR
SCUL
SC
SU
SO
SI
SENV
SZ
SW
SA
SR
SF
SEVN
SN
STEINBERG
SEN
SG
SYR
SWE
SK
SH
SNARCS
SAARC
SNARIZ
SPCE
SARS
SNARN
SCRS
SYRIA
SL
SENVKGHG
SAN
ST
SIPDIS
SSA
SPCVIS
SOFA
SANC
SHI
SHUM
SIPRS
TSPA
TSPL
TU
TBIO
TRGY
TPHY
TS
TP
TW
TBID
TI
TF
TZ
TD
TT
TN
TNGD
TC
TX
TH
TL
TIP
THPY
TV
TK
TERRORISM
TO
TRSY
TURKEY
TINT
TFIN
TAGS
TR
US
UNSC
UNGA
UK
UP
UNCHC
UN
UNMIK
UNCSD
UY
USTR
USOAS
UNHRC
UNFCYP
UG
UNAUS
UNESCO
UNIDROIT
UNO
UV
UNHCR
USUN
UZ
USNC
UNCHR
UNCND
UNEP
USEU
USPS
USAID
UE
UNVIE
UAE
UNDP
UNODC
UNCHS
UNFICYP
UNDESCO
UNC
UNPUOS
UNDC
UNICEF
Browse by classification
Community resources
courage is contagious
Viewing cable 09OTTAWA324, THE LIBERALS GETTING THEIR GROOVE BACK
If you are new to these pages, please read an introduction on the structure of a cable as well as how to discuss them with others. See also the FAQs
Understanding cables
Every cable message consists of three parts:
- The top box shows each cables unique reference number, when and by whom it originally was sent, and what its initial classification was.
- The middle box contains the header information that is associated with the cable. It includes information about the receiver(s) as well as a general subject.
- The bottom box presents the body of the cable. The opening can contain a more specific subject, references to other cables (browse by origin to find them) or additional comment. This is followed by the main contents of the cable: a summary, a collection of specific topics and a comment section.
Discussing cables
If you find meaningful or important information in a cable, please link directly to its unique reference number. Linking to a specific paragraph in the body of a cable is also possible by copying the appropriate link (to be found at theparagraph symbol). Please mark messages for social networking services like Twitter with the hash tags #cablegate and a hash containing the reference ID e.g. #09OTTAWA324.
Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin |
---|---|---|---|---|
09OTTAWA324 | 2009-04-29 19:36 | 2011-04-28 00:00 | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | Embassy Ottawa |
VZCZCXRO2511
OO RUEHGA RUEHHA RUEHMT RUEHQU RUEHVC
DE RUEHOT #0324/01 1191936
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 291936Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY OTTAWA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9373
INFO RUCNCAN/ALL CANADIAN POSTS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 OTTAWA 000324
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV CA
SUBJECT: THE LIBERALS GETTING THEIR GROOVE BACK
REF: 08 OTTAWA 1543
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Since December, interim federal Liberal Party
leader Michael Ignatieff has set in motion changes to overhaul
fundraising, to centralize administration, to restore confidence,
and to rebuild the party's claim to be Canada's "natural governing
party." The biennial Liberal Convention in Vancouver beginning on
April 30 will formally confirm him as leader. Without any of the
usual leadership race glamor, the event may live down to predictions
of a "Seinfeld Convention" about nothing, but the behind-the-scenes
focus will be on making the party battle-ready for a federal
election, likely within the next ten months. The test for Ignatieff
in coming months will be whether he can define appealing policy
prescriptions -- especially on the economy -- that differ
substantially from the Conservatives and are at the same time easy
to explain to the electorate. End summary.
BACK ON COURSE
--------------
¶2. (SBU) Federal Liberals will convene in Vancouver from April 30 to
May 3 formally to ratify Michael Ignatieff as leader, to boost
morale, to hone election techniques, and to approve proposed reforms
to party organization. Since Stephane Dion's hurried departure in
December (reftel), Ignatieff has largely expunged his predecessor's
legacy -- especially support for an unpopular coalition with the New
Democratic Party, as well as Dion's signature "Green Shift" policy.
He has begun to steer the party back to the political center,
recruited new staff, and reached out to experienced players from
three back-to-back Liberal majority governments in the 1990s. In
April, newly-appointed National Director of the Liberal Party Rocco
Rossi described the aim of the upcoming convention as primarily to
demonstrate that Liberals are "back on course" and are "people who
have their act together, who can govern themselves and, therefore
are earning the right to govern." As a down payment on that
promise, he forecast that the Liberal Party would retire its
remaining October 2008 election debt by the end of May.
¶3. (SBU) In order philosophically to move on, the Liberal Party will
open the convention with a traditional tribute, of sorts, to Dion,
although many were startled to learn that the party had engaged the
same videographer who produced the now infamous out-of-focus film in
December that accelerated Dion's resignation. Organizers will even
hold a fundraising reception to pay off Dion's remaining debt from
his 2006 leadership race, which stood at C$200,000 as of December
¶31. Nine other 2006 leadership candidates also still owe money from
that race, but Ignatieff and foreign affairs critic Bob Rae have
paid off their own loans.
FOCUS ON THE NUTS AND BOLTS
---------------------------
¶4. (SBU) Liberal Party sources and media have predicted that
between 1,500 and 3,000 delegates would gather in Vancouver, far
fewer than those eligible to attend. Delegates will have some
opportunity to air policy ideas, but the focus will be on election
readiness, feel-good team-building, and organization, or as one
senior party official described it, on "plumbing, and engine-room
stuff." The hardware reportedly includes new voter database
software purchased from the Obama presidential campaign. To make
maximum use of this technology, the Liberal Party is taking steps to
centralize administration, fundraising, membership lists, and
election preparation to help it better to compete with the
Conservative's proven voter tracking and fund-raising machine. The
organizational changes, which will face a formal vote by convention
delegates, would effectively end the Liberal Party's traditional
Qdelegates, would effectively end the Liberal Party's traditional
structure as a loosely federated body of provincial and territorial
associations. In the past, provincial wings have jealously guarded
their membership and donor lists, as well as their autonomy, and
resisted efforts at centralization.
¶5. (U) Ignatieff will also push delegates to approve a one-member,
one-vote system for electing future party leaders in place of the
present delegate system, despite the failure of a similar proposal
at the 2006 convention. The reform's supporters argue the mechanism
is cheaper and more democratic, if less politically flashy.
PUTTING TOGETHER THE TEAM
-------------------------
¶6. (U) On Parliament Hill, Ignatieff has restructured his own
Opposition Leader's Office (OLO) and the separate Liberal Research
Bureau (responsible for Question Period research, strategy, and
running the Liberal "War Room" during elections) in order to unify
operations, election preparation, and communications. In addition
to Principal Secretary Ian Davey and acting Chief of Staff Paul Zed,
Ignatieff has hired Don Guy, an experienced strategist and former
Chief of Staff to Ontario Liberal premier Dalton McGuinty, as
campaign director. Chretien-era Liberal insider and Toronto
political consultant Warren Kinsella (whose mockery of then-Canadian
OTTAWA 00000324 002 OF 003
Alliance leader Stockwell Day in the 2000 federal election was
partly credited for a Liberal victory) will reportedly return to run
the Liberal War Room in the next election. New National Director
Rossi comes from a highly successful fundraising stint at the Heart
and Stroke Foundation. Insiders expect the convention to acclaim a
second Ignatieff confidante, Toronto lawyer Alfred Apps, as new
National President, in charge of party administration.
¶7. (SBU) In March, Ignatieff recruited former party whip and
four-term Liberal MP Karen Redman as a senior aide in his office to
work on tactics, logistics, and election readiness. Redman replaced
veteran Liberal Chretien-era cabinet minister Don Boudria, who had
stepped in temporarily to help out in December.
¶8. (SBU) The inner circle is supported by what one Liberal staffer
approvingly described as a "very young, but very smart, and highly
energized" staff in the OLO. When Parliament is in session,
Ignatieff meets each morning with a newly-created 12 member Strategy
and Tactics Committee, or so-called "Kitchen Cabinet," made up of
experienced MPs (including former British Columbia premier Ujjal
Dosanjh, House Leader Ralph Goodale, and defence critic Denis
Coderre) and chaired by Ontario MP Albina Guarnieri, an organizer
for then-PM Paul Martin. The Committee reviews strategy for
Question Period, monitors issues, and liaises with caucus. The
Committee has been notable for its deliberately low-profile and
absence of leaks, as well as its effort to be "inclusive" of caucus,
which had often complained of being kept in the dark by Dion's
advisors.
LOOKING AHEAD
-------------
¶9. (SBU) Ignatieff has apparently imposed greater discipline within
caucus, notably improving caucus confidentiality. In March, the
party announced that it would protect all its 77 incumbent MPs from
nomination challenges as candidates in the next election, as long as
individual MPs could show by June 2009 that their riding [district]
associations had at least 400 members as well as 40 party donors who
donate C$10 or more on a monthly basis.
¶10. (SBU) The leader has also appointed renewal and policy platform
committees to replenish the party's policy book. The party has
solicited grassroots input in online forums such as the new Liberal
members-only website "EnFamille," and there is a separate process
for caucus members to channel policy proposals. According to
Liberal MPs tasked with program development, however, the leader is
ultimately responsible for the content of the election platform.
Ignatieff had pledged to hold a "Thinker's Conference" early in his
tenure as leader to bring together Liberals and academics to
brainstorm ideas for policy and election strategy on the model of a
seminal 1960 Liberal Party conference. Liberal MPs have privately
confirmed that these plans are still on track for the summer or
fall; Ignatieff deliberately chose to wait until after his formal
ratification as leader rather than holding these strategic
discussions during his "interim" phase.
¶11. (SBU) Arguing that they need to hold their cards close to their
chest to avoid the other parties "stealing" their ideas, the leader
and Liberal MPs have delineated only a few "broad strokes"
priorities, such as "nation-building/national unity," citizenship,
"social coherence," social justice, and "national values" as the
basis for their platform in the next election. Ignatieff has urged
Canadians, notably in his latest book -- "True Patriot Love," a
story of his maternal ancestors and their contributions to Canada --
to "think big" about the country. However, apart from promoting the
Qto "think big" about the country. However, apart from promoting the
construction of a high-speed rail link between Quebec City and
Windsor, Ontario, arguing for changes to loosen eligibility for
Employment Insurance, and promising that no Canadians would be "left
out" under a Liberal government, he has remained vague on details or
other policy priorities. The Conservatives have thus far held off
from the kind of attack ads they successfully deployed against Dion,
but they have taunted him repeatedly for his offhand comment that
Canadians eventually would have to face higher taxes to pay for
current deficit spending on stimulus packages.
AHEAD IN THE POLLS, JUST
------------------------
¶12. (SBU) As Liberals head into their convention, they do so ahead
in the polls. In an April 23 Harris-Decima poll, the Liberals edged
in front of the Conservatives at 32 pct to the Conservatives' 29 pct
nationally, largely based on gains in the key battleground provinces
of Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia, the collapse of
Conservative support in Quebec, and strong support among female
voters. A series of polls since March have confirmed the upward
trend, reportedly prompting more hawkish Liberals to press Ignatieff
to trigger an election as early as June. Liberal MPs Denis Coderre
and Bob Rae have told PolMinCouns separately that they would support
an election "the sooner the better." Other Liberal MPs, however,
predict an early 2010 election. In exchange for passing the 2009
Conservative budget, the Liberals had demanded economic "report
OTTAWA 00000324 003 OF 003
cards" no later than June and December, on which they could
potentially base confidence motions in early summer or late fall to
force a federal election. The 2010 budget in February/March 2010
would be the next logical trigger.
COMMENT
-------
¶13. (SBU) In the last four months, Ignatieff has had the luxury of a
prolonged political and media honeymoon in which to begin to reshape
the Liberal Party. Most Liberals seem happy with the changes; one
staffer noted with relief that "the professionals are back in
charge." Liberals are upbeat after three years of tough times, even
though their margin in the polls is still slim. Although the media
focus at the convention may prove to be "All Ignatieff, All the
Time," delegates (many of whom will shoulder their own costs in
Vancouver) appear motivated. Nonetheless, the real test for
Ignatieff in coming months will be whether he can maintain party
spirit, continue to push through needed reforms, and define
appealing policy prescriptions -- especially on the economy -- that
differ substantially from the Conservatives and are at the same time
easy to explain to the electorate.
BREESE