Updated: Mon Dec. 08 2008 8:39:17 PM

CTV.ca News Staff

Stephane Dion has announced he will step down as Liberal leader, ending a rocky tenure and clearing the way for a successor to take hold of the party.

Dion issued a statement on Monday outlining his plans to "step aside as Leader of the Liberal Party effective as soon as my successor is duly chosen."

He said recent political changes have forced him to reconsider his earlier decision to stay on as leader of the Liberal party until a convention scheduled for May.

"As the Governor General has granted a prorogation, it is a logical time for us Liberals to assess how we can best prepare our party to carry this fight forward," Dion said in the statement.

"There is a sense in the party, and certainly in the caucus, that given these new circumstances the new leader needs to be in place before the House resumes. I agree. I recommend this course to my party and caucus."

The House of Commons is scheduled to resume on Jan. 26, 2009.

Dion said he would offer his "unconditional and enthusiastic support" to his successor.

Later on Monday, leadership hopeful Dominic LeBlanc ended his leadership bid and threw his support behind Dion's most likely replacement, Toronto MP Michael Ignatieff.

"He is the consensus choice of Liberals to lead our party at this moment, and I want to be clear, he is also my choice," LeBlanc said at an afternoon news conference in Ottawa.

"He can bring the country together in a way that Mr. Harper never has."

The Liberals hope to have a new leader before the end of the year, so they can prepare for a possible showdown with the Tories in Parliament early next year.

If the Liberal-NDP coalition votes down the Tory budget, which will be tabled on Jan. 27, the Tories would be toppled and Canadians could get a new government or another election.

Despite rumours that Ignatieff would be installed as interim party leader, Rae said that he's still in the race to win.

"We've been whacked in two elections, we've got to make a comeback," Rae told reporters in Toronto Monday afternoon.

"I think that it's in the interest of both Mr. Ignatieff and me to have a process that's democratic," said Rae, who was joined by supporter and MP Gerard Kennedy.

Rae added that many Liberals reject the prospect that Ignatieff could be installed as leader without consulting with the party's grassroots.

"It's something that outrages people," he said. "That's a very widespread feeling."

However, Rae said he would be open to any proposals to speed up the process.

"This isn't about me, this is about what is the process that's going to help the party renew itself?"

Process may be 'accelerated'

On Sunday, Ignatieff said the Liberal caucus may "accelerate" the process to replace Dion ahead of the May convention, and warned that Harper's government will fall if it does not produce a strong budget next month.

In an interview on CTV's Question Period, Ignatieff suggested the caucus wants a new, permanent Liberal leader already in place should the opposition parties choose to vote down Harper's government when the budget is tabled on Jan. 27.

"I think there is an emerging feeling in the caucus that given the importance of this vote in late January, it would be appropriate to have a leader in place, a permanent leader in place, and I think it's fair to say that the caucus is considering various options about how to do that, to accelerate our leadership process," Ignatieff said Sunday.

Later in his interview, Ignatieff warned that Harper's government "will go down" should it fail to produce a comprehensive budget in January that offers help to Canadians in the ongoing economic crisis.

Ignatieff said the opposition party leaders should wait until they can read the Conservative budget before deciding the current government's fate.

"But Mr. Harper has to understand here that if he fails to produce a budget in the national interest of Canada, he will go down," Ignatieff said.

On Sunday night, CTV's Chief Political Correspondent Craig Oliver reported that Ignatieff basically had the race in the bag, and it was just a question of when he would take over.

"Michael Ignatieff pretty much has this leadership race wrapped up," Oliver told CTV Newsnet Sunday evening.

Oliver said the Liberal caucus is set to meet on Wednesday and is likely to vote to make Ignatieff their parliamentary leader, which would put immense pressure on Rae to drop out.

Comments are now closed for this story

Chat Rana
It is clear that Harper miscalculated, big time! While the conservatives did win the largest share of the vote, we should not forget that the majority did not vote for the conservatives. They voted for opposition parties.
If the conservative economic policies have anything to do with US Republican policies, then there is little doubt that they must go.

Victor
Good move by my old team of Liberals. Iggy would need to focus on rebuilding the party and if he can do it fast and well enough they could form a government 3 years from now.

If the Liberals try and unseat the Conservatives in the short term it may be short lived and force folks to go with a Conservative majority soon after.

Right now it looks like the mood of most voters is to stick it out with a preferred Conservative minority or a Conservative majority instead of a coalition.

It certainly makes sense for Dion to go now.

On a side note, I think the Liberals and NDP have done harm to their brands. Small "c" Conservatives like me have seen how power hungry the Libs and Dippers are right now, and most won't leave the Conservative tent even though they wanted to before this coalition fiasco.

John in London
Even if the liberals choose a new leader and immediately back away from the coaltion, the damage to their party is already done.

Canaidans will never again vote for a party that is willing to undermine democracy for their own petty gain.

Look for the liberals to be reduced as low as 30 seats in the next general election.
No one even close to the middle of the political spectrum will vote liberal again.

Drew in NS
Looks like the Liberals didn't need a GPS to find the center.

Welcome Back

Fabian Newfoundland
It's unfortunate this guy has never been given a break either by his party or by the media....I truly gelieve Dion to be a honourable man with good intentions and I guess that kind of man doesnt belong in politics when you have clowns like Harper running the country and power hungry liberals like Ignatieff ready to jump.....I wouldnt think twice about voting for a coalition with Dion at the helm......I would think twice with Ignatieff running the show.

John Smith
I am utterly amazed by this whole situation. Now the "coalition" is a long way from what even the Liberal voters voted for. Iggy is not proven, is a weak leader, and I'm certain it will take a lot of effort to convince the Canadian public that this is the man for the job. Good luck!

That aside, ref the auto sector bailout (if it actually happens): There had better be some serious concessions made by the companies and unions, if they are to receive any financial assistance. If they think they can continue down the perilous path that got them to this point, they should think again. Top executives and union heads should be seriously considering pay cuts to show some initiative. Until that happens, I am disgusted by their arrogance and they should not benefit from our taxpayer's dollars.

Drew in NS
The coalilition of Toronto is now in charge.

vince in trenton
So if Harper doesn't 'produce' a budget that is in Canada's best interest then the Liberals will replace Harper with a coalition that is in Canada's best interest...give me a break. Why don't the Liberals/NDP just tell it like it is. On Jan 28/09 the Liberals will do everything they can to bring Harper down NO MATTER WHAT!!!!! The Liberal/NDP power machine has NO intention of even listening to the Canadian people and are so power hungry that they can't wait to implode this country...

Ken Richards,Oakville
To all those people who voted Liberal in the last election.Do you really want a government that is run by the NDP.Namely Jack Layton and Bob Rae.Don't kid yourself,Bob Rae is an NDP in Liberal clothing.

Dean
Wow Dion's dream of becoming the Leader of Canada through the Coalition Party just went down the toilet (Not that he ever had a chance of becoming the leader of Canada). Just goes to show how much potential the Coalition party had.... NONE. Now the Liberals may have a chance to regain some of their lost power with Dion out of the way.

Annoyed in Calgary
Some coalition, huh folks? He couldn't even hold his own party together.

D.Kearns, lindsay
Just like the liberals to replace an inept leader with an American who could not see fit to live in Canada for thirty years but wants to come back as our Prime Minister.Where was his interest in Canada's well being then?
Options are him or Bob Rae who nearly bankrupt the province. The Liberals gene pool should be referred to as a gene puddle, not much depth!!!

Liz ottawa
choosing Dion as their leader for this fiasco showed incredibly bad judgement on the part of that coalition , that people who support the three Stooges should question rather than blindly follow. Who is advising this band of idiots? I could have seen this coming as a fiasco following the last election results where clearly people did not buy into Dion as a leader. And guys stop picking on Harper's non majority. As long as the Bloq heads exist, getting a majority, for any party is going to be difficult because of the population base in Quebec. I think it is good that the kids are out for awhile. Let Harper do some real governing when they resume in January, forget this stupid political posturing and games. We are tired of it. Let Harper freaking work on fixing the economy to the extent that he can, this has all been a huge waste of time.

Peter S Medicine Hat
The fighting continues in the Liberal party. Bob Rae says to give Michael Ignatieff the top spot is totally undemocratic. I can’t believe that the Liberal and the NDP think this Coalition is the best thing for Canada right now, when they can’t even stop fighting among themselves. I would like to see this come to another Canadian vote in January, I would bet the Conservatives will take 225 to 250 seats. Prime Minister Harper may not be perfect but he is far better than what is going on right now, in the Coalition party

John in Toronto
Now that the coalition will have stability from here out as far as leaders go, it will force Harper to watch his step from here out. Harper has finally said he wants cooperation, but only when he was backed into a corner, a position he hasn't found himself in before. But he better not try this tactic of confidence votes tied to legislation again to force his agenda thru because that will just go to show he won't compromise and wer're right back where we started.I believe support and the message for the coalition will grow between now and the 26th of Jan as the real message gets out there, not the hatred for Dion. What I found interesting about the rallies on the weekend was that right in the middle of Tory land they could only get 2000 supportors out. That's pathetic if you ask me. I believe there are a lot of Tory supportors out there that are just as mad at Harper for this stunt as there are Tories mad at the coalition.

Gerald from Belleville
While the majority of people did not vote Conservative, an even greater majority did not vote Liberal! An even greater majority did not vote NDP or Bloc, and an even greater majority did not vote Green. People may bleat that the majority of Canadians did not vote for the Cons, but an even greater majority (read: everyone!) did not vote for a Coalition government.

In these times of economic crisis...we want to give power to the Bloc and Liberals? Wait. We want to give power to the Liberals caught in the midst of a leadership crisis? Wait. We want to give leadership of the country to a Liberal leader who lived most of his life out of Canada, and to a leader who led Ontario into terrible debt and who failed on all accounts economically?

Come one people. Canada does not need Liberal leadership when their party is clearly having leadership problems. Dion was a wimp, and the new contenders are not better.

A Coalition will lead to an economic disaster. Allowing the Liberals to lead now makes no rational sense.

Nigel Buchanan Davenport
John in London must be confused, the coalition is legal and needed to oust Harper and his team of renegade hacks. John knows not of what he speaks, the Liberal party has suffered no damage after all it is the Conservatives who failed to deliver a sound economic plan. Harper is hanging by a thread and his own leadership should be questioned by his inner circle.

Shelley/Ottawa
I have recently read up on Iggy and was quite impressed. He isn't pro coalition either, if you take the time to listen to him. He wants to review what the Conservatives will do with the budget and try to work with them, if its in the best interest of Canadians. Good job, Liberals.

Ray In Elliot Lake, ON
It seems suspicious that it was OK for Dion to be the Leader when there was no real possibility of the Liberal Party forming a Government. As soon as Dion negotiated a coalition then he's not good enough to lead.
What is up with that.
Is there some foul play here at work behind the scene?
Why would Leblanc drop out of the leadership race? He seemed to have a good chance. Very intelligent person.
What is wrong with this picture? Are we, Canadians being duped into believing that Canada is not being affected by the rest of the world events of late?
Wake up people, the leaders are fighting for control of the ship that has started to leak and the Captains won't take action until we decide who will take command. Do we let this Mutiny go on or do we call our MP's and complain? We better do it soon before they shut down the Country because we don't comply with the rest of the World Order.

Tom Hawley
Mr.Dion is a great student but lacks the ability to lead .Behind the scene I feel he has a lot to offer.I am of the hope Dion sits as an MP.
During the election when he said"Mr.Harper may speak better english than me,but I speak the truth better in both languages".How true.Mr.Dion told us we were heading down a worse economic road than Mr.Harper told us.Mr.Dion was accused by Mr.Harper as fear mongering the electorate.
Well who was right about our economic situation?
I am not about bashing Mr.Harper as a person but as an economist and our PM how could he have been so wrong?
Or was he aware and therefore called an election before we became aware of our economic situation? As Dion claimed.
With the political storm Mr.Harper created he is about to play against a worthy opponent in Mr.Ignatieff.
Mr.Harper will miss Mr.Dion as leader.

kdb (the west is in and plans to stay)
Canada voted. Libeals lost. The 'coalition' is the best thing that could happended to the Cons. Just imagine the next election when Harper reminds the public of the Lib's 'secret agenda'. I mean face it, what liberal didn't agree to the coalition. DuH!!

Maxwell Smart
He should of stepped down right after the Liberals had their clocked cleaned during the election.

This guy has to be one of the worst Liberal leaders EVER and the sooner he goes the better.

Bring back John Manley, I think this guy is really needed at this time and would make an excellent PM one day.

MHB
I really respect Mr. Dion but the reality is that he does not have the charisma that a leader should enjoy!. Not all people are meant to be leaders anyway!. Electing a strong and charismatic liberal leader and strengthening the coalition will be a blow to Mr. Harper's divide and conquer plan!.

NS
We need to let the Librerals know that no matter what they will never get our votes again, it was bad enough you considered working with the NDP, but to make buy Bloc votes , remember the sponsorship scandal, Liberals are acustom to using money to get what they want

Jamie
I used to listen to Iggy Pop.

Now I'll get to watch Iggy Flop.

Wasn't it Neil Young who said something about having seen the needle and the damage done? For the NDL (New Democratic Liberal) party of Canada their 'needle' was power. OD'd before the drug was even bought. Sad.

Damage done folks - Freeze the $2/vote and bring on the election!

Dave Dowling
Thankfully the Bloc, NDP, and Liberals can work together, and actually represent a MAJORITY of Canadians.
Unlike the Minority Cons, who seam to only want to work with themselves.
A New Liberal Leader is exactly what the CONServatives fear. and Canada needs.

Steve in Aylmer
The coalition is old news.

Everybody is back to thinking about themselves.

One`s man`s promise, is another man`s lie.

bella-in-ottawa
M.Dion is probably one of the most honest, decent human beings in politics but unfortunately politics is a game and can be treacherous at best. I don't blame him if he didn't have the stomach for it. It made me ill watching the shenanigans of the Conservatives last 2 weeks. Hopefully the next leader will build a strong team for the future.

Brandname without Goodwill
The Liberal party is no longer a party of people; it is a corporate brand name. It is a brand name that various people use to gain power. Until Canadians accept that it is no longer viable, then it will continue to lie cheat and steal to gain power for whomever controls it. Just remember those little brown envelopes full of cash going to Liberal employees...

MRC in Hamilton
Dion will step down (again). To think for a fleeting moment that ***IF*** the Governor General gave power to the coalition and Stephan Dion became Prime Minister...wow, that's a frightening thought!! I wish the Liberals would put away their sense of self-entitlement to govern this country and actually work in the House of Commons.

John W.
Here is a party that can't even control their own fate, now they are ready to lead the country?

Sounds a little risky to me but if really this is a reflection of majority why don't Canada’s people reflect it we will got to the poll and see if a coalition Gov. backed by the Bloc is really what we want.

Are we really a Democratic nation?

k-w conscience
I have to agree with a few posts already! Harper has greatly assisted the Liberal party!
This change of leadership at this time, will allow for a much greater level of support for the grits!

Thanks Stevie, you actually did one good thing for this country

Liss
I really feel sorry for Dion, I'm sure he tried his best but he has to face it, this is out of his league, he would've been a better MP or a minister but not PM. Poor Liberals they don't know their heads from their tails and they have no real leaders I don't see the famous Iggy being the man for the job but domeone has to take the control of that party. The damage is done! good riddance to them.

Hanley
I am a Liberal supporter, but I believe that Monsieur Dion should have stepped down immediately after the election, and should not have led the coalition.

Cheers to Mr. Ignatieff for becoming the new leader!

Let's get the job done that Harper and his cronies can't.

Chris
I think that the Conservaties can present the moon, the sun and the stars in the new budget and the opposition still will vote them down, they just want the power and are willing to stomp on anyone who stands in front of them. They better be careful becuase the way they are going the Libs and NDP will end up with a lot less seats than what they have right now.

Alan
This certainly makes the decision to prorogue parliament a good one. Out goes Dion and in comes Iggy, the aloof academic who has been back in the country for 15 minutes.The thought of he and Layton cooperating together as partners is hilarious. I truly hope though he is serious about his intentions to listen to Harper. We need to get on with the business of government. Of course with Bob Rae we can just x the rae vision.

Pierre in Ottawa
It is beyond me how a person in his position with a strong public opinion against what he stands for, continues to hold on to his power. Can he not see the writing on the wall and the damage that he has done to the image of this country in the eyes of the world....leave and close the door behind you

Tim
Well, well, well. The Liberals are going to bring Harper down because he ignored the democratic right of Parliament and was too heavy handed. Now the Liberal hierarchy will decide who the next leader will be...now thats democracy for you.

Gordon Robson Nova Scotia
The coalition is NOT the ANSWER! No matter who the Liberals put in as iterm leader they have to share the coalition with the NDP.

The NDP will throw money to the wind. When the coalition rans (or should I say ruins it coarse) its coarse and there is Finally another election, good luck to the party that wins because there will be a HUGE MESS to clean up.

Tom Collins Richmond Ont.
I find it very interesting that Bob Rae is complaining that if Ignatieff is appointed interim leader of the party it's not democratic and the party doesn't get to vote for the leader. Let me see!I believe that Rae is behind something called a coalition which is the take over the goverment who the people vote for.
All I can say if the shoe fits wear it RAE.

Dan
Let's go back to the polls. The Liberals first want to take the Canadian vote and do what they want with it, with the support of the NDP, (I now question the "D" in NDP) not the Liberals are willing to take the right to vote away from it's own party. Who in Canada has voted Iggy in as PM? Anybody? I don't remember seeing his name on my ballot.

Tim (Wellend)
If this ever happened it(the coalition government) would be the darkest political day I believe in Canadian history. Stephan Dion definitely needs to go. These three mudslingers could not get a vote on their own during a proper election so they wait till its over and then band together to backdoor the legitimate elected government. Talk about undermining the voters.

Harper might be the ideal Prime Minister but he is certainly my best choice of what we have.

The other parties actions have only solidified my position and views on the current and true elected government.

Chretien sidekick gets boot
So much for Chretien's "unity minister". As for Ignatieff, I don't trust him to defend Canada's norther border from encroachment by his Russian pals.

PrairieDog - Dean R.
One week (or should I say weekend)for the coalition to completely fall to pieces. If all the pro-coalition people can't see now, that this whole thing was a power grab, then being politically blind, must be bliss. Dion is one of the biggest failures in Canadian political history, and most of the country knew that was going to be the case two years ago. I would suggest that Ignatieff take some time to regroup this battered and embarrassed Liberal Party. If he tries to go for the kill in six weeks, it will be an easy win for Harper yet again. If the Liberals are serious about wanting to run this country again, they'd better get back to the centre and back to the grassroots. Dion has effectively aliented the most valuable asset the LPC has had for decades....the mainstream public. Ignatieff better take a couple years and completely rebuild the LPC. If he doesn't...his fate will be sealed.

Earl
What a stupid argument to say the tories should not be the governing party because they dont have the majority. The liberals or any other party never had a majority in the house in the last 50 yrs but they were still the governing party because the oposition respected the will of the voters. NOW WHO HAD THE SECRET AGENDA??????

Raymond
I feel that people should not blame Dion or say it was his dream of taking power. If you were in his position, and if you did not feel Harper is doing anything for the better of the country will you not voice your concerns and if you were to face confidence votes everytime Harper challenged you, would you just always give in? How is that in anyway thinking of all Canadians best interest? I applaud him for at least trying and anyone who labels him as power hungry and if your a man saying this, he's more of a man to at least stand up to challenge Harper, again if you were in his position, would you not do the same to voice your concern for Canada?

Joe Tory
You're absolutely correct Gerald from Belleville we did not vote for a coalition government, it wasn't even on the ballot! As a matter of fact nor was prorogue but that was the prerogative of the Prime Minister. It does not matter that the majority of Canadians did not vote for Harper and his government. As we all know he did win a majority of seats in the House of Commons. The government of Canada is his to govern as he sees fit according to our institution of democracy.
God Bless Canada

Elizabeth, Ontario
Is it any surprise that our Liberals are choosing a new leader behind closed doors? It would seem that is how they like to conduct business. Ignatieff lost the party leadership race to Dion. What does that say about our Liberal party?? They should be appointing an interim leader and having a leadership convention as they had planned. Ignatieff has lived in the USA for 30 yrs and just returned to Canada, at the request of the Liberals, when Paul Martin was ousted. This party just continues to dig themselves a deeper hole.

Dave T
I'm really sorry to hear that Dion is stepping down. He was Great! Well hopefully Rae will step up and engage is a really negative smear campaign against Iggy. Regardless of who Liberal leader is, I'm really hoping they will continue to ally themselves with the NDP and the Bloc. The majority of Canadians that vote liberal would choose the Conservatives as their second choice over the NDP or the Bloc. So the liberal allying themselves with the far left is great for the Conservatives. Any middle spectrum voters will be alienated and move towards the Conservatives whose policies are quite central.

Nancy
Shame on Danny Williams and his ABC campaign during the last Federal Election. If he wasn't such a poor sport in the Federal Political arena this likely wouldn't be happening. The Conservatives would have got the majority that they deserve if he hadn't decided to play out his personal vendetta.

Ignatieff needs to head straight back to where he came from, the USA. How could an ex-patriot possibly know what this country needs. He's just back looking for a big fat political pension, once he gets it he'll retire to Florida.

David in Toronto
"The Rae camp says that choosing a leader behind closed doors is not the right move for the Liberal party."

Well Mr Rae, it's not good to choose a Liberal party leader behind closed doors but it's perfectly fine to selece a Prime Minister behind closed doors. How hypocritical.

Marie Plouffe
Another backroom coronation of a Liberal leader à la Martin. The Liberals have still to learn that we judge them on their behaviour; we are no longer fooled by the aspersions they cast on their opponents. They won't get my vote when the election is called January if they do this. At least Dion was a democratically elected leader.

Matty
Goodbye coalition. Let me get this straight. The libs, whose plan has always been divide and conquer are now calling the Cons a divide and conquer party. The libs have enjoyed nothing more in the last 40 years than seperating the west from the center of the universe( Ontario, Quebec) so that they could hold majority governments with as low (yes folks as low or lower) than the 37% Mr Harper holds. Talk about hippocrits. Their greed to regain power is really starting to show their true colours. They are in such a hurry that they can't even give their party elected leader Dion the time to put on his hat and coat before he is unceremonily dumped and replaced by either Iggy(I love America but will sneak back into Canada because I see a chance to grab some power in my pitiful life) or in the backdoor to power Bob (exNDPer, let me get my old party to join us) Rae.
You people are sure making it easy for me to make up mind about who to vote for and I don't need an election campaign to decide. Go ahead boys make another big stupid mistake like bringing the government down in January.

bob in winnipeg
Oh the irony. Dion and company couldn't wait to snacth power via a backroom deal with the political elites, but shame on the liberal party (in the eyes of Bob Rae) for daring to replace the liberal leader via backroom deals with the liberal elites.

Davey boy
Good that Dion is stepping down. Brining in Ignatieff won't change the liberal party. the strings are still pulled by the past Liberal crooks (Chretien, Martin) As we saw in the coalition negotiations. Ignatieff's head is just as big if not bigger than Dion's. The Libs are just going from one arrogant leader to another. I don't care who you throw in there if Harper gets thrown out you will see a backlash from the west.

Ralph Orillia
Many are calling for a new election! I hope that it does not come to pass!! Thats all we need another $300 million spent on politics! We are a diverce sociaty that can live, work ,and play together, so why can parliment not do so ?? Minority goverment should work with all in the house to deal with the issues!! the coalition should be all elected officials working for their constituants!! Working on things to help all Canadians, not desroying the nation. Quit pitting west against all and english against french, Our goverment is there to work for ALL CANADIANS. That being said quit lollygagging around and do what the people pay you to do GET TO WORK! If I have a quam at work I have to deal with it! No time off with pay! I have to just make the best of it and do my job, why should it be differnt for our goverment??
Ralph Orillia ON

Maureen
The LPC have been looking for a 'saviour' for more than a few years now - the next in line is Ignatieff. But it doesn't matter, because the LPC refuses to do the work needed to become a party that Canadians can relate to. They have no policies (the Green Shift - their major policy platform went down in flames during the last election and in the last two months are people really believing that they have cobbled together any sustainable policies??). The Coalition was an attempt to pull together some policies, but let's get real - it is power play that with some weird statements about the economy. The LPC needs to spend the next 2 or 3 years researching and promoting whatever they actually believe in rather than trying to get back into power.

Lynn from Ontario
Mr. Dion must step down now. This is a necessary step in rebuilding voter confidence. We need a very strong leader now. One with charisma, high intelligence, post grad degrees, stable family background, bilingual ability, and mass voter appeal. Several names come to mind: Ken Dryden, and Paul Devilliers. Both of these men embody the characteristics necessary for the job. I do not know Michael Ignatieff, but for the sake of the party and our country, I do hope that he is in the same league as these two. Please God, help us.

Darlene in Halifax
What do you mean, they don't think it's right to appoint a leader behind closed doors instead of having them elected by the party members? Isn't that what they wanted to do to Canadians with this coalition?

Hypocrits!

Cambob
Dion was democratically elected by the Liberal party just 1 year ago. Now, through back room maneuvering, the liberal elite are forcing him to resign. In the navy, it's called a mutiny.

Joe macPherson
Where? Oh where is the Star shining bright? What we all need is our own new Knight!Somewhere within the borders of this great country rides a man or woman who has the strength, wisdom and courage within themselves to rise among us to grasp the reins of power and seize the moment and to lead this democracy in a new and exciting future! Amidst 30 million people there must be a LEADER who can bring us all back to a common element of Trust,provide the hope and leadership we now so sorrowfully lack by any current choices. Come on Canada!! bring forth our Savior......Star shine bright and lead us to a promising and lasting future.amen

Ian-AB
I love how conservatives are trying to lnock Mr. Ignatieff for working outside of Canada. Umm; for educated people often times there are much more opportunities outside of Canada than there is in.

However; let's compare the resume of the two leaders shall we? Harper masters degree in economics (working experience... mail room for imperial oil, computer guy for imperial oil.... never hired as an economist in the private sector).

Now, Mr. Ignatieff(A doctorate in history and 9 honorary doctorates... notice Harper has no doctorates. Ignatieff has worked as a professor at Harvard and Oxford; he was also in France. He has also been a writer and journalist and has written books on international development and peacekeeping).

So if these two guys were in an interview for a top level job. Do you give it to the guy with the mailroom experience and the lower level of education (Mr. Harper) or do you give it to the guy with a doctorate degree and years working abroad at a high level capacity (Mr. Ignatieff)... as most educated people do?

Fa Chili
I propose that the second , third and fourth runner ups (losers)in the last leadership race, form a coalition and sign agreement to install one of them to be leader of the Liberal Party. Cheap and dirty and has the plurality of the delegates in the last race. If they can't agree then rotate the leadership among the three every three months.

Laurent, New Brunswick
I have been involved in this party (Liberals) for over 24 years, and have supported many good leaders. The liberals downfall has always been when leaders have set their own political agenda first. The previous Leader before Dion set an agenda for his own victory and left the liberals with an adgenda to fail. We have to go back to the people and elect leaders that will lead for Canadians. The loosers in the last leadership never accepted defeat. Bob Ray is right with his demands to let the members of this great party deside.

Andrew from Alberta
Dear Governor General,

If the opposition does not want to work with the Conservatives to build & promote a budget that is good for Canada, and the opposition is only out to try and replace the current government, then PLEASE send us back to polls so Canadians can decide the fate of the government and not some undermining coalition that meerly seeks power with out the peoples vote!

GT Bllind River, On
There is nothing Mr. Harper can do to please the Opposition...even if his budget spit out pure gold they would reject it. This is a power struggle pure and simple. Only a mandate by the people will end this. I hope the GG allows an election. Until then the conservatives are in power let them govern. That is what I have strongly suggested to my MP...if she does not listen then I will speak again with my vote.

Dick Varley
Once again the inner circle of the Liberal Party is demonstrating that the Liberal Party is the nation's "Natural Governing Party." They are showing us how democracy works. Bring in Chretien and Martin to prop up a failing leader; bring in Ignatieff from his self imposed exile in the United States, dispose of Dion; scramble a coalition to try and get back power. All of this shows just how frantic these insiders are. If they do not regain power they will not be able to go to the trough and pay off they financial indebtedness and heaven forbid they will see the demise of their power hungry, scandalous party.

Sherman in Yarker
I thought a Canadian Minority Government was one that worked with minority parties to gather together to represent a majority of Canadians through an effective partnership and coalition of like minded individuals. Is that not the potential of a minority government, to represent the majority of all Canadians in co-operation! In recognition of a common goal and ambition, to speak for your neighbours, for your fellow Canadians, for the maintenance and advancement of our quality of life.
The potential of this government, if its members were to work together, would be to speak to the needs of All CANADIANS as represented by all parties.
I trust every member of Parliament must shelve their ego, swallow their pride, brush off their honour and stand up and open their hearts for the good of their country and the respect of their people.
Our leader must inspire us all to follow. Not in fear but with honour and pride.

Serge
The Liberals major problem was that not many liked Dion. I don't think he's a bad guy or bad politician but the man just doesn't extrudes confidence and he needs to be replaced.

On a side note I sick of people simply referring to the Bloc as "separatists" which this report ends with no less. We all know that the Bloc supports sovereignty but it really puts a negative outlook of the whole province which Harper reignited. I'm a proud Quebecker and a proud Canadian and people have to remember that you can't throw out the baby with the bath water.

Alanna Saskatchewan
No matter who the new leader of the Liberals is, it is not going to matter. They have already done their damage and lost any credability they still had. The Liberals are still going ahead with their plans with the NDP and the Bloc to bring down the Conservative gov that Canadians elected. Bring on another election and the conservatives will get a majority. The coalition has backfired.

Lisette from Toronto
My wishes:
1. Dion out TODAY
2. Harper out- the sooner, the better
3. Governor General's position abolish
4. Michael Ignatieff as permanent Liberal Leader
5. No coalition Government
6. General Elections
7. Michael Ignatieff as Prime Minister of Canada.

Bev from NB
Welcome to democracy under the Liberals. They will undemocratically choose a new leader with only 77 representatives. What about the West, most of Quebec, most of New Brunswick and much of Ontario who are not represented by these 77? So much for all the talk just after the election about renewal and getting back to grassroots. Rae has it right when he says there should be a vote. I mean this coalition is all about democracy, isn't it?? Surely, they aren't in it for a power-grab.

Liberals not prepared to govern Canada
The rush to a new leader is a rush to try and seize power...

THAT IS AS OBVIOUS AS THE NOSE ON YOUR FACE.

This Liberal party is in disarray, has lost its focus, has become socialistic and is in no way prepared or ready to govern this country again anytime soon.

All they know is they want power at any cost and will try to demonize the Prime Minister who Canadians just elected at every opportunity they can without giving an account for their actions of late in joining ranks and giving the separatists a say over the policy of our government.

As our populace matures and no longer sees relevance in socialism we will see the Liberal party fortunes continue to dwindle in the polls.

I would be very surprised of the Governor General allows the Liberals to form a coalition given these new developments with an unelected (internally) Liberal leader and the outrage about the Bloc Quebecois coalition across this country. To allow that would be flirting with a revolution.

We may see an election by late February as Liberals will be unable to hold back their unbridled lust for power longer than that with their new leader.

Shayla from Ottawa
I'm really struggling with the argument that most of Canadians didn't vote for the Conservative's therefore this coalition is clearly what Canadian's want, if you use they exact same logic, 75% of Canadian's didn't vote to have a Liberal Prime Minister and yet this is what they will get with the coalition. You could make to numbers say anything you want it doesn't mean that's what Canadian's wanted. We live in a Democracy that allows as many party as you could think of but in turn that means that votes get split here and there. In the end the one party with the most votes wins not who ever you can stick together just cause you can't stand losing.

Catherine Kennedy
Look this is my take on the situation, I’m not going to complain about the current situation, don’t really have the right, I chose not to vote because I didn’t like what was on the menu, Conservatives fail to get the majority of vote, together the opposition did and it’s within their right to form a coalition, all one has to do is look at politics as a warrantee, you really need to read the fine print, I think a coalition is a brilliant idea, do you really think the separatist will separate if they become involved in running the country, I believe a three party government would solve more then one problem, we can involve Harper in new party he can be in charge of make-up and hair. Can’t we all just get along, let’s have a group hug.

Peeved in Ottawa
I think a few things should be clarified..
#1 The Coalition IS democratic and for those who think the contrary, you need to go back to school.

#2 The Coalition had no choice to name Dion at the head (Liz ottawa) because he was head of the opposition party...which is the liberals.

#3 For those complaining out there about the Coalition that didn't vote at the last election, that's what happens when a minority of voters choose a government for the entire country

AK
Come January 26th, bring on a federal election and let the Canadian people have their say. For those of you who can't be bothered to get off your respective behinds to go an vote, because no matter what you think, they matter, Shut Up and quit complaining. If you have anything to say - say it at the voting polls!

edd-medhat
These guys still don't get it. Now they're going to abscond with the rights of their own party members. It doesn't matter how you do it (elect a new leader), but you have to involve all of your members. Yes I know they feel they have to do something before the Jan vote, but re-building a party takes time, planning, a viable philosophy and sensitivity. None of this is present.

Sometimes you have to take two steps back before you can take any steps ahead. If they ignore the rights of their party members, they're going to be extinct, both as Lib leaders and as a viable party.

Chris Williams
About time. He needs to be out of the leadership role by the 26th of January.

Dion is a good man, but he is a poor Liberal leader. Sort of reminds me of Paul Martin - an outstanding Finance Minister but he peaked as Finance Minister. Not a good leader and not a good PM.

Pip
Bob Rae is quite right: it IS undemocratic to get a new leader of the Liberal Party behind closed doors, with no chance of a say for the members. There should Mr. Dion.be a secret ballot by all members, who would vote for the leader of their choice.

But then, Liberal Party Rules don't permit anything so democratic as that: only delegates to a convention can vote for the leader, and each delegation can change allegiance at the drop of a hat - that's how they got

So, Mr. Rae, is it to be behind closed doors, or will the rules be changed so every party member has a say in the choice of a new leader? After all, that's the way your old party, the NDP, does it.

Pity you need a convention to change the rules. . .

In the meantime, this power play is being watched by Canadians, who are waiting to see if the Liberal Party can actually consider the good of the nation instead of their own "entitlement" to power.

ColmBryan
A Core Issue that has 'burst out of the closet' is the contradiction that allows any Canadian to sit in Government as Federal Member without complete commitment to the Federation that is Canada. The present Rules must be addressed to ensure that in future every Federal MP can must always have a position that does not threaten the Unity of Canada by statement, policy, or inference. This was/is the Achilles' heel of the 'coalition' and Canadians rightfully rejected it, virtually en masse. Furthermore, some Liberal MP's stepped back from a plan which became a veritable 'putsch' of the Government. Should they try it again Madame Jean will be compelled to call an Election. Mr Harper's high road will triumph!

Adamwolf....History Repeats?
Maybe people need to check a little history. For as the saying goes "if you don't learn from it, history will repeat itself". Back in 79 that is 1979, there was a minority government elected "Conservative" it so happens (6 seats from a majority or there abouts)...the leader a "Joe "Who" Clark". He became unpopular with his various excise taxes (on gas for one), proposed move of the Canadian Embassy in Israel and a number of other things. Then along comes an NDP member, guess who, none other than "Bob Rae", puts forward a motion of "non confidence" and the liberal leader who had yet to be replaced, a "Mr. Pierre Trudeau" pulled back his resignation and pulling out all the stops even bringing in Liberal members by ambulance for the vote. Unfortunately Mr Clark really didn't pay much attention and from appearances thought he would be able to weather, however, he didn't count on his party having a number of members also ill and thus in the end the motion was carried. Mr Clark was defeated. In the subsequent election, Mr Trudeau was once again elected with a liberal majority....and guess what he brought in Mr Clark's taxes but not the embassy move over the period of his tenure till he resigned finally in 84.

Here we are in 2008 and what do we have, supposedly an unpopular minority Conservative Government, and guess what...the same "Bob Rae"....egging on a "liberal leader" who in all pretenses is about to resign...giving him an opportunity to bring down the house...so to speak...and become the savior. Will we have history repeat itself....wait and see. Oh by the way go and check out a little more of the political history from 84 to 93.

Doug in Carleton Place
Ignatieff will be Liberal leader by the end of the week. Rae still has too many NDP roots.

Forget about the Coalition because Harper will give just enough to keep Ignatieff from pulling the plug.

Ignatieff will bring the Liberal Party back to centre.

Many voters in the last election voted against Dion, not against the Liberals. I was hesitant to vote Liberal in last election and was leaning towards NDP, now I would be firmly behind Ignatieff and the Liberals as would others that voted NDP and even Conservative.

With a Democratic (Liberal) government in the US, Canada needs a Liberal government to take as much advantage from the US as possible.

If Ignatieff is smart he will ride it out until Harper tries to pull another fast one in the fall of 2009.

Then an election at that time will swing the tide in the favour of the Liberals.

Better get used to minority governments though because they are going to be the norm and then watch Harper form a Coalition with the NDP and Block against the Liberals.

I think that the good that is coming out of all of this will be a better response to our economic dilemma.

The bad is that it is splitting the west from central and eastern Canada.

Canadians must now think Globally with their views if we are to emerge in good shape in 18 months. A
Coalition of minds and ideas from all parties is necessary and hopefully Harper will tone down his rhetoric
and emerge January 26 with a sound idea for all of Canada for now and the future.

All Canadians must work together as family. Stop the fighting and let’s get together and negotiate.

We are family.

Peter S Medicine Hat
All of the Liberals think that Michael Ignatieff is the next Barack Obama but really the only thing the two have in common is they both lived in the USA for 30 years.

Gary Martin
That logic doesn't follow. Nobody adds up the oppositions seats and says to the party that won the most that you won't form the government, but the opposition will.

Mike S
It does not matter to me who is in charge of the Liberals, Harper now knows that he needs to either accept defeat in the confedence vote or work withj all parties to make this goverment work. If Harper was not worried to lose his "power" in Ottawa, he would had never asked the GG to put the goverment on "hold" until January 26, 2009.

What a mess...
I am not a Tory, and I certainly don't like Harper - who is too secretive and egotistical for my taste, but I don't think a coalition is the best government right now. They do not have solid leadership, and none of the contenders are suitable.

I think the best scenario would be for Ignatieff to take the lead and encourage the party to be an effective opposition, while rebuilding for the future.

In the last election I voted for the candidate I wanted - not the party, and while that is the idea, we can't get around the fact of party politics. Unfortunately, if there is another election, there is no party that I would support.

Ted Keehn
Doesn't really matter who leads the Liberals. They are going to be cannon fodder in the next election anyway.

Ted in Sudbury

Al from the Yukon
Good riddance to bad rubbish!!

Too bad though he was the PC's best ally....ho hum...

anti-tax dude
If Harper won in some coronation of mps he would be called undemocratic. What happened to democracy in the liberal party. Is this what the libs do when they cant afford an actual leadership convention?

jake from keats
Good move-Dion has to/will go! Now if the Liberals can get their act together and work with Harper (he better work hard at this too) and get the country going. This coalition with the bloc won't ever work. If the trio vote a no-confidence motion late in Jan. we will have another election! We can't have the Bloc making decisons for all of Canada b/c they are only interested when the Blocs interests are met-watch out for that!.

liz ottawa
to Peeved in Ottawa.

yes yes yes. there now. I may be wrong but I think this coalition will just fade away. cracks are already showing. yes it has support from around the country with people disenchanted with Harper, but alot more people are afraid of that unholy alliance. at least the furor has died down a bit for the moment, publicly at least! I am sure things are just racing behind the scenes in both camps. with Harper his budget with the lib/ndp, planning their leadership thing that will have to be done double quick. good luck when Dion could not even get a tape to the news broadcasters on time! and a hokey tape at best...

D J in Manitoba
As I see it Mr. Harper better do a lot of listening. His my way or the highway attitude is not what is best for Canada. He does not have a majority Gov. where he can dictate what happens in Canada. He needs the help of one of the other parties to govern. So MR. Harper a word of advice (listen to what the other parties have to say) if you want to remain PM of this great country that we have.

Elizabeth S. Hutton Ontario
Even if the coalition collaspes in light of a new Liberal leader, I truly believe the NDP & Liberals have lost the trust of Canadians. They could still cooperate to make sure the Conservatives fall behind closed doors & out of sight from us. They stepped on Canadians democratic rights to choose. The worse mistake a Politician could ever make. Thank you GG for proroguing Parliament so us Canadians can speak up and protect this precious right.

Richard D
I have to applaud the Liberals for this. Why bother with that whole pesky Leadership Convention when you could just have the Caucus choose who the next leader is despite what the rest of the delegates may want?

Very efficient of you, Liberals.

James in New Brunswick
The more I read about all this the more I think that the whole Coalition idea was a whisper in Mr. Dion's ear by Bob Rae. As much as Mr. Dion comes across as intelligent and sincere, he is looking more and more like a puppet who was given the title of "leader" of the Coalition because he was expendable if anything went wrong.

Now Bob Rae is going to be busy trying to sell the idea of the Coalition to Unite the Left and eventually have the NDP assimilate the Liberals. I can see all the die-hard Centrist Liberals cringing everytime the Liberals drift to the Left. If the Conservatives can sell the next budget as supporting Centrist policies I don't think there will be anywhere for the Ignatiaf Liberals to go.

I also think the Conservatives are going to be making political hay out of the un-democratic way in which a new "leader" is selected for the Liberals. It is a matter of political expediency and even necessity but to the average Canadian it is going to seem no more democratic than the idea of a Coalition in the first place.

Les in BC
It is getting quite ridiculous to keep hearing that the majority of Canadians did not vote for Harper, the fact of the matter is a vast majority did not vote for the opposition parties and no one voted for a coalition. Keep Dion in, as the Liberals are a joke and he is a clown.

connie
It is nice to see democracy in action. It is nice to see the governing party held to account. I only wish the personal slurs would stop. Harper made mistakes and our democracy is working to make things better for all Canadians. As for the Bloc, I don't like the spin being put on their involvment in the coalition. They have supported the Tories in the last 14 confidence votes so let's be careful who we claim is in bed with the separatists.

Kevin Allan
Great, the ATTACK ADS start in the new year. Mr Harper's Canada is NOT the Canada I know.

Anne M
The new Liberal leader has a tremendous job ahead of him.First and foremost, he must change the mentality in the Liberal party, by not blowing about "bringing the gov't down". Instead he must instill some trust and confidence in his party. He can do this by agreeing to work with the current elected gov't to build Canada economically and internationally. The big thing is to regain trust in the Liberal party, that has been decimated by Chretien, Martin and Dion, by a major PR program. The Libs MUST reach out to the public and ackknowledge that they are listening to the people. They have NEVER done this, and it is time to change that.

Time To Defend CANADA's Interests
Quebecers say they want to be partners in Confederation yet they send separatists to negotiate their 'partnership' with Canada in the House of Commons.

Quebecers can’t suck and blow at the same time…. Why do Quebecers continue to insult Canadians by sending the Bloc to Ottawa when they have federalist parties to represent them?

Now we are faced with a liberal leader whose party joined with treasonous separatists to form a coalition.

I don't consider it 'democratic' to allow a party to sit in the House of Commons being paid for by Canadians taxpayers whose sole purpose is the breakup of Canada.

I call that foolish, absurd and unwise.

It's time to send the Bloc Quebecois home away and out of the House of Commons and have Quebecers choose ONLY from federal party reps in the next federal election.

If we don't get this cleared up soon we will have the west sending separatist parties to Ottawa and our federation will be all but over.

Ray Jacques, Glen Robertson, ON
Davie boy,
Hello Davie,
I think that it might be time for all Canadians, including those from the West to understand and accept that we are all Canadians.
In our democracy, majority rules. It is a fact.

Our government does not run by polls or by exaggerating regional differences for un-Canadian reasons.

Canadian spoke and we have the Parliamnet that we all elected as a result.

It is Harper who is not playing by our Canadian Democratic Parliamentary rules.

I might like him more if he ever showed that he had any idea of what he was doing as our Prime Minister.

Let's turn the page and get a really good goverwenment for all of Canada

Mr. Harper got less than 37% of the vote even after having made every effort to demonize and destroy a good man.
Surely this tell you something about Mr. Harper The man and his inability to really act like a Canadian leader, the role that he aspires to.

Time for posts that are not negative about the Liberals. Surely you all (and CTV) have had more than your rightful amount of these un-Canadian type of posts.
Isn't it time to start acting like normal Canadians for a change i.e. more generous, reasonable posts and not trying to destroy each other all the time ?

Cnadians were always Centrists. Canada has the only right-wing goverenment in the free world.

Let's re-consider supporting the Centrist Liberals again including in the West.

edd-medhat
To Lisette From Toronto:

Boy are you out to lunch. I'm wondering what you're drinking. You're right about your list being "your wishes". That's all they are-Wishes.

The Liberals pooped in their nest and until they get out of that nest and start to work on a real grassroots party they're going to continue to get poop all over themselves.

Linda in Vancouver
THe funniest post so far is the one bt "Drew in NS" who suggests this nonsense is an indication the Liberals have found the political centre.
Really folks,this is only the "Liberal centre".And an indication that their version of democracy is at odds with anything I ever imagined.
I quit the party five years ago,in large part because the only democracy they believe in is withing the upper echelon of the party.
What kind of a political party lets the Ottawa insiders choose their leader while the party members get shut down??
Worse than that,what kind of a party member is foolish enough to stand for a process like that??
Good luck EVER getting a majority government.Believe me,my friends,the first time you don't dance the right tune for the BLOC or the NDP they will throw you under the bus so fast you won't know what happened.THe real power will now lie with the "fringe" parties that no one wants as a government.
"Victor" sees this power grab for what it really is.
Can we at least assume that there will be a "free vote" in the house,and that ALL members will have to stand and declare their loyalty to one of the few coalition governments in the world that EXCLUDES the party with the most seat,the most members,and the most votes.
Voters deserve to have the names of ALL MP's,and where they stand on this.As well,I think ALL of our premiers should also declare their position.Congratulations to Gordon Campbell in BC,for a measured,but clear response to this coup.I,for one,am pleased to see that his version of Liberalism does not include socialism,or any collusion with it.

Dave in Victoria
It now appears that the liberal's new leader with be Iggy, possibly Rae or Findley. Did I hear any names mentioned from the west or east. No. The Liberal policy of picking a leader from Ontario then Quebec will mean it's Ontario's turn today, Quebec's in May.
This will improve their support in those two provinces (another minority?) but again they will represent only two provinces at the expense of the rest of Canada. Change direction LPC. Look around. Toronto is not the centre of the universe.
By the way, how much political experience in Canada does Iggy have?

gszumilas
"we should not forget that the majority did not vote for the conservatives. They voted for opposition parties."

They didnt vote for the opposition parties based on the fact that they would form a coalition, that fact came AFTER the election. Actually check who among the opposition really supports the coalition idea...

Samantha
Bob Rae is absolutely right when he says that we should get to vote on the leadership of the Liberal Party. I don't want the American Iggy as my leader. If he takes the leadership without a vote then I will quit voting all together. Obviously they don't care what I want, so they don't need the $2 for my vote.

Gunnar
Rae: If you can attempt to decide the PM of the country behind closed doors, you can certainly decide the leader of the Liberal Party behind closed door. Sauce for the goose and all that.

Looks like your refusal to show up to the meeting wasn't that savvy a political move....sure, the press will like you more, but while you were currying favour there, Iggy got the support of the party. You lose. Perhaps you could take an extended Rae day.

John B in Pickering, Ontario, CANADA
Everyone has too remember that all 3 parties are using the rules of the house, to help themselves.
We don't need a coaliltion government we need leadership.
The G.G. was smart to do what she did, it will give everyone time to cool down, and maybe work together.
Worst thing this country needs right now is a government supported by others, namely the Bloc, who want to destroy it not make it work or make it work for one part of the country and not for the other.
We get what we vote for, and to many people can't see past their parties garbage to notice this.

Tony
It is sad that we condemn someone here in Canada the way we do.

We like to believe that we are a fair and honest people but when a person doesn't fit or sound what we percieve as representative of us - we toss them out. It shows what we have come to in our Canadian society.

Here is a person who whehter speaks to us in French or English chose to put his personal life on hold to help the country he believed in - a school teacher / professor. This is a man who has worked with the young in education - who sees what the future is - because kids asked him in class I would percieve. He is well versed - says from his heart what he believes and tries to make our world a better place for everyone to live in.

We should really look within ourselves and see what is important for the future of our grand children and great grandchildren.

From day 1, Mr Dion has worried about the future and where it will lead us as Canadians and citizens of this planet.

Good people don't stand a chance with our hypocritical population.

We definitely have become "me first". Our decendants will be the ones that will pay the price for our ignorance.

We have no one to blame but ourselves.

Frank
I am not surprise that Liberals are choosing a new leader behind closed doors? It would seem that is how they like to conduct business. Mr. Ignatieff lost the party leadership race to Mr. Dion. What does that say about the Liberal party? They should be appointing an interim leader and having a leadership convention as they had planned.
Mr. Michael Ignatieff has lived in the United States for over 30 years and just recently returned to Canada, at the request of the Liberals, by Paul Martin was ousted. This party has no credibility and they should understand that they are the ones who damaging Canadian Economy and image in the world, as well causing problem with Quebec.
Right now most of most voters preferred Conservative
Minority or a Conservative majority instead of a coalition
with socialist Mr. Layton and Mr. Dion separatist.
Canadians do not want this coalition fiasco.

Frank, Oakville, ON

sheryl
When we went to the polls 6-7 weeks ago we did not vote for a coalation. this is not Harpers doing this is NDP (jack), Dion and BQ. No matter what harper did this would be happening. (they were meeting right after the election) The only thing that harper messed up on is not taking away ALL the $$ from all the parties.

Angus
Angus in London
I am a Conservative on the verge of voting elsewhere. Harper has proven to me that he is not for all Canadians, just himself. Then again that is the way I feel about the rest of the parties. They all can waste tons of taxpayer's money on trips, etc., etc., that is not required. I just read in The London Free Press about the trips and wasted money these people have just had. Sue Barnes was defeated here in London but I see she was well rewarded with an unnecessary trip.
Getting so sick of all you lying, cheating MPs, that I may for the first time in over 40 years, not vote.
Most of the last 40 years I have spent running a small business and making barely more then enough to live on. But I have a clear conscious. I have never stole from anyone, never cheated in my business dealings and rest at night.
How many of you MP have a clear conscious? Not many I believe.
The lies you are telling us is unbearable.

LIberal's intersts not Canada's interests
I have lost all respect for the Liberal party.

They are not what they once were and not even a shadow of the same. They have become socialistic and lost connection with the majority of Canadians.

Having a new poster boy for the Liberal brand will not change what they have become - self-seeking power mongers who will stop at nothing to seize power.

It is this kind of political party which can harm a nation because the national interests take a back seat to political interests.

The LPC has a lot of work to do before it deserves to be anywhere near the seat of government and that will take years to achieve and rebuild.

Jane - Grande Prairie, Ab.
If our electoral system worked on the basis that if you add up all the seats of the losers you win. It doesnt work that way. We elected the conservative government. Boohoo quite whinning, you cant change the rules just because you dont like the results. As an Albertan I am tired of the eastern half of our country controlling everything that happens nation wide. Call another election, this coalition of cowards has engaged many people who would not have otherwise been interested. Maybe now the apathy will stop and people will participate in our political process. Although I expect many people may not like the results.

A longer process for selecting next Liberal leader
is a luxury Canada cannot afford.

Given the conditions of global economic meltdown, it is critical that Canada have a responsible government.

That means the Harper government must be replaced as soon as possible by a government that respects Parliament and has the confidence of the House of Commons.

Just wondering . . .
Interesting to hear Bob Rae say that Canadians would not accept a Liberal leader who was not elected by the majority of party members. So can he please explain why Canadians were supposed to accept a Prime Minister with the Coalition, who was not elected by the majority of the Canadian people? Can't have it both ways . . .

Alberta Believer
"While the conservatives did win the largest share of the vote, we should not forget that the majority did not vote for the conservatives. They voted for opposition parties."

Chat this is faulty logic. You can't just say that the majority of people voted against the Conservatives and leave it at that. You have to compare each individual party in this vein because the Canadian electorate NEVER voted for the opposition parties as a single unit. More people voted for all the other parties than did the Liberals and by a larger margian than they did against the Conservatives and all others. Same is true for the Bloc and NDP even more so. So this idea that people didn't want Harper to govern is misleading because they neither wanted Dion, Gilles or Jack to lead by an even bigger margian than was the case against Harper.

Here's really what people said on Oct 14 2008... "We want Harper to govern but with a stronger minority. If people didn't want Harper to govern, they would have made damn sure that someone else got the highest number of seats and the Conservatives would not have got 143 seats. Further to my point, Stephen Harper always came out clearly ahead on the poll question "Who would make the best PM."

People knew what they wanted and who they wanted to lead, it was Stephen Harper.

Johnnie Oil
Hey Ian-AB, thanks for more reasons not to have Ignatieff lead this country, beside being outside of canada for too long I would say he is completely out of touch with average canadians. Typical liberal elitist where life is all grand on the cocktail circuit or in a lecture hall but completely removed from reality and the average canadian.
You also don't need doctorates to work overseas, I know many people with just high school or tech school that have had long term careers overseas - typical liberal elitism - just what we DON'T need!!

Joe from Van
I am in favour of getting rid of Dion. Everyone is. He had his chance to leave with grace but stayed too long. I am not in favour of a coronation of Ignatieff. I like Rae and I like what he has to say and I want Liberals to vote in a convention.

Do this right boys so we're not back here in a year from now. Ignatieff has excercised poor judgement in the past with Iraq and I like Rae better. However I am willing to give him my support if he is a go but the Liberals really need to devise a plan. Too bad Dion has been too much of a major distraction as of late. I would trust Ignatieff anyday of Harper.

Alex Nelson
We need a better budget that helps Canadians who are having financial difficulties during this economic downturn and financial crisis.

Steve - Montreal
They should put Gilles Duceppe(sp) in charge of the coalition. Ha ha ha!! Now wouldn't that be a hoot.

Pat in Toronto
This is good news, a new party head to give the coalition a positive face.

Conservatives are really in trouble now.

Can't wait to see the look on Harper's face when he finally realises that Canadians don't want him spearheading the economic problems.

Go Coalition, all the right winger conservatives are just being selfish and childish...typical. Atleast all the smear campaigning the conservatives will dish out might be amusing.

Dirty way to get elected though, conservatives should be ashamed of themselves and their leader.

Grow up.

MattL
I have always voted conservative. I think that in the best interests of the country, Dion should step down. For damage control the new leader would work with the existing government. I see a lot of Reds who are angry with Dion getting into bed with his socialist friend.

Happy Holidays

Cliff-saskatoon
Lets be clear on something! If the coalition ran on the basis of being a coalition then fine! But they didn't. So you can all stop saying that they have a majority of canadians support Because THEY DONT. Secondly, If you have so much support of the canadian people then why cant you raise your own funds for your lousy ndp ,bloq, and liberal parties. Find your own MONEY. Oh yeah and tell me one lie Steven Harper has told to the puplic other than being forced to go back on income trusts. Yeah i thought so, but i will tell you one jack and dion said, "we will work with the conseravtive govt" upon their defeat at the election. I cant wait till Jack and Iggy get hung upon the next election. If you vote ndp or Liberal you arnt voting for canada, your brain dead! Now who has the Hidden adgenda!!!!!!!!!

Edward
Just goes to show the liberals do not even follow their own constitution. Good example of what is to follow. This will be proven in the next election

madmax
New Seperatist Governement for Canada. - All you people who seem to think that a party must obtain 50% of the vote in order to run the country -Can you all tell me how many times in the last century and certainly in recent memory has the wining party had 50% of the vote??? ... I'm waiting... Just as I thought!
With your weak logic (and pathetic excuse) for taking over a government then I guess almost none of the governments Canada has ever had should really have been in power then. I have a great idea.. why dont we just let the bloc form the new government... maybe that would be fair it's certainly as logical as your own rationale... oh wait a minute thats right you are esentially making the bloc the new goverment are you not by giving them the veto and overall control and ballance of power in your proposed coup. I will move out west and join the new counrty formed out there and enjoy all there oil wealth - Oh one more question what will you all do in central Canada once you dont have access to all the oil revenue... it's ok I'm sure you'll make a killing with Jacks wind farms!!! God knows there is certainly enough hot air there to drive them!!!

Lee in Calgary
I have to say that after watching Iggy's interview Sunday on Question Period, it was clear that he's looking for a way to head off bringing the government down in Jan. I'm sure he's smart enough to know that the coalition would not fly with the GG. Think about it, she wasn't willing to give them a shot when Mr. Dion was leading the pack (at least he ran as a leader) why after the defeat of a budget would she allow someone elected by a less than 200 Liberal MP's and Senators to become PM.

Iggy knows well that he must firm up his power base within the party, within the country and also must get the parties finances in order before taking on the government or he will still be sitting in opposition with the never ending chirping class calling for his resignation.

If Iggy does get fool hardy thoughts of being an appointed PM, me thinks he'll find himself slogging threw the snow in Feb asking people to ignore many of his past writings which don't come close to matching the Liberal Parties platform and yes he'll be slogging because they won't be able to afford a bus.

Dan in Alberta
I don't understand how people can be sidetracked from what really happened. Harpers mini budget was well thought out and it even showed goverment restraint by cutting PUBIC CAMPAIGN FUNDING for ALL parties. To me a party needs to be able to stand on its own two feet by raising its own campaign funding instead of using tax payers money. To think that the Liberal, NDP and the Bloc were conspiring to take down the conservative goverment before the mini budget was released to me is nothing less than treason. If the so called coalition was something that had happened afterward than it would have had some legitimacy. This was a Pre-meditaed coup and the leaders of each party involved in the coalition should be charged with treason. Not once have I heard an opposition member offer anthing constructive that would help the people of Canada. I would hope that the Govenor General would see that the best thing for Canada would be for us to have another election rather than a Coalition that way the people of Canada can finally have their say concerning The Coalition.

ScurvyDog
A truly democratic government would settle this again by a vote and not by a coalition although we all know its totally legal.

Bob Rae indicated it's Harper's way or the Highway. Stephen has not been given the chance by the people to show what he can really do to make Canada better. He is always held up on certain issues by the Opposition and that has reduced our potential. Even the Sovereign Quebec issue was quieted but not any more. And what happened to the GreenShift? Harper was right again and it was about the economy and we are competing just fine albeit a Global recession. Hardly in the same category like the USA even though we are so intertwined with the American trade and economics. Harper has put the framwork in place to ride this out although there will be layoffs. Do you really believe other parties combined would have been better? Anyway, we will see.

Mike in Stittsville
@Doug in Carleton Place

You ignore the fact Doug that Canadians just elected a new government. You ignore the fact that no government has ever been elected in history with more than 50% except maybe Mulroney. Yet you say the majority didn't elect Harper. The largest group of voters elected Harper by far with 143 seats...

Now say we are "family" when people like yourself are trying to divide the "family" by attacking Harper and ignoring the "family" voice in the past election..

Hugs and kisses eh?!

Eliz
I hope Bob Rae stands his ground. Just for fun, I’d like to watch. I guess you could say I'm kind of Liberal that way.

More important then who’s at the helm? I guess that would mean to Mr Layton, it really doesn’t matter who the Prime Minster is. Not as if Layton is paying attention, but Canadians care who the PM is. I keep hearing people refer to president elect Obama. Maybe we should start Prime Minster elect Harper. Maybe this way Layton and his fellow deaf conspirators will take note that Canadians already voted and it wasn’t for them. Layton really ticks me off.

NorthstarAmigo
As an observer from the states, every time harper never got his way, up comes a non-confidence vote. Shuts out the media, among many other undemocratic and non-cooperative things. He is practically best friends with one of the worst presidents in american history and there is protest to keep him? Canada, seriously! You no more need prime minister harper than you need president george w. bush. Thank God for your coalition that returned common sense to a cooperative working government!!!!

David in Parry Sound
It seems to me that a lot of people have attacked the coalition as undemocratic. My question is why was it okay for a coalition to be formed by the then opposition leader Stephen Harper with the NDP and BLOC and no one claimed it was undemocratic or leading the spliting of the nation and now we have them in government with a liberal opposition that was asked to form a coaltion with the NDP and Bloc. One word comes to mind HYPOCRACY! I only think we should view all the facts before pointing fingers and blaming others for the crisis we now face.

Jocelyn Bourdon in Ottawa, Ontario Canada
It is time for all the leaders of all parties to step down. None of the parties got a majority. We should re-start in january with a clean slate.

Jonah
1. First they attempt a coup.
2. PM Harper’s television address to the nation at 7 pm is the most publicized event of the day, and the coalition’s proposed PM (Dion) can’t even get the tape delivered on time.
3. The sub-standard video looked like one of their grand-kids produced it…very convincing !
4. The coalition’s proposed PM is now going to be replaced, before even taking office.

What a bunch of clowns !

Sylvain, Vancouver Island
This coalition has to be a Jack Layton’s idea from the get go. It may be true that it won’t make him PM, but he will be the one calling the shots and holding the puppet strings.
Let’s see 24 ministers, 6 of them NDP with Jack either as minister of Foreign Affairs or better yet National Defence. A senate seat opened for Elizabeth May “Is there anyone who voted for me?”, so that she can also become a minister, most likely of the environment (green shift anyone?) And then, throw in chunk of money at the Bloc so that the majority status of the Coalition can be maintained.
Now, there’s a recipe for success! Let Jack rule the country; it’s a sure way to find out what this guy is all about. We’ll find out just how sound the economic strategies of the Coalition/NDP are, and just how much the Climate Change will be curbed by the tax grab of Elizabeth May’s version of the Green Shift.
I say let the Coalition take over the country for the next two years. If it means that the NDP and the Green Party will be obliterated and that the Liberals will be shown a lesson of at least 15 years on democracy, then I will take the cost of the Coalition as an investment for future good, responsible, and democratic government.

Bob in Winnipeg
My post from a week ago, most of you must have missed it or didn't want to beleive me.
With the Liberals off balance Bob Rae and Jack Layton (both silk-stocking communists) have managed to make the Liberal Party look even more incompetent than the conservatives were able to. The sad part about this whole sorry story is that Mr. Layton has been working this deal behind everyone’s back for months. His next shoe to drop will be that the NDP no longer have confidence in the Liberal Government under it's current leadership and will ask that Mr. Rae be given leadership of the party till the Liberal convention in May and I don't mean Senator Elizabeth May.
I really feel sorry for Mr. Dion because he has been set up by people in his own party and the NDP and he deserves better.
Mr. Dion and Mr. Harper made good adversaries and worked well for Canada, together they could have easily gotten us through these troubled times.

Sandra in Delta
I feel very sorry for Mr. Dion even though I am not a liberal supported. It seems very apparent to me that Mr. Layton was the driving force behind this coalition idea and he and Mr. Duceppe combined their personal vendetta's against Mr. Harper as they said prior to this past election that they were going to vote against anything that the Conservatives brought forward. Now to me it seems that Mr. Layton and Mr. Duceppe have not only deceived Mr. Dion into following them and as a result cost Mr. Dion his political carreer, they should be ashamed of themselves. I am not saying that Mr. Harpers is completely blameless in this polictial mess, but it is quite apparent that this whole political crisis had nothing to do with any economic update the government presented, that the coalition plan was in place and it would not have made any difference what was in the economic statement. One other thing that I wonder is with the world economic crisis going on would any other country including the USA want to have anything to do with an unstable coalition government that is led by a temporary priminister? I do not want another election to have to take place, but it seems that it may be the only choice....hmmmmm....

Marie from Brockville
It should be obvious that scheming Harper was deliberately trying to trigger a no confidence vote and go to the polls at a time when the Liberal leadership is in doubt and they have abolutely NO money, thus achieving his coveted majority. (Poor Mr. Dion has very little charisma so thow him out despite the fact that he is still the smartest man in Ottawa.) Are we voters so shallow?

Edmonton John
For those still struggling with the arithmetic and suggesting that just because most people didn't vote Conservatives doesn't mean we mind having Harper as PM.

Most of us mind very much! All the work we put into trying to keep the Conservative party to a minority was to make sure that its leader would conform to acceptable behaviour.

Since the Conservative party elected Harper as their leader - quite different than Canadians in general electing him - and Harper unilaterally continued his personal agenda of attack against the representatives of the majority of Canadians, the formation of the coalition became necessary.

Don't you see, most of us pushed for a Harper minority specifically so we would have this tool to discipline the outrageous behaviour we expected. By forming the Coalition to depose Harper, the Liberal and NDP, with approval from the Bloc, are fulfilling the wishes of the electorate they represent.

The results of the last election are very much a mandate for the formation of the Coalition.

Now with Ignatief at the helm, I hope we will continue to push for the removal of Harper on the very first day that Parliament reconvenes, but that is up to the leaders of the opposition to decide.

Jim
This whole thing causes me a bit of concern. No matter who the Liberals pick as their "interm" leader, this person will not have been elected to fulfill the role. In the event of a coalition government I can see Jack Layton pushing his agenda being the only elected leader in a leadership role. Mind you, he didn't even win his own riding with a majority, (45%) of the vote. Perhaps Mr. Layton and the Canadian Public need to be reminded of this point.

GHW
Thank God Dion is stepping down finally. Dion is a sincere guy but in a nice kind of way is a bit of a bumbling goof. Ignatieff seems like the best choice for the Liberal Party. The real enemy of the Liberal Party is Jack Layton and even Bob Rae. Beware of socialists! They’ll have us all living in government owned cubicles working for the greater good of the glorious motherland.

Mattie - Barrie
Correction to my previous post - Bob Rae in an Ontarian. Its Jack Layton, of course who is the Quebecoire.

A note about Bob . .
There are many reasons for the Rae government's loss of popularity between 1991 and 1993. The NDP had never governed Ontario before, and Ontario was experiencing its worst recession since the Great Depression.

You know what? He couldn't deal with it.

Dennis
Dennis in Ontario
So who among us is perfect enough to cast the first stone, an agreement was made that he was to hold the office until the party could re-elect a new leader but the wolves are biting at his heels now and in a way I feel sory for the people that are of a liberal mind as they have no one to vote for, the one good choice has sold out for who knows what position in the party to leave a clear run foe Igy and Rae by the way Rae will never get the job Ontario will never forget that turncote with his Rae days crap and igy just sucks big time.
To Mr. Dion I say you gave it yiur best shot and it did not work out for you so don't let the jerks pull you down any further, Just stand up like the man you are shake it all off say good by and walk away with yoyr pride in tact or they will drag you down to their level unless that is what you want then fill your boots

Tim from Calgary
Another leader from Ontario (or Quebec) to lead the Liberals. Same ol' tired story.

Seems like this party can't seem to find anyone to lead it outside of those two provinces. But then again, the Liberals don't have much support west of Ontario to begin with.

Peeved in Ottawa
Perhaps more clarifications are in order....or perhaps more canadians need to revisit what a democracy is and our history.

Nobody votes for a coalition government, every party wants the leadership during the election! The whole point of a coalition is to represent the majority of Canadians, as we each voted for an MP to represent us and not necessarily the party itself. Now that said, I'm not saying that I'm all for it. But coalitions do have positive sides and that is to force parties to work TOGETHER for the country's best interest.

For those who will respond that the Bloc is not a federalist party, you know nothing about Quebec politics. Can you really tell me that if your province had a party representing your interest in Canada, you wouldn't vote for that MP? The Bloc is a federalist party, they are representing Quebec within Canada. Now, the provincial party (Parti Quebecois) are clearly separatist and that is the goal of that party. Perhaps the rest of Canada is just jealous that they don't have their own party representing their province's interest, as this seems to be the case from Western provinces based on the comments that I have read. The challenge is on!

Jon in London
Hoping for a posting.

Aahh the sad irony of it all.

The opposition has long suggested the Conservatives being George Bush's lap dog all these years.

Bush then comes out with the biggest taxpayer funded stimulus package in the history of the world. Bails out everyone.

Now we have the Jack Layton coalition being interviewed and complaining that our Conservative government hasn't acted like Americans with a similar package.

Can someone please clarify this for me? Little help over here.

Don from Ottawa
My hat goes off to Iggy for offering to be the Liberals' Kim Campbell. The party won't be able to rebuild itself until it fully hits bottom, and in this respect Iggy should be able to complete what Dion started.

Whereas Dion was a weak and sympathetic figure whom voters didn't have the heart to drop-kick out of the stadium, Iggy will make it easy for them. I hope the boy from Harvard wears a helmet.

Is Stephen Harper finally going to shed his robotron image to become the new charismatic "hockey dad" of Canadian politics? Will Liberals and New Democrats end the suspense and say "I do"? Stay tuned for another exciting episode of Canadian Politics!

AG in Ottawa
So the new Liberal leader will be selected and anointed by the select few of the Inner Circle without the blessing of the membership at large... I feel for Messrs. Leblanc and Rae; what a slap in the face and what a dismal example of undemocratic exercise of power. Better not be any lectures about democracy from the Liberal corner of the House, when it reconvenes.

The Hammer in N.B.
I only have one question to the staunch conservative's who have added comments to this item.

What does it matter to conservative's how the Liberal Party choose their next party leader?

Like are you going to vote for him?

Or is it who that person might be that conservatives fear the most?

Short of how the next leader is chosen, I think the so call vast majority of conservatives should look in the mirror and see who is looking back at them. Their present day leader is far from being a "10" on the 1 to 10 scale and his honesty could well be put into question as we have seen over the past months by the number of negative comments on Harper that have been posted on various sites and in numerous printed media.

I'm sure that no matter how the next Liberal Party leader is selected, like in most things in life and politics, he will not be able to please everyone.

In addition, if only one person was running for the leadership and he was selected would that be undemocratic to the conservatives?

Let's not forget, Bob Rae is nothing more than and NDP in sheep clothing.....!!!!

Jack in BC
We all get (for the most part) that coalitions are legal in our parlimentary system. However, the GG must feel that the coaltion is legal and in the best interest of Canada.

Do you really think that she would grant the coalition power when (and I say when because they will vote down the budget no matter what) Conservatives lose confidence of the house considering they cannot even decide on a leader? If she had already granted them power, would Dion have been PM for a week before Ignatieff took over. How ridiculous would that have made Canada look?

Bob Rae isn't going to step aside so easily. He only switched from the NDP to Liberal because he thought that was the only way he'd get to be PM.

I just hope that when the opposition parties vote against the budget that the GG disolves parliament and calls an election because Canadians certainly don't have any confidence in this coliation.

And yes, I am willing to concede that at this point Harper should probably be replaced too but I think we have enough political instability in Canada for the time being!

Earl Robert
What I find interesting is the support for Harper. We are in good hands and Harper will guide us through this mess without selling out Canadians. Harper, the right man, in the right place at the right time. I voted for him and he continues to have my full support.

PhilipHauser
Ignatieff will join a long line of out of touch liberals in thinking they and only they know what is best for Canada.

The Liberal party continues to be fought over by Martinites and Chretinites. Let them continue. Sad that they can't just hold hands, pull back from the edge of the cliff they are wanting to throw us all over and say. Hey, let's have our schedule convention in May.

We can elect a leader in the time honoured tradition and live to fight another day. We can rebuild a once proud party and be a reasonable alternative to conservatives.

The sad truth is Bob Rae saw a chance to initiate a scorched earth policy thinking it was his only way to win. He should be unwelcome in the party of Pearson, Turner, McKenna and King but no, Liberals decided people like I were unwanted and that ranting lunatics and socialist sympathizers were the way to go.

Good luck to them and us as a nation if we give them the keys to the kingdom anytime soon.

Frank Buchan (Vauxhall, Alberta by way of Ontario)
Stands to reason: the LPC wants to "appoint" a new leader; then to "appoint" us a new government despite the obvious collapses of their coalition solidarity.

To those in the LPC who view Ignatief as a saviour, beware what you get. The man is closer to a US Republican on many topics than any previous LPC leader, and at some point he will have to work around having been absent from Canada for nearly 30 years in a row. It's hard to imagine he instils confidence in average Canadians given his absence for so long. Having said that, to those who call him American -- he spent most of those years in the UK. He is also an academic at heart, and that ultimately remind sme of the old phrase - those who can't do, teach.

If they vote the budget down (which they almost certainly will, as they have no real options left), it will be worth an election to see how Ignatief fares when the weight of the LPC fortunes are on his shoulders.

Barry
Why do so many of the Conservative haters continue to misrepresent the facts. The Canadian public has the right to vote and based on those who choose to vote, a government and their leader is elected in either a minority or majority government, based on those who cast valid votes.

The fact that more voters might collectively vote for different parties does not allow the Canadian public to have a say in that "opposition block" becoming the government.

Rather is is only parliment through their position that may vote in confidence, or not or form a coalition as they have attempted to do.

The fact that many voters have not voted or that the majority of Canadian voters have not voted for one party is a red herring.

Matt C in Calgary
Forming a "coalition" was a colossally bad idea. The ones who will benefit the most from this fiasco will be the Bloc. Mr.Duceppe must be laughing in his sleep. For Mr.Dion (and Layton) to not see what was coming (i.e. dissolution of the coalition), and then continue to support it, is stunning. Neither of them are fit to be leaders.

I would suggest that Liberals keep in mind that all of the Liberal Party leadership hopefuls (Ignatieff, Rae and LeBlanc) supported the coalition (to his credit Mr.Ignatieff recongnized the error of the proposed coalition and eventually backed off). However, for each of the leadership hopefuls to initially endorse and support the coalition shows a serious lack of prudence.

If the Liberal Party wants to elect another "Idiot Sauvant" and assist the Conservative Party....then.......

Glenn
I find it funny that everyone accuses the Libs of being power hungry. They never pushed for a coalition in the last government when they would have had more legitimacy, and only got in this time because the NDP and BLOC negotiated it before hand. They also did everything (read chronic abstention) to avoid an election which was triggered by Harper himself in contradiction to his 4 year fixed election date policy. The Liberals may be pathetic but "power grabbing" seems the least accurate description. Harper kicked them so often that they finally had to do something and really that is why we are in this situation in the middle of the biggest economic crisis in decades. SAD!

Robert in Toronto
Sigh... Perhaps, instead of blasting the coalition idea, or the Conservatives, or berating either Dion, Harper or Iggy, we can look at another angle....

Let's look at 'coalition' government as a legitimate way to vote in the future - each party announces who they will work with in the event that they don't get a majority - so the Libs campaign on the basis that if they don't get a majority, they will form a coalition with the NDP, and the Cons can announce they will for a coalition with the Bloc (Harper wanted to do just that a few years ago - but that was ok then, just not ok if it's the Libs that form the same alliance).

The idea is that we can then vote based on knowing that whatever government we vote for will be around for 4 years and we don't have this 'mid-term' election nonsense.

By the way, I don't see the coalition as a 'power grab' - it's a constitutional and legal alternative to an election if the government of the day loses the support of the House. And Harper has definitely lost the support of the House (and a lot of Canadians).

George in Fredericton
It has been obvious from the beginning that the parties of the coalition had no intention of working with Harper regardless of what plan he proposed. They have been planning this since election night.------Why do the coalition parties want the BQ to help them gain control of the government? That is easy to explain; simply by looking at the numbers.-----
The BQ who by there own admission (Gilles Duceppe said this clearly Thursday night on national TV) are only interested in advancing Quebec’s strength in Parliament so they have control.--------The people of Canada could not have been clearer in the last election. They did not want the Liberals or the NDP.-----
Without the BQ the liberals represent only 23 % of the total electorate with NO representation west of Ontario. ---------The NDP have no representation anywhere except a small portion of Ontario and a scattering of seats in BC. ----------By joining with the Bloc, both parties gain power and force their agenda’s on all of Canada while they can ignore the entire western half of this country. ----- By so doing the coalition puts 38% of the seats of government directly into the hands of 23% of the nations population (Quebec) While 30% of the population (everything west of Ontario has only 9% representation in the government)
IS THIS TRUELY WHAT CANADIANS IN THE EAST WANT

Richard
The problem with politics is that it exists. Most non-partisan economists agree that throwing untold millions/billions into our economy today is not the best approach and will have serious negative side effects later. Plowing money into ineffective and inefficient business does not solve the real problems. I'm not a huge Harper fan but give his Government a chance to provide a stable base from which to grow the economy back to where it was and you may be pleasantly surprised by the results over time. Can't do that can you!! Politics gets in the way of good judgement and truly looking out for the best interests of Canadians.

shelley
After reading some of these posts about Liberal party infighting, I have to wonder about these comments. If Harper didn't silence his party so much, what might we hear? Looks to me that many people are extremely upset with Harper's behaviour (for example all these rallies). Makes you wonder what might be Mr. Harper's future. Even if this man ran for any other party, I'd never vote for him, especially now. I hope he has been sitting with his head between his legs, and does so till January 27th/09.

KC
The conservatives have this great big white elephant in the room named Harper - everybody is thinking the same thing but nobody wants to say it. This is a critical moment for the conservatives to renew themselves but the arrogance is to thick.

As a liberal, I hope the conservatives keep him.

Tori
The Liberal Party is in big trouble.

Dion despite his good intentions was never going to be strong enough to become PM.

With the backlash of Canadians they are now trying to kick their leader to the curb and vote in a new one overnight.

They jumped into bed with the NDP and Bloc

They cannot even decide how to bring on a new leader. Ignatieff thinks he has it the bag and Mr. Rae is crying foul already over a vote that has not even happened.

With Mr. Rae the Liberal party would never dig itself out of the hole for a very long time.

Their best candidate Mr. Leblanc just turned his back and said, no thanks.

Ignatieff Who? He is a writer, a filmmaker and professor who have not spent more than 3 years in Canada over the past 20.

With the Liberal party so divided, the huge question of integrity regarding the Bloc being invited to be part of the collation and the NDP being as trusted as they are….oh my gosh how will they ever not run this country into the ground? There is so much infighting that they will never have time in Parliament to fix the issues at hand.

Sounds like the Liberal party is running alright, running to catch a fast moving train that they are about to miss.

Bradley Strange
I would say that it about time that Mr Dion stepped down, he was never right for the liberals in the first place. Good Luck Mr Ignatieff, and make a Liberal supporter out of me again.

Bluenose
"The weakling and the coward cannot be saved by honesty alone; but without honesty, the brave and able man is merely a civic wild beast who should be hunted down by every lover of righteousness."

Teddy Roosevelt

Joe
Be careful for what you ask for. A majority for the cons will give Harper free will to do what he wants. You folks that would be happy with this, will start to complain about Harper a few months after his victory.

mpdman
So long Stephane. We, in the Liberal Party will miss your steadfast determination in the face of your own utter buffoonery.

I can't wait to see all the Liberal MP's falling over themselves to pledge allegiance to Iggy: “he is our leader, we support him 100%, and we admire his huge cranium”.

My gawd, you guys are about as stable as a jar of boiling nitro-glycerine.

Keith in Brampton
One down; two (Harper, Layton) to go. Duceppe is the only one staying true to his goal - sowing the seeds of dissent & discontent to make it possible for Quebec to separate. The rest are a disgrace to the word "leader"; all three national parties need a new "face".

Oh, and to John in London, who wrote: "Canaidans [sic] will never again vote for a party that is willing to undermine democracy for their own petty gain."

John, as that applies equally to all THREE national parties with sitting MPs, I guess you're expecting a landslide for the Greens next time out? LOL!

Adam
I dont understand, one day conservatives grill the liberals for having dion at the helm the next when he decides to step down they grill him again for quitting.

Roy Cotton
I guess when Mr.Dion is replaced the coalition documents that were signed by him are no longer effective.

Jackie
It's about time to see Dion go. He pains me every time he's on TV and you can't understand what he's talking about. Better off.
Just hope Ignatieff does his stuff and we'll see if he gets an A.
As for Lisette of Toronto:
Your wishes....ummm....I'd re-think those wishes. Abolish the GG...I think not!

DGL
Can the people who keep suggesting that the majority of Canadians voted for the opposition party give it a rest? They voted for 3 opposition parties with 3 different platforms, leaders and ideologies. Yet you are somehow claiming they voted for the coalition? Don't think so. If the 3 stooges want to see how much support their coalition has among the people, they can go into the next election as one party. They will be royally trounced and the Conservatives will get a massive majority. This coalition silliness is only a pretend party and nothing more.

DoasIsay
The left must unite..the Lib brand is gone.

Kevin D
The liberals need to be careful here. If they get Ignatieff then proceed with the coalition they might be successful. If they get Bob Rae and keep pushing for the coalition then I think a lot of centrist liberals will break rank and leave/ cross floor/ go independant. I have in the past supported the conservatives and Harper and am the tipping point right now with Harper's attitude. He has a minority government and needs to act like it, if not I do not mind supporting Ignatieff and the liberals. (But it would be a cold day down below before I support Layton or Rae)

Bob
Excellent choice to have Michael Ignatieff as new Liberal Leader. Could not have found a worse leader in Dion. Liberal Fortunes will improve immensely. Next to bring down the Conservatives. Harper and Flaherty have been lieing to Canadians

Don
So we will have an appointed leader of the Liberal Party, appointed by caucus, not the general membership, who will carry the liberal flag, such as it is. Do they expect, without a campaign to define their new vision as a party with a new leader and obviously with a new vision/platform that its expectable to defeat the existing governemnt without that causing an election. I think not. Layton is just laughing in the background as the mastermind of this mess.

Ontario remembers-say NO to Layton & Rae
Liberals should choose Ignatieff this week as both party & parliamentary leader. Ignatieff should backbench Rae, if he doesn't quit first. Then the Liberals have to end their participation in the coalition, only then can they begin to rebuild. Liberals listen carefully, the voting public will never accept this separatist backed coalition. Layton has finally shown his true colours & it's too bad that the ndp are stuck with him. I firmly believe that it won't matter what Harper puts in the Jan. budget, both Rae & Layton are still vowing to vote it down. Their attempt to take over our gov't is blatant opportunism for power & personal gain. They are saying that the bloc is only supporting the coalition, NONSENSE. Rae & Layton needed seat nos. from the bloc party to get the coalition off the ground. What did Duceppe demand in exchange for bloc seats in HoC - how far did Rae & Layton go in their promises to the bloc. The coalition agreement was not authorized or sanctioned by the Canadian people. Layton & Rae are manipulating weasels who twisted the parliamentary process to their personal advantage. Don't be fooled, they didn't do this for us. During a time of economic uncertainty it is morally decrepit for these two socialists to throw our country into turmoil,all for personal power & gain. If Ignatieff refuses to step away from the coalition & the budget is voted down then we need an election or some liberal mp's might cross the floor or become independent. What is needed most is a revamp of the parliamentary rules to respect voter choice & prevent this kind of assault on our parliament ever again.

Greg - Alberta
Man, this guy can't take a hint. Resign. Now. Today. 5 minutes ago.

Here's your backpack, what's your hurry?...

Let's get some rational discussion going on between the libs and conservatives and get things going again. Everyone will have a chance to make their case to the electorate in good time.

Sorry Jack.

Mary
Many Liberals I know are not happy at all that they may not get a say/vote on a new leader. Where is the fire? This feels like a faux emergency to 'appoint' a new leader. It is regime-like.
I would think that under these 'circumstances' they would purposefully take their time to choose a well vetted man who will prove to be a good fit. Many are Leblanc supporters. Fools rush in.

Liberals flip flop once again...
Dion not three days ago was saying on CTV that he was staying on as leader until May.

These Liberals don't know whether hey are coming or going.... and their supporters want this gang to run Canada? Shame.

These people are major leagued screwed up and to allow them to sit in the seat of power would be a HUGE mistake because they will do anything with the Bloc holding the balance of power. It's all wrong, wrong, wrong.

I'll gladly prefer and Mr. Harper he is far more responsible than this gang who change their mind like the wind if they think they can score some political points.

Canadian interests will be left far behind with the Liberals in power.

Jason P
Perhaps with Ignatieff in as leader some level of intelligence will return to the Liberal party and they would likely be able to figure out a working Parliament with Harper. Point is - Lib's are not fit right now to run the country period. Careless spending, divided party is too risky especially in co-op with the even more reckless NDP. The bloc cannot be allowed to have this much power over western Canada.

Dan
You can see the outcome of this in the pictures of the players posted in this story. Dion, staring off into history. Iggy, big smile as if to say, YES!. Rae, a frown as if to say, this isn't fair! and Layton, a smirk as if to say, I am driving the show here.

The only missing person is the Bloc's Duceepe... I wonder what his vote is when they close the doors and vault Iggy into Leadership.

Gregory D
I am an old liberal but have recently went with the conservatives as the party is in disarray. I now have hope for the party. I wasn't sure about Iggy but listening to him talk the last while, and ignoring the usual spin, he seems like a reasonable fellow. Rae is a definite NO NO NO for the party. I would bet that he was actually behind this coalition which in my view is not good for the country or the party. As far as Dion I respect him but he is just not a leader. With the way this country is fracturing political I would actually like to see a larger block of Independent voters. They could keep parliament focused and in control. My two cents.
Merry Christmas everyone

Kevin in Toronto
For those that think Harper miscalculated. Let's take a look.

The Conservatives, according to a Compas poll, now have 51% support nationally - up substantially from the election weeks ago. If an election were held now, they'd win an easy majority.

The Liberals are a broken party with 20% support nationally.

To be fair, I think people should give Ignatieff a shot. I think he'll move the party closer to the centre than they've been in years. I think he might even be able to pull some small 'c' Conservatives over to the Liberal camp.

bd in sk
Stephen Harper led a minority government for two and a half years. He obviously knows how to negotiate, cooperate, play the game. He didn't want to this time for whatever reason, or perhaps a miscalculation.

For those of you who are talking about how he "bullied" policies through the House, it was because the Liberal opposition sat on their hands or walked out. This summer, if you will recall, Mr. Dion was mentioning at every turn how he was going to defeat the government. Mr. Harper knows how to play the game. He was baiting them to pull the plug and force and election all that time.

I think, even now, there is some method to Harper's actions. He doesn't strike me as someone who does things willy-nilly. I am starting to think that he is a chess player.

I think that he and Mr. Ignatieff will get along just fine. I wouldn't be surprised if they've been talking privately about the budget, about Dion, etc, for quite some time. The Liberals, NDP and Bloc are not the only ones who have plans.

Just watch Ignatieff support the budget in January even if Bob Rae becomes the leader. I suspect there are enough Liberals who would stand with Mr. Ignatieff (it only takes 12) to hold off a Lib - NDP - BLoc coalition. It may turn out that the coaltion actually becomes one between the Conservatives and 12+ Liberals.

Jim Edmonton
The country is in serious economic trouble, and Harper threw a gernade at the opposition to start the ball rolling. I think the Conservatives better get rid of him now---he is not a leader for the COUNTRY

elizabeth in Vancouver
Elizabeth from Vancouver, an anglophone from Quebec

Dion is too intelligent and not dirty enough for politics. Even Harper's strategist said Dion was a very "decent" guy. He isn't the bully Harper is and wouldn't stoop to such tactics.

I hope Harper shows humility and apologizes for provoking this situation. I doubt he will. I am furious at the disunity Harper has caused the country and especially with an election in Quebec today. He hopped into bed with the Bloc when it was convenient - now he doesn't need them. He has insulted Canadians right across the country and has not demonstrated statesmanlike or prime ministerial behaviour. Who else do they have in the party? 3 minority governments - most parties would ask the leader to step down.

I hope Dion returns to academia where he can influence young people who will deal with the seriousness of climate change.

Let's hope Canada doesn't win the Fossil Award again (like Bali) in Poland today. The world is watching! Harper has to act now since Obama is committed to cap and trade. Off camera the Conservatives believe Climate Change is a load of croc. 850 U.S. mayors have signed on to Kyoto. Jim Prentice strikes me as having a little more tact than the abrasive and bombastic John Baird. What an embarrassment he was.

bcdarr
Well, it seems the dust is settling finally. I sincerely hope now that Harpo has been leashed and has his tail between his legs, we won't need a coalition government threat anymore.

Canadians always wanted conservative fiscal policies for this crisis but not a megalomaniac dictator who thinks he can run roughshod over all of us or a coalition of dictator wannabes trying to do the same.

I'm disappointed in the games of all the parties, but it looks like our system works to compensate for human failing and I'm grateful for that.

A strong minority government with a strong opposition is what we need now (it's too risky a time for a majority of any one party - they've proven who they ultimately care for) and hopefully the politicians will finally do their jobs without putting the rest of us at risk.

J in Edmonton
The hyprocrisy and deceit of small and large 'C' conservatives on this is staggering.

1. Lying is: Harper claiming the moral high ground re: the coalition working with the Bloc, when he attempted to do THE EXACT SAME THING four years ago! Harper could not have passed any legislation without the support of the Bloc back in 2004!

2. Lying is: Harper standing in the House and Canadians and saying that the Libreral/NDP/Bloc agreement was signed without a Canadian flag present, when the Canadian flag and the flags of all 10 provinces were present at the (public) signing.

3. Lying is: Harper calling this deal "secret back room dealings without consulting the voters." Let's see: the pact was in front of the cameras and the Canadian people. Whereas I cannot, nor can anyone else I ask, remember anything about the signed letter that Harper sent to the GG EVER BEING MADE PUBLIC. This was kept from Canadians! The first we heard of this occurred when the NDP and Bloc raised it in the House. When did Harper ever consult the us on this?

4. Harper, Conservative MPs, and others claiming this coalition is an "attack on democracy," when in fact it is a perfect example of our democracy and parliamentarty system in action.

Harper and the Conservatives cannot win this situation on the merits of THE FACTS. They have to lie, divert attention, stir up and play on Canadians' political biases, prejudices and unbelievable total ignorance of our Parliamentary system.

This is the 'leader' and party you want in control of your affairs?

Vito in Montreal
Ok so lets see if I understand! It didn't work with Dion so the Liberals need a new leader. Since time is not on their side they will forego the usual democratic liberal leadership vote and instead a "caucas" of who's who in the liberal leader will select a new leader. Of course we as Canadians will have no say on whether we want this new "leader" as prime minister. Sounds fishy to me.

What if this doesn't work then what, the liberals storm the parliament and take it by force?

But then again maybe I have no idea what I am talking about.

Hos
I remember in 2000 when Al-gore, the US presidential candidate, lost his compiagn by a very few votes to his rival G. Bush and there were a kind of legal battle between him and G. Bush over the vote counts. Al-gore, at that time, offered to step down immediately from this Legal battle for the whole sake of the US national unity. This is a real hero who favors his country national unity over his personal gains.

Here in Canada, we have one of its kind most danagerous ideology in Canadian History called Stephen Harper who has no hesitant to divide his nation and create a national unity crisis just for the sake of keeping his job. This Harper is a real danger for canadian value and tradition.

Stephen Dion, on the other hand, was a real honest and smart man. Yes, he did some mistakes such as allowing the Harper negative ad machine to destroy his imgae in the Canadian mindset, losing his self-confidence under the pressure of losing the last election but, atthe end no wonder if he avoided these mistake, he could be the PM of Canada.

Dion might not have the great charisma needed for a leader but he is, without any doubt, a good substance for a sincere and honest politician. He indeed come forward with a good platform and a good plan for his country and their national unity.

Such a sincere Dion is no surprise to favour his liberal party unity on his position as a liberal leader and to decide to step down immediately as soon as a successor is chosen.

I hope that Dion get the chance some time later to have a big rule in the Canadian governemnt. May be he can be a good Envirnomental minister fighting climate change.

Canadian Immigrant
Fabian Newfoundland
It's unfortunate this guy has never been given a break either by his party or by the media....I truly gelieve Dion to be a honourable man with good intentions and I guess that kind of man doesnt belong in politics when you have clowns like Harper running the country and power hungry liberals like Ignatieff ready to jump.....I wouldnt think twice about voting for a coalition with Dion at the helm......I would think twice with Ignatieff running the show.

Fabian, at last somebody who sees BRAINS behind the face and is not stuck with "charisma".
"BEAUTY IS ONLY SKIN DEEP - EVEN IN MEN"
"HONESTY, RESPECT, HONOUR AND DIGINTY IS STEEPED IN CULTURE, TRADITION AND UPBRINGING"

Mr Dion, you have our sympathy and respect - in the long run you will benefit from all this. Good Luck.

Mary
Harper and Ignatieff's resumes can be compared/interpreted in many different ways. Like Ignatieff, Stephane Dion, too, was a highly credentialled and respected academic who could not drum up the confidence of the Canadian voter. Does Ignatieff have business adminstrative experience? Many academics are ideagogues with limited business acumen and skills at delegation, and leadership is rare quality. Harper's strong economic knowledge was an aside as he pulled together a brand new party from several unstable groups. Actually, with his business acumen and developed art of the deal, I liked Paul Martin the best out of the last 20 years, and was sorry to see him inherit the scandals.

I think Harper is by far the strongest man for the post at the current time. He and Flaherty have been immersed the international loop, and have many experienced fiscal Conservatives, as well as international contacts to keep Canada in the critical loop. It would take another party months just to get up to speed on that, let alone domestic issues. We need stability now. If we feel a change is warranted at a future date, then so be it.

Dave
To John in London:

You betray your agenda when you use obvious CPC propaganda like "Canaidans will never again vote for a party that is willing to undermine democracy for their own petty gain."

That is how our democracy is supposed to work. Coalitions are specifically allowed and Canada has had them in the past.

The prime minister is not "the leader of the party with the most seats" and never has been. Constitutionally, the prime minister is whoever has support of the House.

The vast majority of Canadians voted against the Conservatives and voted for Liberal or NDP candidates so it would be "democratic" for the Liberal/NDP coalition to take control as long as they can work together.

Whether they can work together or not is up for debate, but the Constitutionality of it is not.

Lindsay - Edmonton, AB
This entire week people keep saying that the majority of Canadians didn't vote for the Conservatives but what everyone seems to conveniently forget is that the majority of Canadians didn't vote at all. Those that did put a Conservative government in place, granted a minority one but a government nonetheless and I for one am tired of everyone whining like three year olds because they didn't get what they wanted. And that goes for the leaders of the opposition parties as well. I hope that in the next general election, whether it be in January or three years from now, that more people turn out to vote and have their voices heard. By not voting, the citizens helped this situation get to where it's at and to say that you give up and will never vote is saying that you don't even care about your future or that of your children.
As for the leaders of the opposition parties - shame on you for trying to overthrow our government in a backhanded way and showing Canadians what you really think of our voice.

kendell friess
Dion and Jack went up the hill to fetch a pail of power.
Dion fell down and broke his crown and Jack came tumbling after.
Ignatieff be humble Ignatieff be quick, Ignatieff should not jump over the Bloc veto tricks.
And little boy blue will blow his horn and win a majority. And we all will live happily ever after.

kf

Serge Gauvin
Fabian from Newfoundland

Eddie the transient from Moncton was also an honorable man with good intentions but no one would see him as Prime Minister. 25% of the vote is not sufficient for a mandate to be PM. Let the Liberals choose a new leader and take the country where it should be...in the middle. Welcome back to the middle of the spectrum, Liberals

Centrist Albertan
There seem to be many people who do not understand their own Parliamentary system.

We vote representatives to the House of commons.

The House selects its leaders, we don't.

This isn't like the USA voting for a President.

Lance from Calgary
I hope that all these people that keep parroting the loser argument that the opposition parties won a greater percentage of the vote remember this if their party ever forms a minority government.

Somehow I doubt they will.

Jeff
Dumb question time - doesn't the coaltion now become defunct with one of the signing parties no longer in power and no longer speaking for the party? If the coalition no longer "exists," now maybe we can get back to the issues at hand instead of the power grab. We're owed at least that much as Canadians.

Canuck in Bellingham WA
Two things everyone understands but people keep suggesting is different than the facts.

1. The majority of people did not vote Conservative.
2. The Conservatives were by far the most popular party.

Trying to put a spin on either of these facts is tiresome.

When we have another election, which will likely be soon, either the Conservatives will win a majority, or they don't. Either way, accept the will of the people.

I live in the US. Trying to paint Harper the same as Bush is also tiresome and ludicrous. You may not like Harper, and he certainly is no Obama, but he is the Prime Minister. Live with it. Whether he is doing a good job or not is a MATTER OF OPINION.

Yes, he tried to be a bit of a bully. Yes it backfired.

I disagree with continuously running a deficit. But to have a short term deficit may be a good idea. Just like comparing paying down the debt to reducing taxes, is simply a matter of preference. Personally I think Harper is doing an OK job. Not great, not bad.

I hope he gets a majority.

Brett (Vancouver)
Angus, you stated, "I am a Conservative on the verge of voting elsewhere"

I call you out on your lie sir. You are not a Conservative. Your tactics won't work. Unlike the Liberals, the Conservatives are NOT divided. We stand firmly and united behind our leader.
This whole coalition debacle has only strengthened our resolve.

Duane in Calgary
To Dave,

While the majority of voters voted for someone other than the Conservatives, none of them voted for a coalition, as has been stated many times.

In fact, that some voted for the NDP means that they did not want the Liberals in power and vice versa. And not only that, it cannot be done without the support of a separatist party. Is there any greater hypocrisy than claiming the coalition is in the best interests of Canada and Canadians when one of the parties involved exists solely for the purpose of it's own interests and not Canada's?

The coalition leaders would rather just through money out without any sound plan which will hurt us more in the long run. Give our economist PM a chance to do what is actually best for the country in these difficult economic times.

brad
OTTAWA....
It is clear that the coalition parties (Lib/NDP/Bloc) had more members elected then the Conservatives. So my question to all who believed allowing the coalition to take the reigns of power is this...why were no Bloc MPs in the coalition government? We should have seen a split of approx 12 Lib/7 Bloc/5 NDP cabinet ministers. Why shouldn't the Bloc MPs, who were duly elected by their respective Canadian constituents, be held just as accountable as the Lib and NDP members of parliament for their decisions and actions? If the Bloc feels this coalition is good for their constituents and the country then they should also be required and prepared to provide members to sit as ministers in this coalition government. Otherwise, let the election we just had stand with the minority Conservatives governing.

Western Patriot KC
There seems to be an agreement amongst all of the conservitive bashers that Harper has screwed things up.Maybe just maybe,this was all planned out by Harper in advance.Lets look at the whole situation going back to the last election.The media start talking about an coalition with the opposition parties, they all refute the proposal saying that the idea is a bad one.Yet behind the scenes Jack Layton sees an opportunity,to gain power.He goes to the BLOC first because he knows that he cannot get the Liberals support first without the BLOC.After gaining the support of the BLOC, he then approaches the Liberals with the idea of a coalition to overthrow the govt. and place themselves as the govt..The Liberals get a sniff of power, especially Dion who was just trounced in the last fed election and beacause Jack allready had the support of the BLOC,Dion goes along with it.Now in comes Harper, who caught wind of the coup, and knew what they were all up to.So planning right down to the day, he and Flarehty poison the fiscal update to expose the oppositions cards.I think that it was done this way ,(released on a thursday)to give the opposition one day in the house to boil over and get the reaction he wanted on Monday,(photo op of the signing of the coalition).This exsposed the oppositions hand and left no room for them to backout.

Now Harper has them all where he wants them,they are trying to impose a nonelected govt in cooperation with the BLOC,on the people of Canada,and got the reaction that he was expecting.Now he takes this to the electorate,who are still boiling over from just having held an election apparently thrown out the window by the opposition parties,and gets the full majority that he wanted all along.Brilliant isn't it.

Kris
Hey Vince in Trenton:

The Cons never have listened to the Canadian people. They don't even listen to their own MPs. You should do some research and check out how they govern - no meetings required because it's a one man show.

arthur of toronto
It's sad to see Dion being out-manoeuvred by the crafty Ignatief and out-witted by the luke-warm, traitorous former NDP Rae. Sad, sad day for Dion who may have to build his own monument on Parliament Hill. Layton's half-hearted handshake with Guiseppe when the three signed the conspiracy agreement is another irony to the Liberal debacle. Layton is equally responsible for Dion's accelerated fall from grace. The Liberals have to learn that Canadians across the land were outraged by the parliamentary coup. Voters for whichever party felt their ballots, mandate and will in the last election have to be respected and upheld.

There should be no insider trading to topple whichever party in power. It has to be done with absolute transparency, credibility and honesty. Anything less is not an option to the electorate's trust. Any new government to replace the fallen government has to be decided by the electorate either in a referandum or a general election so that the electorate's democratic rights to elect their own government to serve their interests are not trampled upon and seized by rogue regimes. Liberals' infightings, schisms and treacherous power ambitions among its top leadership have shattered our age-old confidence in the Liberals.

Hoping for Change in Ottawa
Dion is a good honest man, but not leadership material. I wish Ignatieff and the Liberals well, they have a big job ahead of them. Let us remember that Harper set off this whole present crisis with his blatant attempt to gut the competition by removing the main source of their financing as well as presenting a poor response to current economic realities.

And as for all this nonsense talk about "democracy" as regards the coalition - for crying out loud just about every constituional expert has said the coalition is perfectly democratic and proper. Harper won a "MINORITY", about only 1 out of 3 Canadians voted for his party. In many democracies, coalitions are a way of political life.

GHW
The whole argument of the coalition collectively having more votes and hence more support is false. The electoral vote of the last election was for individual political parties and their respective leaders. If the coalition ran for government it would NOT get the support these coalition supporters claim they have. Let’s have another election this spring and the coalition is welcome to run in any shape or form it wishes. Take over the government any other way and you will pay a heavy price for many years to come. This whole coalition is nothing more than a socialist plot.

As an independent living right smack in the middle of the country, I would be happy with either a dually elected Harper or Ignatieff government.

If this coalition takes control I will consider joining a Western Seperatist Movement.

Johan
"As the Governor General has granted a prorogation, it is a logical time for us Liberals to assess how we can best prepare our party to carry this fight forward," Dion said in the statement.

This is proof of the mindset the Liberal leaders are in -they are not selecting a new leader to add value and make a meaningful contribution to the government of Canada - they are selecting a new leader to take "this fight" - meaning their fight with Harper and the Conservative Party - further. Their goal is only to take over power and not to serve the best interests of Canada - absolutely shocking!

MikeH
So Rae says allowing elected Liberal MPs to choose a leader is 'undemocratic and illegitimate', because Liberals across Canada will be disenfranchised?
You mean, do to him the EXACT same thing he wants to do to Canadians with his coalition?
This ranks as one of the most insulting and hypocritical comments from a Canadian politician ever.

Matt C in Calgary
Is the Liberal Party prepared to work with the Conservative Party to pass legislation that is in the best interest of the country? Or, are they intent on "bringing down the conservatives" at all costs. If the latter is the case, then I would suggest that they are not concerned with the common good.

As someone who has voted both for the Liberals and the Conservatives in the past, I don't want to hear that a political party (i.e. the Liberals in this case) is vowing to bring down the government WITHOUT HAVING SEEN THE BUDGET and AFTER ONLY A FEW WEEKS FOLLOWING AN ELECTION.

As the official opposition, the Liberal Party is there to provide legitimate scrutiny and debate the effectiveness of any legislation proposed by the Conservative Governement. That is necessary and good. If reasonable (the legislation), they (Liberals) have a moral obligation to support it. If any of the Liberal leadership hopefuls are saying something other than this, it leads me to believe that their intentions are self-serving.

bp in sk........good comments.

M M B Ont
Nothing will change with Dion replaced. Iggy is not even chosen as Leader and already he is promising to overthrow Harper's gov't if he doesn't like what is in the budget. Give me a break !!! Iggy and Layton have no intention of giving input to the Budget at Harper's request. Their only intent is to overthrow the present elected gov't who by the way were elected with a larger minority that previously. They are accusing Harper of stalling and not doing anything about the economy, yet what are they doing?? Forming Coalitions, attending rallies and overthrowing the present gov't. Talk about a waste of taxpayer's dollars who pay their wages !!!! These men have to GROW UP or GET OUT and Layton should be the next to go. MacLean's magazine knew about Layton's plans to overthrow Harper way back in Nov, before Parliament hardly convened ! Layton cannot be trusted and neither can the others !!!

Barb
When is Stephen Harper going to step aside? He is the one and only one who put in motion the unravelling of Parliament.

G-man
Layton and the Liberals need to get out of Toronto, if they truly want to know what the county's mood is regarding their union with the Bloc. Interesting to see the third man in the coalition is always missing. CTV, and viewers, please study up on Constutional law. There can be no Coalition without the Bloc. Simply put, the Liberals and NDP, combined, DO NOT, DO NOT, have enough seats to bring down the government and present a coalition. This fact seems lost on the "arts-centric" media; at least in eastern Canada. Anyway; wheres Gilles??

Terry
I think that Mr. Harper is in a very good position. If he fails in his next budget, and he gets toppled, it seems that he can actually win a majority, by saying that the Liberals and NDP sold Canada to the separatists. According to recent polls and rallys accross Canada, canadians are more willing to side with him and ditch the "unholy" alliance.

Wade In Calgary
So now my new force-fed prime minister that I didn't vote for is Mr Spock. Who's next?

Charlene
I have heard all possible arguments for and against the coalition government. The one thing that most people don't seem to realize is this coalition government if allowed will set presidence for all future minority governments in Canada. This is a very dangerous game. I hope a majority Con. government for the next time around. Maybe the GG will see this and call the election. Sask.

Joe C from the Capital
to MadMax

Remembering a party that had more than 50% of the votes to run a country...Hmmm...How old are you? Cause at 26, I remember Jean Chretien having 3 MAJORITIES in a row....Yeah, 3...Let that sink in.*looks at watch* Time's up.

And I just would like to comment that the Coalition thing is a democratic thing, but two parties who contradicted each other on things at every election leading the country? It's a little crazy how it could work.

Third of all, if Michael Ignatieff wins (I mean WHEN he wins) a fresh leader in a party that has been poorly represented by Stephane Dion will do some good...Someone who won't use a coalition to get his word across. Someone who is a leader and that could lead the Liberals to a probable win at their Elections

To all four parties, because we cannot exclude the Bloq, it's time to think for Canada....Not for the powr but for the people...because the people put the trust in their MPs to bring their voice to the Hill. It's time to face an economic crisis dead on and help stimulate the country before 1929 Part Deux happens.

Golf Chick
What a different a WEEK Makes!!
Today could have been the day that the government was toppled by a coalition led by Stephan Dion..... thankfully he is not leading the country and apparently not even qualified to lead a party!
How can such a misguided, unorganized bunch of Liberals expect to take over the government, they can not even decide how to elect a leader!!!!!!

edd-medhat
The canadian voter does not select the individual that becomes our Prime Minister. This selection is also not made in Parliament by the MP's. The selection is made at the leadership conventions by the representatives of the various individual parties that are present. Therefore no Prime Minister has ever been the sole choice of any majority voters in Canada, ever.

lacluont
I think we missed the chance to have an honest leader who wasn't bent on running an empire.

Harper had a minority and should have worked with the opposition like he was supposed to.

Olivia from BC
Stephen Harper has done more harm to this country in one week than any politician in my lifetime. To see how this man governs with a minority gov't, I fear if we ever get a Conservative majority what he would do. Also, both Harper and Stockwell Day were willing to work with the Bloc before, so if you have a problem with the coalition working with the Bloc, Stevie didn't in 2004 and Stockwell didn't in 2000 and they are lying if they say they wouldn't work with them.

Ken from Winnipeg
Really! Who cares who leads the coalition? Layton is essentially a career politician. Duceppe is a former communist and trade union negotiator. Ignatieff is a history professor and Rae is a lawyer. Harper has masters in economics. it is quite clear that the leaders of the coalition are deft politicians – or think that they are – and have demonstrated arguably better political savvy than Harper - none are trained in economics. They know how to blow bluster and play the political game but don’t have a clue when it comes to running the country. Harper is the opposite. He doesn’t know how to play the political game but he knows how to run a tight ship.

After the last election, it was clear that the public voted most for Harper’s plan than for the three other party’s plans. You can’t join the three opposition party’s economic plans and come up with a coalition plan. They are all different. The liberals green shift, NDP tax and spend and Bloc Quebec only plan.
Harper knows the markets sink lowest when everyone exhibits fear. The markets hate fear and uncertainty. The media, however, loves it and even feeds the fear so it can sell more papers. Harper has tried valiantly to calm everyone so they continue to spend and keep Canada’s economy moving in the right direction. The opposition prefer catastrophe so they can ride in on their white horse and spend our tax dollars propping up inefficient industries. Rather than the government give money to the forestry and automobile industries Harper wants everybody to buy some 2 x 4’s and a car.
Oh, and the coalition’s white horse? It’s a Trojan horse. If we should let the coalition form our government, who knows what will climb out from within it.

Tom Brancato Ottawa
Hey? What happened? On Friday all the Liberal MPs signed a very sincere letter to the Governor General stating that they supported Dion as their leader of the coup d'etat... er ... I mean coalition. Now a mere 4 days later they are ready to dump him? Isn't that called "lying"... Oh Yeah.. I forgot... they're Liberals !

Greg - Signs and Wonders
Doesn't Mr Dion get it? It's over, step aside NOW... and let the dust settle. There is no reason for him to cling to what's left. I'm a liberal and support the party in it's efforts to choose a new leader. It would be nice for that to happen as a fresh start, and not in the shadows of Mr. Dion's departure.

Michael Lauer
The last government to reach 50% of the voters on election day was the PC Party back in 1984, the one before that was the PC Party in 1957.

In the past 40 elections, there has only been 14 governments to actually receive 50% of the voters support. The liberals have not done that since 1949, a short 60 years ago.

KD
I'm a conservative but i could vote for Iggy. If the liberals mess this up fighting for who gets to be in charge or if Rae somehow snakes his way to the top they are done. Liberals shouldn't mess around like they did with the last leadership race. If you want to stay relevant drop the games and get a leader.

bye bye
And the Liberal media loses another one of their self proclaimed stars.
Stay Stephie Stay.

Larry NL
If Iggy is coming to the helm, that would be good for the liberal party. I may not be able to spell his name, but I can understand what he is saying.
The first thing Iggy has to do is to put as much distance between him and Layton and the NDP. The NDP are not doing the liberal party any good.

Johnnie Oil
Hey J in Edmonton, the answer is YES on all counts.
How anyone can support a seperatist coalition of no moral fibre or ethics is beyound me. Be guided by your envy of the succesfull and your hatered of Harper or open your eyes and take a long hard look at this situation, the three can't even run thier party finances or encourage thier party members to pay for thier support. It doesn't take much, $10, $20 at a time like Obama and the conservatives have done, that is democracy - not relying on taxpayer funds!!

Tom In Ottawa
Hey did you hear? The Leafs won the Stanley Cup... they've formed a coalition with the Habs and Sens and are demanding the GG award them the Cup because collectively, they scored more goals than the Wings did during last Spring's play-offs! Gary Bettman is rushing home from Europe in response to this attempted Cup Coup.

Abby U
Just watched Leblanc and Rae on CTV: boo woo...waa it's all Harper's fault. He's so mean...waa. The process is not fair How could anyone ever support either of these losers.

David V.
Looks like the Libs are poised to replace one out-of-touch professor for another. At least Dion was in Canada during his academic career. While he might be a smart guy, one can only imagine how much Ignatieff missed while spending the most important parts of the last three decades outside of Canada. I daresay his real knowledge of Canada is pretty second-hand as a result.

Allan Eizinas
The ascension of Ignatieff over Rae indicates that the center-right philosophy has won over the center-left.

Ever since Bob Rae joined the Liberals he has espoused that the Liberals should do what the Progressive Conservatives did with the Reform/Alliance Party. Move to the right, amalgamate and present a common front. Rae suggested something similar with the Liberals moving left and embracing some of the more moderate social philosophy.

Until this latest Flaherty fiasco, Harper had been moving his Conservatives slowly to the left and squeezing the Liberals between the conservatives and the Greens and NDP. His right-wing “hidden agenda” was still tucked in his back pocket to remain dormant until a majority was achieved. Then the Flaherty anti strike, anti equalization payment, anti public funding for political parties fiasco let the cat out of the bag and people were beginning to wonder just what other ideological ideas were tucked into those Harper back pockets.

Ignatieff opposed the Rae philosophy and suggested moving more to the right, force the Harper Conservatives farther to the right and isolate them so far to the right that the public would reject those “extremist” policies.

It looks like Ignatieff has won. I believe this means that he will wait until Harper has presented a very Obama-like pro-stimulus package of $billions and then reluctantly vote for it – “for the benefit of immediate stability and the Canadian people!”. He will also start to pick at the political scabs that cover the now wounded Harper. The Conservative sharks smell blood and we have Prentice, Nicholson, Clement, Baird and Flaherty in the wings. March 15 was a bad day for Julius Caesar and may be a bad day for our own Conservative/Reform version in 2009.

Ryan P.
CTV is carrying THE BEST comedy on TV right now, The Liberal Party of Canada. These MP's have no concept of reality if they are going to pick a leader behind closed doors....the next election will be the true wake-up call that this party is so desperately in need of.

Saddened in Brantford
Well, here we go again-the government has resumed it's freefall. Ignatieff has no plan either but you'll all vote for him next time out just cause he's a Liberal!
Good luck out there.

JB in MB
I agree with Bd in Sk -

I think Harper has to be a chess player. For good or bad, every move has been well thought out. To be honest, on the world stage at this time - do we want an unproven limp noodle for a leader, or a strategic "bully". I want to see a leader in place that has the stones to say the hard things, and make the hard decisions.

As both a feminist and professional career woman - I admire anybody that can be a fighter. Love him or hate him - Stephen Harper is like a rock. He is not prone to emotional outbursts - and thinks about every move he makes. Despite the perceived arrogance, there is no doubt that you know exactly where you stand with Harper.

Goose1
It's very interesting that Bob Rae is upset that only the Liberal caucus might have the vote to bring in a new Liberal leader, and yet that's exactly the same type of policy he is for when it comes to choosing the next Prime Minister with his Coalition. That only the members of Parliment can choose the next Government, not the Canadian people.

His own words state, "I think that it's in the interest of both Mr. Ignatieff and me to have a process that's democratic"

Interesting how he can flip flop when it suits only him. Talk about self interest.

Hey Bob, you can't have it both ways.

DJC from Winnipeg
I don't know why Bob Rae is so upset about being bypassed as leader of the Liberal party. He should be used to sidestepping democracy by now.

Mary
To Earl Robert - The support for Harper is very healthy and firmly in place, and increasing to between 46 and 51% amongst us peon voters. The demonization of Harper belongs to the smoke and mirror coalition set, methinks, and is stoked in their push for power, and then repeated by their party faithful just in case it might work.

Brian D Prince Rupert
Isn't this just something else now. Here we are today with the Liberals all running in circles trying to decide how they can decide upon a new leader in a DEMOCRATIC process. What total hypocrites. Last week the Liberals, with the help of the NDP and the Bloc, tried to overthrow our newly elected federal government and to impose a coalition government to run the country. Somehow the Liberals seemed to think it was OK for Canadians to accept an unelected, self imposed government but now they struggle with the same process for themselves. What a disgrace. It would be a joke if it wasn't so serious.

ed
Ed in Alberta
Last week Mr. Dion was the best of the three stooges to be our PM, now he can't even be leader of the liberal party, what happened?

Bill in Montreal
Coalitions work. There are coalition governments all over the world. Our constitution allows for them even though we have never had one. Everyone who says it is unconstitutional to have a coalition government ovviously does not know the Canadian constitution. Let's give it a try, it can not be any worse than what is going on in Ottawa now.

Robert C
To John in London
You are so very right. Canadians will not vote for a party or prime minister that is interested only in their own petty gains. bye, bye Mr. Harper

Doug BC
As a former Liberal,I am glad to see Mr.Dion has made the decision.I am no longer able to support a Liberal Party that now looks very much like the NDP in drag,I am still not a big fan of Mr.Harper's either.But I still see his party as the only viable option for a fiscally sound future in this country.BC has been devasted every time the political left won power in this province.Jack Layton does not inspire me to believe his input at the federal level will be any less socialistic,or even remotely resemble fiscal prudence.
So,I now vore against the Liberals and their recently adopted socialist leanings.I did not reject them because of Mr.Dion.
He deserves to be thanked for his hard work in the past and for a genuine effort to make things better for Canada.His sincerity is not debated in this household.We simply cannot buy into the trappings of socialism.And,no matter how they spin it,that's what the federal Liberal party has become.
If there ever had to be a coalition,it should be like the one in BC,where Liberals and Conservatives united under one party banner (at one time Social Credit,now Liberal) to keep the loonie left from running the show.
That aside,Mr.Dion has had some successes in government that continue to benefit all of Canada.I think he has been poorly served,and poorly advised in recent years.And clearly has no idea about western Canada or it's goals.

Doug P Red Deer Alberta
1/3 of the Rat Pack (Coalition)is now gone ,2 more to go.
If the Budget is defeated on Jan 27 then bring on the election.
I can hardly wait to see a Conservative majority in Parliament.

Drew in NS
Hey Lefties

The Coalition isn't working

The polls are in:

59% Opposed a coalition

50% won't support a coalition

70% feel Harper should stay in power.

Enough of a Majority for ya!!!!!

Bob
Yes, Harper is no Obama. Obama hasn't done anything yet. Harper is only the second term Prime Minister currently heading the financially strongest country in the G20. No disrespect for popular Obama. I root for him in a big way.

BMIA
Dion is a politician like any other politician and acts like a politician.

When he was Environment Minister under Chretien he had the chance to put the Sockeye Salmon on the Species at Risk list.

He caved to industry's special interest groups who told him it would be a loss of 100 million dollars over the course of three years.

I'm not making a statement for or against putting the sockeye salmon on the species at risk list. I'm making a statement that Dion is a politician who has acted like most politicians do - cowtowing to special interest groups.

Don't judge a man by his intentions, judge him by his actions.

Georges
I am sick and tired to read argument saying that the conservatives got only a third of the vote, therefore they don't have the right to govern. If so, no governement without 50% of the vote wouldn't. It means all governement canadian had in the recent history.

Candice
Wow, what venom in them posts! Apparently a few people are still bitter over the results of the last few elections and it's not at all certain if they are angry with Harper, the coalition, democracy or even
Obama.

Joe P
I really think Canada should break up...it would be best for all provinces involved.
If Ontario sided with the West and we simply booted Quebec out, how would this be bad for ANYBODY?
If the West split and left Ontario and Quebec to themselves, again, how would this be bad for ANYBODY?
Our politics are a joke. Let's move forward with a stronger post-Canada.

LHB in Montreal
What is good for the goose is not good for the gander for some.

Please Mr. Rae why is it that back room deals, with no voice from the lectorate, that would bring desastrous results for our economy is democratic in you view

BUT:

Your Party choosing a new Leader in the same way is undemocratic in your view.
I AM THINKING BIG EGO = YOURS.

I think your lack of support from the members of your own Party reflects the fact they are not duped to your misleading them on the real RAISON D'ETRE of the BLOC.

I am a Canadian that live in Quebec. The Partie Quebecois and BLOC are one and the same. The only reason they call themselves sovereignist instead of separatist is because as both parties agree they are waiting for the winning conditions to bring for a new referendum SO IT IS HONEST TO CALL THEM SEPARATISTS.

They will never work for the betterment of Canada but keep Canada hostage as long as it lets it. You will never give them enough Canada get used to it. Hoever this Coalition has brought it in the forefront and for Mr. Rae to say they are no important part in the Coalitin is false. 114 votes is not enough to form a Coalition vs 143 no matter how you slice it.

The Bloc would never agree to work with National Parties unless in was in their benefit.

Calling a spade a spade is neither incensitive or politically incorrect. THIS IS NOT A GAME IT IS THE FUTURE OF OUR COUNTRY THAT IS AT STAKE.

Pat - Canadian
HELLO?!

The guy who wants to lead the country just suffered the BIGGEST loss in Liberal history. Jack Layton would have this country bankrupt before he had a chance to warm up his cabinet seat - however everybody would be EQUALLY bankrupt so that would be ok. The Bloc should not even be allowed to be a party if they have no interest in participating in the good of the balance of the country.

I am not a fan of Harper. Although a highly intelligent man, he is a poor communicator and that undermines his ability to lead. But when I see the uncontrollable lust for power from the 3 stooges - with no plan other than to take power - it becomes obvious that, in these troubled time, Harper is the man to have in the driver's seat.

I would hope that Iggy can clean Liberal house of some of the old boy pork barrel rot that has been there for so long. Perhaps there is hope in the future, once he gets his sea legs and little Parliamentary experience.

I would look forward to an election in 18 months from now with possibly two formitable parties offering decent leadership for this country. I would hope that the clear winner gets a majority government.

Elias
I find it hard to beleive that there are still people out there that think this "coalition" idea is still an option. The whole thing is dead in the water within a week of its ill fated conception. The only ones that thought it could work were the three amigos, and look how wrong they were.

Scott ONT
1) Harper never said times weren't going to be tough. He simply stated that an all out panic would worsen the situation and he was right. The media has so much influence on the economy now it's outrageous

2) As much as I'd like to believe the Libs will actually let Harper present a budget, I'm not holding my breath. I've said all along that this coalition was in the works before the election and I'm sticking to that

3) The liberals don't have a leader among them right now. Iggy and Rae? C'mom. The best thing for them would be to beg Manley to come back into the fold

4) For those comparing Harper or his policies to Bush and his, give it up. His economic update didn't have any earth shattering plans because he was waiting to see what Obama would do in January. Do any of you really think it would be prudent to sink billions of dollars into something only to have it negated by the US plan? Waiting to see what Obama is going to do is the smart thing to do. It'll enable them to work together and try to stimulate what is a global recession. Because frankly, there's no way in hell, no matter what anybody does that we're going to rebound until the rest of the world starts to rebound.

5) 90% of you people ( I mean all voters ) don't seem to understand how the parliamentary system works. The coalition wasn't illegal or undemocratic. It was just sneaky and misleading. If the GG had thought that the country would be better served by having the coalition govern, that's what would've happened but she didn't.

MHB
God bless you Mr. Dion!. One of the most decent politicians Canada will ever see and this is why he had to go!. We are unfortunately left with politicians like our PM who says one thing in English and a different thing in French!.

Dave in Victoria
To: ALL THE LIBERAL SUPPORTERS. If you want to help the Liberal Party then stop attaching Harper's consevatives and post positive comments about the new leader, a new direction, a new policy, whatever. If you want the party to rise from the ashes then you have to be positive. Building anything requires positve thoughts, destruction is negative.

Statesman-like Dion sets aside personal ambition
Dion steps aside, in order to allow others to lead.

In this critical period, given the conditions of global economic meltdown, it is too important to stop a power-hungry Harper from defying the will of the majority of Canadian voters.

Harper won a plurality, not a majority, and yet he suspended Parliament, locking out the majority of Members of Parliament that Canadians had chosen to represent them in the House of Commons. This perfidy shall not stand.

Canada salutes hero Stephane Dion.

This fellow Canadian salutes you, Stephane Dion.
Your personal sacrifice does not go unrecognized.

Tim in Halifax (on the bridge)
As a closet "Trekkie", I am very excited that Sarek (Spock's Father) will now lead the Liberals. He is wise, logical and from another planet.....see...many of you knew Iggy looked familiar, now you know.

Joyce
I find it hard for the Liberals to say that it was Harper that is the undoing of the Liberal Party problems. The Liberals elected Dion and have been the main source of making the error to elect a weak leader.

Rae is making a valid point that in appointing Ignatief "AS LEADER NOW", does not give a fair advantage to have Ignatief acclaimed and then having both Rae and Ignatief on the ballot at the Convention where the LEADER WILL BE ELECTED BY THE GRASS ROOTS lIBERALS. This almost sounds like the lIBERALS WILL BE ACCLAIMING IGNATIEF AT THE CONVENTION AND NOT HAVING THE GRASSROOTS HAVE A SAY IN WHETHER IT WILL BE RAE OR
IGNATIEF.
Speeding up the process , because the Government needs opposition to the Budget, well an interim leader needs to be appointed and the election of their new leader at the Convention should include the Grass Roots Liberals, to have their say whom is to be the leader in the end.
I think the Liberals should first look at their own faults before attacking others for the Liberals being faulted.

nicolas
As soon as Jean Charest gets his provincial majority he should run for the leadership of the federal liberals.

Pat in Sherwood Park
LHB in Montreal is my hero.

What he / she said is exactly true. Here's my take:

I am sick and tired of hearing how Quebecers are 'offended' by anyone who questions separatists in parliament. Separatists with veto power is absurd. Only a country paralyzed by political correctness and an misguided desire to be perceived as 'tolerant' and 'inclusive' would allow this idiotic set of circumstances. This isn’t tolerance, it's stupidity.
It is clear that many Quebecers have no insight to how stunningly offensive it is for non-Quebecers to listen to an endless list of affronts to Quebec, while English Canada is expected to be endlessly tolerant of Quebec’s views and aspirations (and pay for their implementation). Don't want to be offended? Don't elect separatist MP’s!

No amount of appeasement, devolution of power, rights or money will ever be enough. Quebec is prepared to take from the rest of Canada everything we are prepared to give and more if it can be forced from us by a weak and unprincipled federal government (step right up Mr. Mulroney, Mr. Chrétien, Mr. Martin and to a large degree Mr. Harper).

Johnson 404
Iggy is a smart guy but can't lead this party. He supports the war in Afghanistan and if he was in office during the Chretien years we would have been in Iraq. How about his support of Free Trade? Do those sound like Liberal Party values to you? No wonder Bob Rae is so interested in beating him.

NS amazed
Now that Dion has done the right thing, it is time for Harper to do the same. Neither the people of canada or the house of commons have any confidence in either. All Harper is concerned about is his EGO not Canada.

Pat in Sherwood Park
Quebec Rant - Part Deux

The coalition government will strip Alberta of the Prime Minister, five cabinet ministers and 27 government MP's. Most Albertan's, and many, many more across the country, are FURIOUS at this situation. And the focus of the national media is that Quebecers are offended because we don't want separatists from Quebec holding the balance of power? Unbelievable! I barely have words to explain how absurd and grossly inequitable this is.

If nothing else, this entire fiasco demonstrates that Canada, in its current configuration, is UN-GOVERNABLE and has been for decades. It's asinine to suppose anything else. Coupled with the concentration of population in southern Ontario the Canadian political model is fatally flawed. When politicians from Quebec and Ontario are gleefully prepared to have the party with the most elected members and popular vote sit in opposition the only conclusion any objective person can draw is that they clearly don't care about the people that cast their votes for the Conservatives.

The time has come to start a new national dialog that recognizes these realities. Continuing to pretend that fairness and equity can be found in reasonable measures across the country with the current system is a mirage. If Quebec is so offended by their treatment they should leave, soon. Likewise, many people in the west are finally coming to the grim conclusion that the federation is broken and incapable of meaningful reform. For as long as appeasement of Quebec and the wants of the population of southern Ontario continue to trump all other items on the national agenda it will be so.

A True Canadian
In 1917 some of the parties of the goverment decided to join together and formed the Union Goverment Party (the first and only coalition) and was ELECTED to parliament thus giving them a clear mandate from the people to Govern. This coalition was not elected but created before the conservative party had put forth the mini-budget. This Coalition to grab power is nothing more than Treason.

Julius
So, the Liberals may go ahead and install a leader without consulting their members...why does this party loathe the democratic process so?

Brigit from Montreal
Good luck to all you Liberals out there and to all those who still consider themselves Canadians... as myself!

Van Isle Jim
Steve in Montreal said " They should put Gilles Duceppe in charge of the coalition. Now wouldn't that be a hoot".
Steve, they did put Duceppe in charge of the coalition because all he had to do was threaten to abstain from voting on a confidence measure unless he got all that he wanted for Quebec. This is what those pro-coalition fools don't realize.
Also as Jamie put it, "scrap the $2/vote and bring on the election!"

Bored of complainers
I watch the news and read the papers faithfully and watch Mike Duffy live often.

Is there another source of political news that the NDP, Liberal, and separatists are watching to explain why they believe the PM's leadership has been ineffective?

Granted the PM is strict and ruffled a few feathers...so what? He's the PM. You want a lollipop... go to Grandma.

We are talking about the leadership of the country here, not play group, not a union, not a volunteer fundraiser...and the so called subject matter experts, goodness where do these people come from?

I don't know people... smokin' too much wacky tabacky? Readin' too much Margaret Atwood? Watching too much NFB? We need a strong country to support culture and those that can't support themselves. PLs help us strong folk support you.

We will, honest. We will pay EI, Taxes for social programs etc....

Lead follow or get out of the way. Pls don't obstruct...it's like dragging three undisciplined children to school and it's getting old.

Donny.
I've been saying this for years... The Liberal Party is in a constant state of decline. If you look back over the past four elections, they have steadily lost support. This fiasco will surely expedite that process (Dion is a great coalition leader on Saturday and a poor leader on Monday). I truly believe the Liberal Party is going go the way of the North American automotive industry! DOWN THE TANK!

al from calgary
To all the people who say that the majority of Canadians didn.t vote for Harper here are some numbers you may want to consider.
1) In only 129 ridings were the MPS elected by over 50% of the vote. Of these 129 the conservatives won 80 the coalition 48 and 1 independent. Neither Mr Layton or Mr Ignatieff had over 50% percent in their ridings so in Mr Laytons own words they should do the honorable thing and resighn as they don't have the confidence of the people in their own riding.

2) The conservatives carried 7 provinces with over 60 percent of the population and the coalition carried 6.

It seems that the majority do in fact trust the conservatives far more than the other parties. Since the Bloc and NDP say they are dedicated to bringing Harper down, it seems that no matter what Harper says or does it doesn't matter so the GG should just call an election and get it over with.

I for one would like the coalition to also table a plan and not just say they have a stimulus package as that is not a plan.

mark in BC
Well

Lets have another election and settle this once and for all, we need a strong Conservative Majority!!!

Ontario!! Wake up and quit voting Liberal.

This country needs a majority now!!

FSN
To Tim in Halifax (on the bridge)

As a fellow "Trekkie", I feel sad and ashamed to admit that I did not recognize Sarek.

I certainly had that feeling of having met the guy somewhere, I just couldn't put my finger on it...

cam
Shelley/Ottawa

I have recently read up on Iggy and was quite impressed. He isn't pro coalition either, if you take the time to listen to him. He wants to review what the Conservatives will do with the budget and try to work with them, if its in the best interest of Canadians. Good job, Liberals.

That is right he is a conservative in drag.The fool was was even with Harper/Bush on invading Iraq.

Liberals choose this guy and NDP membership will soar!

Don - Three Hills AB
I'm truly scared for the Liberals. Not only do they have limited time to somehow pick a new leader, they only have a few weeks to figure out how to use a camcorder.

Concerned
Do we really won't a coalition when the seperatist want in on this??

Ken from Bears' Pass
Way to go, Gerard Kennedy!! You just put the "kiss of death" onto Bob Rae.

Rick W
Look who's crying fowl now!.......Rae wants a Democratic process to select the Liberal Leader, but would be glad to decieve the Canadian people of the same right, with his idoligy of a Coalition Government.

PB
During the Liberal leadership struggle, why don't the losers unite and instead of their leading candidate (e.g. Ignatieff) install one of the bigger losers (e.g Mr. Rae)?
It is too sad that most candidates withdrew, probably having realized how ridiculous their coalition really is.
What they try to avoid for their party, the skunks don't mind for the whole country.

Go Klein!
Sounds like it's time to rally behind Ralph Klein to go into Federal Politics and straighten out this mess.

Stefeny, Penticton BC
As a young voter, I was always impressed upon about the importance to vote. I did cast a vote this year during the federal election. What type of example are the opposition parties setting to new and upcoming voters by trying to through out the elected government...NO, you are saying that as Canadians our votes do not matter and that we have no say in what happens. We all went to the polls in October, casted our personal choice and now the oppositons are acting like spoiled children who didn't get what they wanted. Did they every stop to think that the reason they weren't elected was because as Canadians we didn't like their "Sales Pitch". They auomatically try to low ball the prime minister to force him out and put in themselves which is not what we voted for. I would like to thank the opposition parties for taking away the rights of Canadians.

Sean in Ontario
I have to clear something up.

Somebody said that the Liberals take turns with their leadership, alternating between Ontario and Quebec. That's just wrong.

No leader has ever been picked from Ontario or from outside of Quebec that I am aware of (Turner was a fall guy)..."Iggy" continues that trend, having resided out of country until his throne was properly prepared. That trend goes for the Conservatives as well, with none from Ontario.

Please, do not confuse Toronto or Ottawa for Ontario. They are neither. Toronto is a Liberal/NDP welfare state and Ottawa was only placed this side of the river so that Ontario could take the constant fall for the decisions made by Quebeckers.

proud Canadian
Please don't let Dion leave. He's the greatest liberal leader the conservatives have ever had.
Please stay Dion. Don't let them kick you out of your job. Please stay and tell us about global warming and how some new taxes will save the planet. Please don't go. And please keep your camera guy. He's a genius.

Believer in Canada
Dion had always accused Harper of lying; to me he is not telling the truth as to why he is stepping down - being forced by his party to step down due to incompetence. Based on the reason given by Dion, I would say he is lying!

Peter D in Toronto
So the enevitable is to be expedited. What's laughable is the hollow comments now being made by Bob Rae regarding not being too quick to annoint Ignatieff as the new interim leader. Come on Bob..." It will give him an unfair advantage" ?? Maybe you should take your ball and go home. Grow up and think of the bigger picture for once.

Ken in Kelowna
The Liberals are now applying the same coalition logic to their own party by crowning Iggy as their leader without all members selecting a new leader.

Bob Rae who has now been involved 3 times with take over coalitions objects to Iggy being crowned the leader of the Liberals.

What goes around comes around MR. Rae. The shoe is now on the other foot. Maybe you should have thought of that possibility before you attempted to cast aside the Canadian voters choich in the last election.

Mr. Harper & the Consevatives accomplished more in 3 years that the Liberals did in 10 years.

I am very proud of Prime Minister Harper. Just yesterday our military in Afganistan finally got the much needed Aircraft to help safeguard our troops after the Liberals sent them into war so poorly equipped costing dozens of young lives.

Vote for the Conservative Party!

Canada Goose Whistler
The best thing for the liberals yes! Now maybe we can stop Lame Duck Harper from putting our country back into the stone age. The tax man phoned me I explained my situation as a small business owner, either they wait till next year so I can pay 6 employees or I pay them & send 6 people to welfare. The tax man ( actually a woman) said merry christmas if not paid by the end of the month we take legal action. But Harper wants to give big tax advantages to mismanaged big corporations & put the rest of the country on welfare, so Harper can plug in christmas lights. Really have you seen Harper do anything good for our country?

M M B Ont
LHB tells it very clearly who the Bloc really are. They don't care one iota for Canada, they want everything for Quebec and seperate!
The Bloc does not even enter Parliament until AFTER O Canada is sung !!!!! Does that not speak loudly so why would Dion and Layton form a Coalition with the Bloc? One reason... they can't admit to being defeated by even lower numbers that previously and Harper receiving a larger minority ! Wake Up Canadians.. if a party is deliberately avoiding being present during the singing of 'O Canada" then they are not a party in support of Canadian people!

One down, two to go
One down, two to go. I wish Layton and Duceppe step down

Karl in Calgary
Dion.. Prime Minister one day,on to the back bench the next.
Yes, the Liberals sure have got my confidence... NOT
What a bunch a bumbling.....
Glad Rae still thinks he has a chance to convert more Liberals to his Socialist point of view.
Go Harper.

Wim from Kingston, ON
Memo to Liberal-NDP-Bloc Coalition spin meisters..."take a valium and give it a rest...please!"

Liz from Ottawa
Do any of you actually know WHY the coalition was formed? Stephen Harper tried to eliminate all form of funding to other parties - essentially "starving" the competition. These are not the actions of a democratic leader. The formation of the coalition represents the true voted majority acting together to fight against a tyrant.

Captain Ron
Has anyone any idea of what the Coalition plans to spend $30 billion on? What exactly is the "Stimulus Package" the Coalition proposes anyway? I doubt that even ten of you Coalition advocates could articulate what the Coalition has in mind, and why it is so superior to Flaherty's economic plans. What's in it for Quebec? All I hear is what the Conservatives are not doing, notwithstanding Canada'a projected economic positioning at the top of the G-7. You Liberal idealogues love to complain-please explain what exactly is going wrong and spare the meaningless Coalition rehortic that it so well known for. Listen carefully when a Liberal or New Democrat speaks for anything that meaningful and you'll generally be disappointed. Why should Flaherty and Harper back up, I have yet to hear anything from Layton or the Liberals that defines the economic problem in detail and addresses solutions. They prefer character defamation to wit the common Liberal mind cannot get enough of.

Samual
Harper got less than 30% of the vote

Ronald in Toronto
And now, for your added pleasure, fans... we'd like to introduce "The Import To Be Named Later" And later is now.

So, let's really support the new guy and remind him that, here in Canada, we also drive on the right side of the road.

Lukasz Jarawka
I suggest that the the candidates for Liberal leadership formed a coalition, and take over the party without asking any of the Liberals. I'm sure some will support it, and some wont, but hey who cares they will be the leaders.

THE LIBERAL PARTY IS LIKE A NEVER ENDING JOKE.

Kojak
and the world heaves a sigh of relief!

Andrew
no convention, no money spent by the two candidates to campain, make it acceptable to the grass roots by selling it as an emergency.

No accountability to the grass roots for the fact that these leaders have mismanaged their party to the point where they cannot even have a true leadership race.

Skirt the real issue of being bankrupt financially and morally I think if the liberal grass roots really new the state of their party they would be very upset. When you don't want to be accountable or resposible creat a crisis to divert peoples attention from finding out the truth.

Earle
That Dion would sign on with "Kamikaze Jack" only says that he would do anything to be in power. It sounds like Iggy is at least willing to look at alternatives and I hope that spirit of co-operation is going to rub off on the "new" Harper. Hopefully they have all learned a lesson.

Elias
To Liz from Ottawa.
He did not try to stop "all forms of fundraising" it was to stop the use of taxpayer money to fund the parties. That would include his party as well. It should not be up to us to flip the bill for parties that are lousy at raising the funds they need, and especialy parties that are devoted to breaking up our country.

amir Toronto
Canada will have to comply with the "change" in the USA: sooner or later!
I think Mr. Conservative understands this well.

No ndp & coalition in Ontario
Liz from Ottawa - the coalition was preplanned and negotiated long before the fiscal statement - all they had to do was wait for the first opportunity. It would not have mattered what was in the fiscal statement. Layton & Rae with backing from Duceppe convinced a hurting Dion to join. And then all hell broke loose.

Ken in the Sunny Okanagan
Let's see, the Liberals to serve their own interests went along with the minority Conservative government for over 2 years.

It often was not in the best interest of Canadians when the Liberals went along with the Conservatives..but the Liberals did it simply to save their asses...forget about Canada.

Now the Liberals claim that what they did in forming a coalition was in the best interest of Canadians...what a lie!

The Liberals sure made a hugh mistake by not working with the Conservatives waiting to see how the economy in the USA shakes out with their new President Obama while taking the time to pick a new leader.

I'd like to know of any conversations or suggestions that the Liberals or NDP had with the Conservatives which the Libs & NDP say Harper rejected...bet they were ridiculous ideas that Harper knew would cost us big dollars & do nothing.

I like Harper's strong approach to governing..it is needed.

Marg in Calgary
I find it interesting that Dion chose now to resign, after stirring things up with the coalition nonsense. He should have resigned right after he lost. Perhaps he's just now realizing what an embarassment he really is. And, minority government or not, Harper was still the winner, despite the fact that some people still point that out.

I feel bad for the next Liberal leader who has to clean up the mess left behind by Dion. All I can say is good riddance. Now if we can say the same about the coalition, it will REALLY be a Merry Christmas!

Mickie
I am educated,

Ian - AB

Educated people often times are much more dumber than the people they are trying to put down. Take some grammar lessons!

David Cox
The Liberals popularity has been plummeting, after this coalition idea even further. Dion has been fired now, the Liberals can't get their act together. Michael Ignatieff could lead the party, he wasn't even in Canada from 2000-2005. He lived in the U.S. I predict a Conservative majority due to their arrogance

BlairJ
“A simple vote of the Commons caucus would leave significant portions of our country’s diversity silent in the selection of our leader....That doesn’t seem right” and seems "undemocratic" - Bob Rae's comments regarding the selection of the Liberal's next leader.

Isn't this the same man that for the last 10 days has been saying the Lib/NDP/Bloc coalition decided by and agreed upon by the party caucuses represents the majority and has every right to form a government?

Just another example of Liberal double-talk as they twist things to serve their own individual political interests at the expense of all else - most significantly the country.

Thank you Mme Jean for saving Canadians from this madness.

M. Reid, Oshawa
So what if more people didn't vote for Harper than did vote for him. That's happened to other minority government winners before like Trudeau and Chretien for example. Now, I'd like to know how the coalition gang could possibly know that people have lost confidence in him. I mean, as soon as Harper proposed revoking the $27 million paid out to anyone who runs for office, the coalition were on him before most of us were out of bed. If this isn't the most blatant grab for power by the "infamous three", then I don't know what is.

I would think that any normal opposition like in the times of Chretien and Trudeau, would have at least waited until the new government got under way, or at least hear what's in the new budget before demanding new leadership. BTW, the coalition should stop lying about the people losing confidence in the Harper goverment. They never asked us. What is even scarier, is, if the coalition takes over, there is no opposition, which at least is an absolute must in a minority government.

Charles
I see the Liberal 'grass roots' are now up in arms because it looks as if Ignatieff could receive a coronation and that their vote is being ignored.
Well, welcome to the club you 'lowly' foot soldiers. Your leadership just tried their best to nullify the vote of the last election and ignore those voters choice.

Obviously, they are not too choosy about who they put the boot to, as long as it suits them.

jim in the great white north
So much for the demoratic process, Dion was elected by the Liberal membership. Now ones popularity falls we dump him! So the Conservative P.R. machine kicks in DION THIS,DION THAT and we turf him!If the truth be known the Conservatives can't post a budget,you know why they've blew the surplus we are already in a defeceit.Dion has figured this out and this is why he has to go!Prove me wrong Jim !