convention assessment

Over the past two weekends, Canada's three major political parties have met in convention. In the case of the Liberal Party, it was a teleconference convention purposed to put-off a "real" convention called for by the party constitution. Instead of meeting this autumn to elect a new party leader, that task is now deferred until spring 2013. Liberals are in no mood for a potentially divisive leadership campaign and couldn't afford one if they were. There will also be a biennial (i.e. business) convention in 2012 and I expect it to consider proposals to further democratize the procedure for electing a leader as well as move on policies to recapture the imagination of Canadians.

The Conservative Party met a week ago and, aside from being a love-in with the prime minister, showed its true colours by reconfirming its commitment to repeal same-sex marriage and the long-gun registry. I won't try to explain how Conservatives rationalized attacks on gays, lesbians and police (remembering that Canada's police chiefs and most active police officers have been long-time supporters of the registry). The party's affirmed policies do serve to explain why the Conservatives can't move above 40% in voter support.

The New Democratic Party, meeting this past weekend, also demonstrated why it can't win the support of even 1/3 of Canadian voters. Much is being written about the party's unwillingness to remove a commitment to building a socialist society from its constitution. This observer is more flummoxed by the party's decision to feature the president of the Canadian Labour Congress as its keynote speaker and support for the creation of a left-wing think tank (if that's not an oxymoron) headed by a figure whose best-before date expired in the last century. One wouldn't have been surprised to hear a motion to end the war in Vietnam, such is the state of contemporary thought in the NDP. With leader Jack Layton running around wearing a suit-jacket and tie, for the above-the-podium national media cameras, and jeans, for the convention-floor delegates, the party showed little interest in modernizing itself or its policies to be more appealing to the 70% of the electorate who have never supported it.

A certain amount of gloating is to be expected by the socialists and the conservatives following the May 2nd election performances. If they are thinking, with a certain self-satisfaction, that Canada is on the verge of returning to what would be essentially a two-party system, such a conclusion would be very premature. Both have left lots of room for a re-invented Liberal Party, should it find the will, resources and commitment to do so.