OTTAWA–Liberal MP Michael Ignatieff, a candidate to replace Stéphane Dion, says the party may decide to select a new leader much sooner than the scheduled May convention.

"I have been informed that discussions are ongoing," he told the Toronto Star when asked about expectations that Dion, the caretaker leader, might step down imminently.

The possibility of moving up the leadership contest was raised in Thursday's closed-door caucus meeting but went unresolved, a source said. Dion, 53, is under mounting pressure to step down shortly to strengthen his party in its continuing showdown with Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservatives.

Later, in an interview with CBC-TV, Ignatieff said Liberals are concerned the party finds itself in the middle of a leadership contest at a time of political crisis.

"What the party is discussing is whether there are ways in which the leadership race can be accelerated in such a way that we can present clear alternatives to the country, because Mr. Dion ... has already announced his resignation," Ignatieff said. But he added that he is not involved in these discussions. Also running for the leadership are MPs Bob Rae and Dominic LeBlanc.

A Liberal spokesperson said that so far party officials have not taken any steps to move up the leadership convention. ``The convention has been called for May 2 and nothing has changed,'' said Daniel Lauzon.

However, officials said the party executive and the caucus are empowered to appoint an interim leader in the event that Dion steps down.

Yesterday, Dion was reportedly hunkered down with his inner circle pondering his options, but some Liberals expect him to announce his departure soon, possibly at a caucus meeting next Wednesday.

"There's a good possibility that he will step down early," said one Dion associate.

Liberals' already weak confidence in Dion evaporated this week when his amateurish videotaped statement on national television was a subject of widespread ridicule. In Thursday's Liberal caucus, MPs' impatience with Dion's bumbled performance in the high-stakes political clash with Harper was heard loud and clear.

Yesterday, MP Scott Brison said the party needs to pick a new leader in time to be ready to head to the polls early next year if the Liberal-New Democrat coalition decides, with the support of the Bloc Québécois, to defeat the Conservative minority over its upcoming budget.

"I believe it's very important for the party to be election-ready for the end of January or early February," Brison said. "We need a leader in place for that election."

Dion's office had no comment on his immediate future. But the Liberal leader is scheduled to be in Toronto today to attend a rally in favour of the Liberal-NDP coalition at noon at Nathan Phillips Square.

The coalition has been the subject of fierce national debate since it was cobbled together in response to the lack of a major economic stimulus package in the Conservatives' Nov. 27 policy statement. The Liberals and NDP planned to defeat Harper's government this Monday in a parliamentary vote of confidence but were thwarted when Governor General Michaëlle Jean agreed to the Prime Minister's request to suspend the House of Commons until Jan. 26.

Besides Dion's survival as interim leader, the now-delayed standoff between the coalition and the Conservatives has left the Liberals facing a host of complex, intertwined strategic questions.

Chief among them is how the current leadership race will affect the party's readiness to stick with the Liberal-NDP coalition and the commitment to defeat the Harper minority after its Jan. 27 budget.

Rallying the party to be ready to force an election, Rae has adopted a position that appeals strongly to the many Liberals who believe Harper will never reach out as promised to the opposition parties to help create a pro-growth budget.

"We need to keep going, we need to keep moving, and we need to keep going forward" to sell the idea of the Liberal-NDP coalition, said Rae, who was in Toronto yesterday discussing the accord.

"We need to talk very directly to Canadians about our economic program, what we want to do for the future, how we want to do it and how we think an alternative government to Mr. Harper's is necessary," he said.

Rae, 60, dismissed the suggestion that it might be difficult to sell the coalition to Canadians while he is also running to replace the man who leads it.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

"There's very strong support in our caucus for the approach that's set out in the (coalition) document," he said.

This aggressive stance has given Rae, who is thought to be trailing Ignatieff in the early stages of the leadership contest, a tactical advantage – at least for the moment – as he mounts a national speaking campaign.

Ignatieff, 61, has taken a position more in line with many MPs who appreciate the pressure the coalition has brought against Harper but are taking a wait-and-see attitude toward defeating the Conservatives next month. That decision ultimately depends on whether Harper presents a budget with significant measures to help Canadians cope with the economic slump, these Liberals say.

But behind much of this thinking is also an awareness of Harper's success this week in generating a massive popular backlash against the coalition and its sovereignist supporters among the Bloc Québécois. Those second thoughts, however, do not mean the Liberals are ready to shelve the coalition yet.

"The party is united in using the coalition in this way to make sure Canadians get a budget that meets the needs of the economy," Ignatieff said in a telephone interview from New Brunswick, where he was meeting with Liberals as part of his leadership campaign.

"Harper's only chance of slipping out of his predicament is to divide the Liberal party. He will not succeed."

LeBlanc, the leadership candidate from New Brunswick, had planned to officially launch his bid in Moncton yesterday, but when the parliamentary crisis arose his campaign decided it would be more appropriate to wait a week or two.

A LeBlanc campaign strategist said the candidate is, for the moment, keeping clear of the debate that is portraying Ignatieff as trying to keep his distance from the coalition, while Rae travels the country to champion its cause.

"I think (LeBlanc is) going to hold his cards close to his chest," the strategist said yesterday.

Liberals are seized with the question of how to put a new leader in place quickly, said one insider.

"The conventional wisdom for a lot of folks is that we're not going anywhere with Mr. Dion. We certainly won't win the next election with him – I think the Canadian electorate has showed that. So, if there's a graceful way for him to leave before May, the pressure may be on to do that."

If Dion does step down, the party will face crucial decisions about selecting a replacement. There is some talk about moving quickly to install Ignatieff – who has extensive support among the caucus and the party executive – as the new leader. But it's doubtful Rae would accept any attempt to shorten the contest, opening the possibility of a dangerous split within a party trying desperately to patch over years of bitter infighting.

Another option would be the appointment of a different interim leader than Dion. Among those whose names are often suggested are MPs John McCallum, Ken Dryden and Ralph Goodale.





Read more about: