Home » Politics & Society » Canadian Politics » The Rise and Fall of Stockwell Day?

The Rise and Fall of Stockwell Day?

© Rhonda Parkinson

Earlier this week, Stockwell Day announced he would be stepping down, allowing the party to select a new leader. "I set aside any personal aspirations for the good of this party, its principles and its constitution," Day announced in a media scrum. The announcement of a leadership convention was designed to throw his critics within the party--who have been demanding his resignation--off guard. It was a shrewd move on Day's part. The fighting within the Canadian Alliance Party has kept media pundits happily occupied in what is normally a dull summer season. His critics came to the Calgary meeting loaded for bear, determined to force a showdown with the party leader. Instead, faced with the new plan, they gave it almost unanimous endorsement.

Several important questions remain to be answered. The first is the date of the leadership election, still to be determined by the party's national council. It can be held anytime between October 17, 2001 and July 17, 2002. There are problems with setting an early date, as it gives candidates very little to prepare. On the other hand, the executive undoubtedly wants to select a new leader as quickly as possible, in order to leave the mess of the past year behind and move ahead. Executives may well go down the middle and choose a date in April.

A second question is whether or not Mr. Day intends to throw his hat into the ring. "That is a decision which I will reserve for another day," Day announced. Throughout the current crisis, which really took off last April when Deborah Gray resigned her post as Deputy House Leader, Day has insisted that the grassroots, and not elected MPs and higher-ups in the party, should make the final decision on his leadership. However, at this point it is not at all clear that he has their support. Even many of his supporters believe that things have gone too far, and he must leave for the good of the party.

Who else will enter the race? There is no perfect candidate at this point. Since most candidates fall in either the pro-Day or anti-Day camp, they have inevitably made enemies in recent months. Deborah Grey is an obvious choice; however she lost political points when she reversed herself on the issue of Federal pensions for MP's. Another possibility is former Calgary West MP Stephen Harper. What makes Harper an attractive choice is that he is a former MP who left party politics to join the National Citizens Coalition, and thus has been somewhat removed from recent events. One person who probably won't be running, although his name has been mentioned, is Preston Manning, founder of the original Reform Party.

The copyright of the article The Rise and Fall of Stockwell Day? in Canadian Politics is owned by Rhonda Parkinson. Permission to republish The Rise and Fall of Stockwell Day? in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.