Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff Wants An Election Over What?

Posted by Laura Steiner May 4, 2009

The Liberal Party Of Canada hasn't been very kind to its leaders of late. There was Paul Martin, who was ushered out on the heels of the sponsorship mess- and for losing an election. Next came Stephane Dion; the former professor who fought and lost an election because he wanted a carbon tax. Then came the absolute debacle that was the coalition.

Dion resigned, and we're left with Michael Ignatieff, confirmed as leader at the weekend Liberal Convention in Vancouver. Dion illustrated that you get one shot at winning an election and if you don't then you resign.

Michael Ignatieff has one shot at winning an election. And it appears he wants to fight it on changes to Employment Insurance (EI)- specifically over the amount of hours worked. Right now, where unemployment is lowest employees have to have worked 700 hours in order to qualify for EI. Where unemployment is highest the limit lowers to 420 hours. The Liberals are proposing legislation that would see it standardized to 360 hours.

If the other two opposition parties support the Liberals against the Conservatives, and at this point it looks like they are, we're going to an election. And no suspension of Parliament is going to stop it. My prediction of the results is that Stephen Harper will likely win with a reduced seat count, causing the Conservatives to seek new leadership.

And Ignatieff, will have wasted his shot. Because EI regulations are just arcane enough to make people even more apathetic than usual, and voter apathy is a big enough problem in this country. If Ignatieff is going to take a shot; if he's going to an election, make it count. Make the main issue something Canadians care about: Afghanistan, healthcare, or the economy.

It's a bad idea to fight an election over EI regulations because Canadians don't care. All they care about is they're not working, all they care about is getting a job. Propose a practical solution to that, and the Liberals will win. Fight an election over Employment Insurance, and people tune out before it even begins.

To read more about Igantieff and the Liberal Convention, see: Ignatieff Confirmed As Liberal Leader