Never say die for local Liberals

Jeff Green | Oct 18, 2012

Mauril Bélanger is one of the few remaining Liberal MPs in Eastern Ontario. He has held the riding of Ottawa-Vanier since 1995, and on October 13 he spoke to an up-beat gathering of 25 Liberal Party stalwarts at the Lanark-Frontenac-Lennox and Addington Federal Liberal Riding Association's AGM at the Piccadilly Hall.

Bélanger referred to the May 2011 federal election briefly, as a “shellacking” for the party, before talking about the three phases of renewal the party is undergoing in anticipation of an election in 3½ years.

Locally, the party slumped to a third-place finish. It received just under 17% of the votes, quite a comedown in a riding that includes half of the former Hastings Frontenac Addington riding that was held by the late Frank McCormick until 2004.

Since then, the local association has recovered financially, and now has $28,000 in the bank, which puts them among the first rank of riding associations in ridings the Liberals do not hold.

“The sad reality is that in 30% of the ridings across Canada, and proportionately higher in Quebec, the local associations are dormant, so with 200 members and $28,000 in the bank as we enter into a recruitment drive and a leadership contest, LFL&A is doing really, really well,” said Bélanger.

As to the party as a whole, Bélanger said that the first phase of renewal involved re-organizing the party structure, fixing the finances, and learning how to fund-raise.

An example of the success of these efforts, he said, was the party’s convention last January, which “was attended by 3,300 people, and for the first time ever in a convention, made a modest profit of $300,000. We also out fund-raised the NDP last year, which they are pissed off about so they are trying to do better, which is a good thing”.

He said that the phase out of federal funding for political parties, which his party opposed, is not necessarily a bad thing. Under Bill C-24, which the Harper government is phasing out, parties received $2 per year for every vote they tallied in the previous election.

“The phase out of C-24 does two things, it makes us learn how to fund-raise on an ongoing basis, and it means that elections really are a winner take all process. Before, even if a candidate lost, they got some money for the party for every vote. Now, winning is the only thing,” he said.

The second phase of the Liberal renewal process is the leadership contest that is now underway. Bélanger said that with Justin Trudeau having announced his candidacy, others will follow, perhaps including Marc Garneau or Martha Hall Findlay.

“The decision to allow supporters to vote on the leader and not just party members was a good one. It broadens the appeal of the party and the process,” he said.

Once the election of a leader is done, “The party will have about 18 months where we face the nitty gritty of policy. We have to be daring and courageous and face up to some sacred cows and build a platform for the next election,” he said.

He said that the party needs to be ready for an election by the fall of 2014, and that in the next election the minimum goal for the party is official opposition status in a minority parliament.

“I’d like to think we can we can get back in government in 2015, but that might be a stretch. Official opposition in a minority is a minimum though,” he said.

Bélanger took a few questions, including one about the possibility of Jean Charest entering the leadership contest.

“I have not talked to Jean Charest since the Quebec election, so I can’t say what his plans are, but I will say there is a large amount of good will towards him all across the country for what he has done for the federation. As far as a Charest run for the leadership, I don’t see it right now,” Bélanger said, adding, “It’s not pretty right now in Quebec,” in reference to daily revelations at the commission of enquiry into political corruption in the construction industry.