By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday, March 14, 2013
Marc Garneau is dropping out of the race to lead the federal Liberal Party and will support his MP colleague Justin Trudeau, saying a Trudeau win is certain.
On Tuesday, Garneau supported Trudeau’s plea to the Liberal Party to extend the registration deadline for voters in the leadership race, and sources have told CBC News that the deadline will be moved to give more time for supporters who are registering by mail, rather than by email.
The former astronaut’s support for the registration date change was a sign perhaps that he intended to get behind Trudeau.
Wednesday at a news conference in Ottawa, Garneau said, “It’s a fait accompli,” about the likelihood of Trudeau winning the race.
“I cannot see the numbers changing because he has an overwhelming lead,” the MP for the Montreal riding of Westmount-Ville-Marie said.
The odds were long but not impossible when he entered the race, Garneau said. He pointed to internal polling showing he is running second, although others have said he is in third or fourth place.
Garneau said his poll, or survey, conducted last week, contacted 40,000 supporters or party members who intend to vote in the race. Six thousand replied and of those, he said, Trudeau had 72 per cent support, he had 15 per cent, Joyce Murray had 7.4 percent and Martha Hall Findlay had 5.2 percent. (Source: CBC News)