Alexa McDonough

Saturday May 31, 1997

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday May 31, 1997

Our hopes for the future

Our election ballot Monday must prepare our country for the challenges ahead. We must position our leaders, such as Jean Charest, where they will preserve Canada.The prospect of Preston Manning’s Reform Party forming the official Opposition after Monday’s federal election is deeply disturbing. Yes, Manning’s stance on separation better reflects the views of average Canadians, compared to the tired rhetoric of appeasement flowing from the Liberal and Progressive Conservative parties. But beyond that single issue, Reform offers no viable vision for a strong, unified country.

Yet, largely due to an inept, cynical Liberal election call and campaign, Reform as the official Opposition is a very likely outcome of the vote. That Manning’s party of western discontent is a better alternative than the destructive Bloc Quebecois is cold comfort.

A Progressive Conservative Opposition would be infinitely better for Canada, and for Ontario.

It’s true that the Progressive Conservative and Reform policy platforms are very similar. Both call for tax cuts, which are unproven as a job creation device. Both do little to address environmental concerns. Both propose accelerating government spending cu ts, but the truth is Canadians are happy for the most part with the progress made by Finance Minister Paul Martin in reducing the deficit and getting federal spending under control. Given that Tory and Reform policies are similar in so many ways, why install Jean Charest as Opposition leader?
Leadership.

Jean Charest has demonstrated he has more to offer personally than any of the other party leaders. His youthful energy and intellectual sincerity appeal to Canadians, but he offers more than a good sound-bite and an engaging television presence. Charest is passionate about a united Canada, and that devotion is going to be called upon in the near future. Another divisive, manipulative campaign will be launched by the separatists, probably right after the Supreme Court spells out the rules around secession. Charest has already pledged he will set aside partisan concerns and fight for a united Canada, just as he did last time we went through this frightening, tiresome exercise. He can be most effective in the unity battle if the Conservatives wear the Opposition mantle.

Charest’s Conservatives have a national philosophy, a rich history and a vision of the future that starts with the country being united. Even where Reform and Conservative policies overlap, Reform would go further, faster, with little regard for maintaining a strong federal voice. In the end, Reform is about protest.

Indignant Reformers will insist theirs is a national party. Reformers are anti-separatist, not anti-Quebec, they proclaim. But if Manning’s party is serious about inclusion, why are only 11 Reform candidates running in Quebec’s 75 ridings?
And what of the Liberals? Jean Chretien called an election at the wrong time, for the wrong reasons. His party will pay the price. Far from being the last national party, the Liberals could end up being Ontario’s party in a fractured Parliament. But it’s clear they will be returned to power for another term.

If that’s the case, one thing is abundantly clear.

The Liberals must begin to plan for Jean Chretien’s departure. He was the right politician for the time, when Canadians were dealing with the Mulroney government and its legacy of broken promises. Chretien has an uncanny ability to forge a connection and engender empathy if not trust.

But the Chretien era must end. He is not the man to lead us in celebrating the new millennium. He is certainly not the leader to guide this country through another ugly debate over Quebec’s future.

While there is no arguing Chretien’s contribution in the past, the sad fact is he is no longer appealing in Quebec, and so is among the best weapons the separatists have in their meagre arsenal. Chretien must gracefully step aside. Paul Martin, who has engineered the Liberals single biggest legitimate accomplishment by effectively managing the economy and reducing the deficit, is the logical replacement. Martin is respected for his fiscal conservatism, and may even be an asset in Quebec.

On Tuesday morning, the Liberals will govern. The question is, who will be second? If enough of us vote strategically and look seriously at credible Progressive Conservative candidates, perhaps Jean
Charest will be where he’ll do the most good for Canada. And Preston Manning will get the role he deserves, as a regional voice of discontent. (Hamilton Spectator, 5/31/1997, B4)

 

Wednesday January 14, 2004

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Wednesday January 14, 2004 Peter MacKay, Leader No More Former Tory leader Peter MacKay is taking a pass on the Conservative Party leadership race, but isn't bowing out of politics. MacKay said he made his decision in "the last 24 hours" and called it the toughest of his political career. "While my heart said 'go,' my head said 'no,' " he said. However, he added he will seek the nomination for his Nova Scotia riding in the next federal election. MacKay said he's not yet prepared to throw his support behind a leadership candidate. MacKay, Peter , 1966Ð, Canadian politician, b. New Glasgow, N.S. A lawyer who briefly worked (1992Ð93) in Germany, MacKay returned to his native Nova Scotia in 1993 and became a crown attorney. Elected to the federal parliament as a Progressive Conservative in 1997, he became Tory House leader, a position he held until 2002, when he resigned to run for the party leadership. In 2003, the youthful MacKay was chosen to succeed Joe Clark as leader of the Progressive Conservative party, winning in part because he agreed not to seek a merger with the Canadian Alliance. A few months later, however, he led his party into a merger with the Alliance to form the Conservative party of Canada, and subsequently became the new party's deputy leader. (Source: Hamilton Spectator) Canada, Peter Mackay, Progressive Conservative, leader, leadership, Audrey McLaughlin, Alexa McDonough, Michel Gauthier, Stockwell Day, Lucien Bouchard, pantheon, opposition

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday January 14, 2004

Peter MacKay, Leader No More

Former Tory leader Peter MacKay is taking a pass on the Conservative Party leadership race, but isn’t bowing out of politics. MacKay said he made his decision in “the last 24 hours” and called it the toughest of his political career. “While my heart said ‘go,’ my head said ‘no,’ ” he said. However, he added he will seek the nomination for his Nova Scotia riding in the next federal election. MacKay said he’s not yet prepared to throw his support behind a leadership candidate.

MacKay, Peter , 1966–, Canadian politician, b. New Glasgow, N.S. A lawyer who briefly worked (1992–93) in Germany, MacKay returned to his native Nova Scotia in 1993 and became a crown attorney. Elected to the federal parliament as a Progressive Conservative in 1997, he became Tory House leader, a position he held until 2002, when he resigned to run for the party leadership. In 2003, the youthful MacKay was chosen to succeed Joe Clark as leader of the Progressive Conservative party, winning in part because he agreed not to seek a merger with the Canadian Alliance. A few months later, however, he led his party into a merger with the Alliance to form the Conservative party of Canada, and subsequently became the new party’s deputy leader. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)

Tuesday October 23, 2000

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday October 23, 2000

They’re Off; Chretien calls Nov. 27 vote; opposition calls it opportunistic

Canadians will decide Nov. 27 whether the Liberals should be punished for calling an early election or rewarded with a third mandate.Amid opposition claims that his government is arrogant, cynical and out of touch with ordinary Canadians, Prime Minister Jean Chretien visited Governor General Adrienne Clarkson at her official residence yesterday.

He asked her to dissolve Parliament, officially triggering a campaign that had been going on informally for weeks.

Speaking outside Rideau Hall against a backdrop of autumn leaves, the prime minister said an early election is necessary to let Canadians decide what should be done with the country’s burgeoning massive budget surplus.

Immediately, the other parties dumped all over the Liberals, protesting that the election call — just three-and-a-half years into their five-year mandate — is unnecessary and opportunistic.

Progressive Conservative leader Joe Clark, NDP leader Alexa McDonough and Canadian Alliance campaign co-chairman Jason Kenney each described Chretien’s go vernment as arrogant, framing what is likely to emerge as a central theme of the campaign.

“What’s happened today is that Jean Chretien has walked off the job, ” Clark said. “He’s walked off the job with a lot of business left to be done.”

The dissolution of Parliament leaves 20 pieces of legislation unfinished, effectively killing them.

“The record of this government is that of arrogance, ” Kenney said. “Canadians are tired of this tired government.”

Chretien calls Nov. 27 vote; opposition calls it opportunistic

“I wouldn’t expect them to say anything else, ” Heritage Minister Sheila Copps said.

“It is an election campaign and obviously they’re out to oppose the government. The reality is it’s the Alliance-Reform that asked for the election originally. Asking people to make a choice when you’re in the fourth year of the mandate — I don’t consider that arrogant.”

The smiling prime minister, who walked to the Governor General’s residence with his wife Aline, said he was feeling both confident and humbled by the opportunity to ask Canadians for another mandate.

Copps enjoys the highest profile among local Liberal MPs, who represent every riding in Hamilton, Halton, Brant and Niagara.

But Marlene Richards, Canadian Alliance riding association president for Ancaste r-Dundas-Flamborough-Aldershot, said she is sensing that voters in the Hamilton area are hungry for a change.

“There’s something exciting in the air, ” she said. “I’m feeling very, very positive about our own riding.”

Most local Alliance riding associations expect to nominate candidates within the next week.

During the weekend’s provincial Tory party convention in Toronto, both federal Alliance leader Stockwell Day and Conservative leader Joe Clark made appearances, seeking to win support for their competing camps among Mike Harris Tories.

The future for Day and Clark will depend on their ability to make gains in vote-rich Ontario, which holds more than one-third of all the seats in the federal Parliament. (Hamilton Spectator, A1, 10/23/2000)