Sunday, April 29, 2007

Just In

Justin Trudeau has squeaked out the Papineau Liberal nomination with a first ballot win.

Good news in my opinion. The LPC could use some young blood, and Justin's star power makes up for the loss of Belinda. Best of all, it gets a true hard line federalist in the Quebec caucus (if he wins...).

As for his critics, the man had to work for his nomination which is the way it should be.


UPDATE: Antonio's predictions may have been a tad off, but he does have the final vote tally:

Trudeau 640
Deros 327
Giordano 217

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24 Comments:

  • Fantastic news!

    By Blogger Unknown, at 5:37 p.m.  

  • Justin Trudeau is just one of those people I want to see fall flat on his face. Canada has been served well by stodgy old men - why change a good thing?

    Allan Maceachan for Liberal Leader!

    By Blogger french wedding cat, at 6:08 p.m.  

  • Congratulations to him.

    He entered an open nomination contest, did the leg-work, and won fair and square. I've had some doubts about his authenticity in the past, but I'm sold on him now.

    By Blogger IslandLiberal, at 6:36 p.m.  

  • "Squeaked out" a first ballot win?

    Weird how every Quebec pundit I've read got this wrong. Are there anypeople more out of touch with the provincial grass-roots in any province than Quebec pundits?

    By Blogger bigcitylib, at 6:40 p.m.  

  • "Squeaked out" a first ballot win?

    Yeah, a first ballot win in a race with three candidates is a pretty convincing victory.

    By Blogger IslandLiberal, at 6:53 p.m.  

  • Justin Trudeau is a warm likeable young man, but... I just hope that he is also a good team player.

    By Blogger Aaron, at 7:17 p.m.  

  • He won fair and square - bring on Barbot!

    By Blogger Glen, at 7:20 p.m.  

  • Dion now has someone who can oust him. Prediction: by the end of 2007, Justin Trudeau runs the Liberal party. I smell a cat fight coming: roaw.

    (roaw is my spelling of a cat's angry moan).

    By Blogger Tarkwell Robotico, at 8:23 p.m.  

  • So Denis Coderre's candidate finished third...that's almost as much of a humiliation as Antonio is facing...

    By Blogger Unknown, at 8:29 p.m.  

  • Best of all, it gets a true hard line federalist in the Quebec caucus (if he wins...)

    Well, I'm not sure that it's a good thing, but you have made me realize how high-profile MPs from Québec are predominantly Québec nationalists, or soft federalists (well, with one notable exception: the party leader).

    Also, I am sad to say that I do not have a clip of the following: Jean Lapierre, today, commented on the book about Liza Frulla and former PQ minister Louise Beadoin's friendship (called "Amitié Interdite", or "Forbidden Friendship"), saying "Liza personally asked me to declare that her and Louise are not lovers, they are just friends". I think I'll start tuning in to that show instead of Question Period.

    By Blogger jeagag, at 8:40 p.m.  

  • to call it grassroots is a little much in all honesty. He had the most money and half one hell of a big team.

    That being said, he worked very hard deserves to represent the party in this riding.

    Dan I think it needs to be mentioned that I have been more than conciliatory...

    By Blogger Anthony, at 10:46 p.m.  

  • Personally, I think Justin Trudeau is a lightweight and not to be taken seriously - same as Ben Mulroney. Neither have done anything particularly impressive but be born to PMs.

    By Blogger Jacques Beau Vert, at 11:59 p.m.  

  • As everyone has said, he worked hard to get nominated, so kudos to him for showing he has what it takes.

    His name is both a blessing and a curse, but I look forward to seeing what he'll do if he's elected.

    By Blogger Brandon E. Beasley, at 12:00 a.m.  

  • Well Jason, now Justin gets to prove himself, doesn't he?

    Antonio is no friend of his.. but Justin was the only one of the 3 candidates who responded to Antonio's list of questions he sent to the 3 candidates , and as Antonio said, he cam back with with more then just generic answers - hence his "respect" post a couple of posts ago.

    If he wins the seat after winning the nomination, he's become more then a "lightweight".

    By Blogger Oxford County Liberals, at 12:13 a.m.  

  • The LPC's renewal is well underway. There's no shortage of winnable candidates, and many qualified female candidates.

    To give one indication of the interest, Martha Findlay Hall's campaign was able to field >1,000 candidates for leadership delegates.

    Martha received only 1% of the member's votes. So you get an idea of the grassroots suphport forming for the LPC.

    By Blogger JimTan, at 2:37 a.m.  

  • I was one of those Martha hall Findlay delegates and I succeeded in getting chosen to go to Montreal.

    I can tell you we have had the most active year in memory in our riding and renewal is well on the way.

    We hosted 9 of the original 11 leadership candidates, and every visit became a local media opportunity. We sent 16 delegates to Montreal, held half a dozen policy review meetings on different topics, hosted Martha Hall Findlay again at the end of January and just this month hosted Anne McLellan.

    Our candidate nomination process was well attended and we got good local coverage for that.

    Lots of new young Liberals as well so I think that is a very good sign.

    I would say that renewal is working .

    By Blogger Down & Out in L A, at 8:22 a.m.  

  • I really like MHF, I hope she has a real future in the LPC. I'm still really disappointed in the vote Liberals gave her - the party contest that talked non-stop about "involving more women" couldn't be roused to recognize her in their midst.

    By Blogger Jacques Beau Vert, at 9:13 a.m.  

  • jason

    "the party contest that talked non-stop about "involving more women" couldn't be roused to recognize her in their midst."

    I respect Jason for admitting that harper isn’t perfect. So, here’s some info on the leadership campaign.

    MHF didn’t have a platform. She spoke about her personal qualities and vaguely about party renewal. She didn’t even make the connection to women rights. Her final results were predictable.

    That said, MHF and Gerard Kennedy had a cult-like following because they showcased their personal qualities. They were able to transfer their delegates en masse to Dion.

    On the other hand, the early casualties like Carolyn, Maurizio, Hedy, Scott, Joe and Ken did not transfer en masse to Bob. And, Bob Rae just couldn’t catch up with Ignatieff.

    The surprise was Dion. I attended a talk in downtown Vancouver. He spoke badly and I thought that his emphasis on the environment was suicidal. Moreover, he argued with the press and me.

    HOWEVER, at the end, there was a tremendous fanfare from young supporters. You wouldn’t expect this enthusiasm for a nerd like Dion. That forced me to re-evaluate the nature of this man. That’s why you must always recce on the ground to challenge your pre-conceived stereotypes.

    Anyway, the results were disappointing to the party insiders. The new rules (championed by the forward-looking part of the establishment) set big quotas on seniors, women and youths. That tipped the balance in favor of the newcomers like MHF, Gerard and Kennedy.

    Some of the new members are actively engaged in the party, or trying to. They are beginning to challenge the insiders’ control of the ridings. That is renewal.

    Justine, who won on the 1st ballot, is part of the process.

    By Blogger JimTan, at 12:11 p.m.  

  • bo green:
    "Personally, I think Justin Trudeau is a lightweight and not to be taken seriously"

    well, compared to our current prime minister, justin has held a real job. by that measure alone, he is qualified to be canada's prime minister...unless we want to hold him to a prejudicial double standard.

    other, "heavyweight" conservative members:
    -(potatoe patch) peter (my dad was a corrupt politician) mckay
    -rob (one of the most respected humanitarians in the world is a "terrorist") anders
    -myron (yeehaw) thompson
    -jason (i really need to get laid) kenney
    -peter van loan
    -gary (semi-retarded little napolean) lunn
    -dianne (i'm married) finley
    -maurice (natives should freeze to death) vellacott
    -and sadly i could go on and on
    -and lets not get into some of the liberals brite lights

    my mom refers to politicians as "aluminum siding salesmen" because most of them are a total joke. by any objective measure, jtrudeau is ready for the big (gong) show.

    By Blogger canuckistanian, at 1:51 p.m.  

  • other, "heavyweight" conservative members:
    -(potatoe patch) peter (my dad was a corrupt politician) mckay
    -rob (one of the most respected humanitarians in the world is a "terrorist") anders
    -myron (yeehaw) thompson
    -jason (i really need to get laid) kenney
    -peter van loan
    -gary (semi-retarded little napolean) lunn
    -dianne (i'm married) finley
    -maurice (natives should freeze to death) vellacott
    ----------------------------------

    Ironic that you defend Justin Trudeau's experience as a teacher and then deride Myron Thompson for having had the same job for twice as long. Myron Thompson was a school teacher and a principal for 23 years.

    Peter MacKay was a Crown Attorney in Nova Scotia prior to entering into politics.

    Gary Lunn was a a carpenter and then involved in the construction industry before becoming a lawyer.

    Diane Finely worked as an administrator in the private sectors relating to health care and agriculture before entering the public service.

    Peter Van Loan was a partner in a national law firm.

    Maurice Vellacott was a small-businessman and a pastor.

    Kenney and Anders were activists before becoming politicians but so what? The majority of the people you've comprised a list of have had significant experience with "real jobs" suggestive that you didn't bother to ever even do a google search before throwing out dispersions. But hey let's not allow "facts" to get in the way of a good argument.

    By Blogger Chris, at 2:30 p.m.  

  • Chris,
    I believe the point was that if Justin Trudeau is a lightweight, then so are most other politicians. Certainly, he doesn't have the same sort of experience as his father, but few do. Sadly, our current crop of politicians is a rather sorry bunch. Harper's resume mostly includes "activism" at the National Citizens Coalition and partisan activities - a career politician, in other words, and until 2006 one lacking in any government or challenging managerial experience.

    But if politics were simply a matter of comparative credentials, Harper's limited international and government experience would have posed a huge liability - as it stands, it's simply undermining our foreign policy and standing in the world, but then a week of contradictions, lies, and (largely fruitless) attempts to smear the opposition as pro-Taliban will do that.

    By Blogger JG, at 3:58 p.m.  

  • josh

    "it's simply undermining our foreign policy and standing in the world, but then a week of contradictions, lies, and (largely fruitless) attempts to smear the opposition as pro-Taliban will do that."

    Absolutely right. just a few weeks ago, harper was being touted as a cross of Winston Churchill and a pit bull. Look at him now!

    By Blogger JimTan, at 5:29 p.m.  

  • Justin's as good a candidate as most of the other 307...err 306 names the Liberals will put forward. He may not be ready for Cabinet and he certainly isn't ready for the top job, but his skills make him a respectable candidate.

    By Blogger calgarygrit, at 8:12 p.m.  

  • what the hell did I do to get my comments deleted?

    By Blogger Candace, at 3:09 a.m.  

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