The result of last week’s byelection in Montreal proves there’s no such thing as a safe seat in politics. Liberal organizers also made a classic error: pushing aside viable local candidates for hand-picked head-office replacements.
By Sheila Copps
First published in The Hill Times on September 23, 2024.
OTTAWA—As prime minister Justin Trudeau struggles to defend his future plans, he should step back and reflect on one thing.
All the troubles the Liberals are currently facing are self-inflicted.
The first huge error was to believe that replacing two highly-respected senior cabinet ministers with newbies would enhance the party’s election chances.
When Trudeau chose to demote then-justice minister David Lametti and send Carolyn Bennett to the diplomatic corps, he was counting on the belief that both occupied so-called “safe” Liberal seats.
The result of last week’s byelection in LaSalle-Émard-Verdun, Que., proves one thing.
There is no such thing as a safe seat in politics.
Liberal organizers also committed a classic error in both ridings, pushing aside viable local candidates for hand-picked head-office replacements.
In Toronto-St.Paul’s, Leslie Church—an Ottawa insider—was the chosen one. Several popular local candidates wanted to run for the nomination, but were not given the chance to compete fairly.
In Montreal, nominee Laura Palestini was a well-known local councillor. But there were others who wanted to seek the nomination when Lametti stepped down to return to the legal profession.
National campaign co-chair Soraya Martinez Ferrada told Radio Canada last summer that Palestini was hand-picked by the party, bypassing an open nomination process.
Privately, she explained to disgruntled Liberals that the party preferred directed democracy.
But that decision meant that several long-term riding activists sat out the election, and in a race as tight as the one we saw on the evening of Sept. 16, their absence was costly.
The best way to ensure a candidate has the support of the riding is to allow an open nomination where all prospective candidates prove their organizational prowess, as well as their ability to connect with the community.
In both byelections, head office chose the candidates, and that left a bad taste in people’s mouths.
The self-inflicted wound of trying to direct democracy was coupled with a political calculation that has cost the Liberals dearly.
In the July 2023 cabinet shuffle, three senior ministers were moved out, supposedly to reboot the party fortunes.
Not coincidentally, new cabinet choices depended on how the changes might help electorally.
In Ottawa, former minister Mona Fortier occupied what is supposed to be another safe seat.
The exits of Fortier, Lametti, and Bennett were all supposed to ensure a better political positioning for the Liberals.
Lametti’s departure set the stage for the ministerial appointments of Tourism Minister Martinez Ferrada, and Justice Minister Arif Virani.
Both hail from minority communities, and it was thought that their promotions—like that of Small Business Minister Rechie Valdez—would increase party chances in Latin-American, Muslim, and Filipino communities. Fortier’s replacement with Jenna Sudds was intended to solidify a tough seat in west Ottawa, the thinking being that ministers are more likely to be re-elected in a tight race.
Instead, the numbers have not moved up for the Liberals, and the losses in two previous strongholds have further damaged the prime minister’s staying power.
The notion that ministerial status improves electability is also debatable.
Back in 1984, when I was the only Liberal elected between Toronto and Windsor, the ministerial moniker hurt rather than helped.
At that time, the party had governed for so long that anyone associated with a ministry was actually in greater danger of defeat.
The only reason I was able to win my seat was that I had come from the provincial legislature, and as a new candidate, I had the benefit of saying that I represented change.
In a change election, people vote for change. And if you are too closely associated with the previous government that can hurt rather than help.
The Liberal cabinet reset, carried out more than a year ago, has not improved the party’s standing.
There is a mood in the country that people want change. For better or for worse, they are not focusing on Pierre Poilievre’s destructive policies.
Instead, they are telling the Liberals they want new faces. Trudeau is trying to warn Canadians: “be careful what you wish for.”
Meanwhile, some Liberal organizers are actively seeking to cherry-pick their candidates, and to slow the nomination process for others.
Long-time Members of Parliament like Judy Sgro have fulfilled all the requirements for renomination, but still haven’t been given the green light.
If the party takes one lesson from these byelections, it is this: There is no such thing as a safe seat. And the best way to win an election is for the party to stay out of it.
Let local Liberals decide.
Sheila Copps is a former Jean Chrétien-era cabinet minister and a former deputy prime minister. Follow her on Twitter at @Sheila_Copps.
