Identity Crisis

In the fall of 2006, I participated in a day-long seminar in Toronto on the future of progressive politics. While it was not strictly a partisan event, most of the participants were Liberals of some stripe or another, including three of the candidates in the federal leadership contest that was underway at the time.

There was a great deal of anxiety in the room. Partly it had to do with the shock of the Liberals inexplicably finding themselves out of power after 13 years. But it was also driven by a recognition that the party had lost its way. Jean Chrétien was a crafty tactical politician who slew the deficit beast and delivered strong managerial competence, but as his tenure drew to a close it was clear that the long period of infighting with Paul Martin’s faction had left the party adrift, uninspired and bereft of ideas. Meanwhile, the endless tug-of-war between Chrétien and Martin had left so many senior Liberals exhausted or annoyed that an entire cohort of...