Month: March 2013

Peter Penashue quits the cabinet and resigns his seat

Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Peter Penashue announced today that he will be quitting the Harper cabinet and resigning his Labrador seat in order to run in a by-election.

The move comes as Penashue is under a scandalous cloud regarding his campaign during the 2011 election as he may have breached the limit and taken a corporate donation. Penashue’s defenders in the party state that he wasn’t aware of what had happened. Penashue is likely running to clear the air and take responsibility. He has also paid back $30,000 to the Receiver General for “ineligible” donations to his last campaign.

Penashue won Labrador for the Conservative Party beating incumbent Todd Russell with a margin of less than 1% of the popular vote. Liberals are now inevitably making the claim the seat was stolen now that Penashue has acknowledged the scandal.

Minister Denis Lebel will take over Penashue’s cabinet responsibilities as the interim intergovernmental affairs minister.

Here are the poll-by-poll breakdowns of Labrador in 2011.

Here is Penashue’s full statement:

“Due to mistakes that were made by an inexperienced volunteer in filing the Elections Canada return from the last campaign, I appointed a new Official Agent to work with Elections Canada to make any needed amendments to my campaign return.

During the examination we became aware that there were ineligible donations accepted by the former Official Agent.

Although I was unaware of the inaccuracies in the return, I believe I must be accountable to the people who elected me and therefore I am stepping down as the Member of Parliament for Labrador and will seek re-election through a by-election. I will also be stepping down as Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada.

My record as Member of Parliament for Labrador and Minister in Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservative government over the past two years is one that I am very proud of.

I have worked to secure federal support for the development of Muskrat Falls, which will lead to $1.9 billion for our economy and thousands of jobs for Labrador. I have also worked with government and private industry to increase internet speed in Labrador, and delivered federal funding to pave the Trans-Labrador Highway.

There is much more to do for the people of Labrador, including protecting our way of life. We have scrapped the long-gun registry despite the efforts of the NDP and Liberals to keep it, and now we must continue to fight to defend the seal hunt against the NDP and Liberal parliamentarians who want to ban it. I will also continue to lead the defence of the polar bear hunt, something that is very important to Labradorians.

And the statement from the Prime Minister,

“The Honourable Minister Denis Lebel, currently the Minister responsible for Transport, Infrastructure and Communities and of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec, will assume responsibility for Intergovernmental Affairs and President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada.

“Minister Lebel is now also responsible for the overall management and coherence of relations with provincial and territorial governments and for strengthening Canadian unity.”

“I would like to thank Mr. Penashue for his service as Minister and to the people of Labrador.”

BC Poll shows Adrian Dix versus Christy Clark not over yet

Campaign Research just released some polling data on the upcoming BC election race. Here are some key findings:

– NDP 38%, LIB 33%, GRN 12%, CON 12%
– 18-34 year old demographic (+26% NDP)
– 35-54 (tie LIB/NDP)
– 55+ (+1% LIB)
– Greater Vancouver (+2% NDP)
– Rest of BC (+7% NDP)
– Men (+4% LIB)
– Women (+14% NDP)
– Right/Wrong track (35% right, 49% wrong, 15% DN)
– sample size 882 for decided voters (3.3% MOE, 95% CI)
– sample size 1,112 for right/wrong track (2.9% MOE, 95% CI)

Marc Garneau exits Liberal Leadership race, supports Justin Trudeau

Marc Garneau announced today that he’s landing his bid for leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada. In the end, Garneau admitted he just didn’t have the numbers to take on presumed front-runner Justin Trudeau. Garneau cited internal Liberal Party polls of 6,000 Liberals that showed Trudeau at 72% support, Garneau at 15%, Murray at 7.4%, and Hall-Findlay at 5.2%. The Murray campaign immediately disputed these numbers. Some have speculated that Garneau’s exit from the race is to prevent an embarrassing third-place finish behind Joyce Murray, when the Liberal race was billed as a two-man race by Garneau communications flacks.

Canada’s first astronaut in space threw his support behind the former substitute drama teacher saying that “Justin has risen to the occasion”.

Liberal membership registration ends tomorrow. The party had boasted 294,000 supporters but only claimed 80,000 voter registrations by Tuesday. The Liberal Party’s “National Showcase” of their leadership contenders is on April 6th, followed by a reveal of the elected leader on April 14th.

Garneau would have been the most difficult putative Liberal leader for the Conservatives and NDP to attack as his resume makes him a bit of a national icon and hero. However, the Conservatives and NDP will be repackaging Garneau’s comments about Trudeau’s thin resume and inexperience and will be doing their best to tell Canadians that being Prime Minister doesn’t have the benefit of on-the-job training.

With Garneau’s exit, this Liberal leadership contest threatens to be another coronation for the party’s top job as Michael Ignatieff ran unopposed and Paul Martin ran with about as much popular support during that leadership race that Justin Trudeau enjoys now.