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June 28 federal election a go: sources

ALEXANDER PANETTA
Canadian Press


May 6, 2004


OTTAWA -- Canadians will head into a federal election campaign two weeks from now when Prime Minister Paul Martin pulls the trigger on a June 28 vote, several Liberal insiders said Wednesday.

"It's a go," said one Liberal insider. "It's palpable. It's there and you can feel it." The major parties have already agreed to a TV debate format with four separate topics selected by a consortium of networks that moderated debate negotiations at Ottawa's Chateau Laurier hotel on Wednesday, The Canadian Press has learned.

The prime minister is expected to drop the writ days before May 23 - the last possible date for a June 28 election - to avoid starting his campaign in the shadow of the Victoria Day weekend, when many newspapers don't publish and many Canadians are enjoying what is traditionally seen as the kickoff to summer.

Martin advisers converged on Parliament Hill for lunch Wednesday, one day before a scheduled meeting to fine-tune the election platform slated for release after the first week of campaigning.

The Liberals were also planning to move their electoral operation into the party's Ottawa campaign war room, located in a steel-and-glass office tower overlooking Parliament Hill and just a stone's throw from Liberal headquarters on downtown Metcalfe Street.

The four major parties attended their second meeting Wednesday to plan details of English- and French-language election debates expected in the third week of the campaign.

If the election is called just before May 23, it would mean the Commons session would effectively end May 14, when MPs are to rise for a week-long break. The election call would dissolve the House.

The signs are there, Liberals say.

"Activities are taking place at a hectic pace," said an insider with close ties to Martin. "Details for a June 28 date are being finalized. Not the date itself. Now they're talking about the details."

Those details include selecting campaign ads.

Several Liberals expressed fear at a closed-door meeting Wednesday that ads they have seen hint at a nasty and negative strategy that could spark a voter backlash.

One of those ads blasting the Bloc Quebecois has been shelved after a focus group deemed it too negative for public consumption.

Similarly gloomy TV ads have been produced about Conservative Leader Stephen Harper. They use snippets of quotes from his past set against a dark backdrop and sombre music to portray him as an extreme right-winger out of sync with Canadian values.

Revenue Minister Stan Keyes is said to have stood up at the weekly Liberal caucus meeting and say he had no intention of practising American-style, mud-slinging politics.

He reminded colleagues that the Liberal landslide of 1993 resulted partly from the public outrage triggered by Tory ads which were seen to have mocked Jean Chretien's physical appearance.

"There was genuine concern about the use of negative advertising in our campaign," said one Liberal MP.

"We've been the beneficiaries of them in the past and I think people are concerned they could backfire."

Several sources said the prime minister agreed in his closing remarks to run a clean campaign, but added that Harper's past comments are a fair target for public debate.

The Liberals have already selected about 290 of their 308 nominees and are hoping to fill out their roster with at least one - and possibly several - star candidates.

Winnipeg Mayor Glen Murray has apparently agreed to take the plunge into federal politics if the Liberals can provide him with a winnable seat in his area.

The government has its sights set on MP John Harvard's riding of Charleswood St. James-Assiniboine. Harvard has been offered the role of Manitoba lieutenant-governor if he vacates his seat, party insiders said.

The Winnipeg mayor has been a major booster for one of Martin's pet causes - a so-called New Deal that would provide municipalities with additional revenue and a say at the federal level.

Aides in Murray's office said he has long expressed interest in federal politics but is still undecided about running.

Harvard, who in the 2000 election won his seat by barely 2,300 votes against a divided right, did not return phone calls all week.