Ignatieff steps down as Liberal leader

[mentalfloss]

Ignatieff steps down as Liberal leader

Update: Michael Ignatieff announced on Tuesday morning he was stepping down as Liberal leader. “I will not be remaining as leader of this party and I will work out with the party officials the best timing for departure so that we can arrange a succession,” Mr. Ignatieff said.
More to come….
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With his party’s disastrous third-place finish and his unable to win his own seat in Toronto, Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff has called a press conference for 10 a.m. ET this morning, leading to speculation that his brief reign at the helm of the party is coming to a close.

The Liberals saw their worst election results in the party history, losing their hold on Atlantic Canada and Toronto and falling behind the New Democrats with just 34 seats, fewer than half of their previous historic loss in 2008.

Many of the party’s high-profile incumbents and former leadership hopefuls went down to defeat, including Ken Dryden and Gerard Kennedy in Toronto and Martha Hall Findlay in Willowdale.

Mr. Ignatieff himself was grappling with a loss in his Etobicoke-Lakeshore riding to Bernard Trottier, a manager at IBM and past-president of the local Conservative riding association.

In his concession speech in downtown Toronto on Monday night, Mr. Ignatieff made no mention of resigning, but pledged to do what the party membership asked him as the Liberals look to “rebuild and reform” their tattered ranks.


Ignatieff steps down as Liberal leader | Election 2011 | National Post

 

[DurkaDurka]

Not surprising. hopefully the party doesn't rush to appoint a new leader though, their problems run far deeper then that.

 

[bill barilko]

As predicted.

 

[wulfie68]

OK I'm not a Liberal, never have been and never will be (unless everyone else declares an economic war on my home province the way Trudeau did with the N.E.P.), but I think they need a direction more than a leader. The CPC owns the center-right. The NDP owns the left and the Liberals strayed far enough left that they were trying to attract the same base as the NDP. The Liberals description of themselves no longer matched their policy/political reality. If they want to survive, they need to change direction and get back to the center: Canadians don't like extremes on either side, thats why Harper had a hard time getting a majority (he was perceived as being fairly extreme) and thats why the NDP will have a hard time electing a gov't.

If the Liberals can find a "blue" leader and embrace him/her, they might be able to turn things back and rise from the ashes. If not, they may as well merge into the NDP and get it over with.

 

[cranky]

goodbye Ignatief! Don't let the door hit you on the butt when you leave.

 

[Colpy]

goodbye Ignatief! Don't let the door hit you on the butt when you leave.

That's a hat trick for Harper...........Martin, Dion, and Ignatieff......

 

[DaSleeper]

That's a hat trick for Harper...........Martin, Dion, and Ignatieff......

I wonder, once the dust settles, if Iggy will stay in Canada...... or head on out to the U.S.????

 

[DurkaDurka]

I wonder, once the dust settles, if Iggy will stay in Canada...... or head on out to the U.S.????

He'll probably go back to teaching or maybe get a job at Sun News if they'll hire him lol

 

[DaSleeper]

He'll probably go back to teaching or maybe get a job at Sun News if they'll hire him lol

Now, that would be fair and balanced......oops...That's Fox motto...:lol:

 

[cranky]

That's a hat trick for Harper...........Martin, Dion, and Ignatieff......

.....Rae, too. I hope.

 

[Cannuck]

I couldn't sleep last night due to my continued sobbing over the defeat of Iggy and Duceppe.

Layton will not hold onto his seats in Kweebeck . If (and it's a pretty big if) the Liberals can move back to the center, they can rebuild. This country is screaming for a fiscally conservative and socially liberal option. If the Liberals (or anybody for that matter) can fill that void, they will win majority after majority.

 

[cranky]

I couldn't sleep last night due to my continued sobbing over the defeat of Iggy and Duceppe.

Layton will not hold onto his seats in Kweebeck . If (and it's a pretty big if) the Liberals can move back to the center, they can rebuild. This country is screaming for a fiscally conservative and socially liberal option. If the Liberals (or anybody for that matter) can fill that void, they will win majority after majority.

Finally, you are waking up.

I have been screaming that the Liberals needed to get their party back on track, but unfortunately the smug b@sturds sat around waiting for the canadian voter to grow fond of them.

 

[Cannuck]

Finally, you are waking up.

Finally? I worked for the Reform party years ago. They have been the closest thing to a fiscally conservative and socially liberal party we've had since the sixties....at least until the social conservatives hijacked the party.