For Liberal Party interim leader Bob Rae, the most significant achievements at the Liberal Biennial Convention, held in Ottawa Jan. 13–15, were the amendments made to the party’s constitution.
The party created a new category of individuals who will now be able to engage in Liberal Party politics—“supporters.”
Answering a question from reporters after the convention, Rae said in French: “We clearly decided to be a party completely different from the others. You [Canadians] will be part of the electorate of the Liberal Party leader.”
As per the constitutional amendments, creating this new category of Liberals and allowing them to vote for the party leadership is done “in order to not only attract a large number of Canadians to become engaged with the Party, but also to provide them with a meaningful voice in the affairs of the Party.”
To qualify as supporters—for which registration is free, unlike actual membership—the constitutional amendment says Canadians will need to be at least 18 years old, eligible to vote, not be a member of other federal parties, and must support “the purposes of the Party.”
However, an amendment to roll out such participatory rights to supporters in the choosing of candidates in individual ridings did not collect the required threshold of two-thirds of the members’ votes in favour.
Party members also turned down a proposal to transform the leadership election process into a process of “staggered regional voting days,” or what has been referred to as U.S.-style primaries, where delegates from the different Canadian provinces vote successively for a leader.
The Liberal Party is conscious that such debates and improvements in the operations and organization of the party are crucial at this point in time as it seeks to get the pulse of Canadians’ wishes.
Rae reminded reporters: “There are 200 ridings [across the country] that have less than 100 members. We have to put [our organization] in place.”
Rae said the main challenge will be to engage both Canadians and Liberal members and “create a real platform” on the basis of the practical concerns Canadians want the party to address.
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