I've been of a similar mind! But I gotta say I like this idea! I've liked Anand from the start - but what really sold me was she was recently criticized by Paul Wells - someone who is not generally liberal friendly. She contacted him and asked to respond to his critique! That alone is impressive. Then she turned him around to her perspective. That is really impressive.
My feeling for many months now has been that Anita Anand would be a great choice. I didn’t know about the Paul Wells situation, but it does not surprise me. She’s brilliant and courageous.
Agreed Kimberly! That sold me. Someone commented about her ethnicity being a disadvantage. I would counter that it might be an advantage. We have a large immigrant population. Those who tend to vote Liberal even on occasion would not be as concerned with that. Those that would be concerned would not like vote liberal to begin with!
To me, your logic makes a lot of sense. And honestly, my other thought regarding the “readiness” of Canadians to vote for a woman of colour was…if not now, when? The wisdom and openness of our electorate may surprise some people who look at us through a narrower lens.
It's lovely of Scrimshaw to announce who he thinks should replace Justin Trudeau but I take his suggestions with a grain of salt because he's at heart a conservative who reluctantly votes for Liberals because he's a decent guy who can't bring himself to vote for the corrupted imbeciles running conservative parties today. Suggesting a Trudeau loyalist replace Trudeau at the helm will not help the Liberal Party. I don't care how bright, capable etc she or he is. The Liberals have a lot of bright and capable people. Trudeau loyalists will not get votes.
I expect the vast majority of voters do not know Anand from their elbow AND the Conservatives will ruthlessly attack any leader the Liberals choose. They've already libeled Freeland and they relentlessly attack Carney. No one is spared. Poilievre's well- funded, well-oiled, rage-farming machine with a million trolls helping him out is the reason Justin Trudeau is loathed. The message is simple: blame Trudeau. Blame him for inflation, blame him for COVID, blame him for supply chain issues, blame him for free market capitalism run amok, blame him for home prices, blame him for Bank of Canada decisions, blame him for provincial rent policies, blame blame blame. None of it is rational or factually-based. Is the country a mess? Oh yes, but how many provincial premiers have fucked things up...these people are never mentioned because most of them are conservatives, and they too blame Trudeau for all of their mistakes.
Trudeau needs to go because Poilievre's lies have taken hold, but he's in a pickle. If an election is held within the next few months, a leadership change will make no difference to his party's fate. If an election is held a year from now, I'd say the party has a chance because TIME is Poilievre's nemesis. The longer his four-slogan sideshow endures, the worse it will be for him. He knows 2025 will be a better year for the economy, jobs, and inflation. Poilievre's single solution for everything is end the carbon tax and erode payroll taxes (that sustain pensions and EI). Of course, eroding taxes will hurt working people because without revenue you can't sustain social security but he can't mention that fact. He is also afraid of an enquiry into foreign interference. His leadership was helped by Modi (this is on the record) and now he's taking selfies with a notorious Russian propagandist, Katrina Panova. Hugging her, clasping her hands in his for photos. He refuses to get the security clearance every other leader has. His excuse, that "if I get clearance, I can't speculate about security issues" is complete nonsense.
What we should all hope and pray for now is that the Bloc and "sellout" Singh don't bring down the government before Oct 2025. Force Poilievre to campaign as long as possible to weaken his fortunes. Time is Poilievre's kryptonite. The leadership of the liberal party is a secondary issue to the prospect of an early election which Poilievre would hands down win regardless of who is leading the Liberal Party.
I saw some of Nate Erskine-Smith’s videos on Twitter and I am really curious what you think of him as a potential leader (altho I guess it doesn’t make sense to waste him on the next election). It seems he can more easily separate himself from the current government and he seems quite charismatic. I have no idea how good his French is. Sorry if it’s a dumb question; really enjoy your work.
Isn't Anita Anand President of the Treasury Board, the department responsible for the government's return to office directives? That alone will keep me from voting in her favour.
But is a single issue (I agree with your stance on return-to-offfice, btw) more important than the overall goal of protecting our democracy from the demagoguery that Poilievre represents? To me, no single issue is worth that…
It not just the issue, but the incompetence, wastefulness and being out of touch with their employees and the people as a whole that this decision demonstrates.
Don’t worry though, I still won’t be voting for PP
I know we don’t like to think about this but Anand being ethnically South Asian will hurt her winning chances. Especially since so much of the pushback on immigration is targeted, not to the Ukrainians but to the hundreds of thousands of new arrivals from South Asia. The image of South Asians has taken a hit in Canada and having two major party leaders of South Asian descent might aggravate things.
As a matter of realpolitik, she’d have to be significantly more strict on any immigration pivot to be credible. She’d almost have to walk back the entire Liberal policy of the last four years, and any equivocation would destroy her credibility on the issue
On the other hand, only Nixon could go to China. If the Liberals really are ready to pivot their immigration policy, she might be able to sell a complete rethink with more credibility and less pushback than any of the alternatives
100%. we also can't ignore that she'd be the only woman to lead any of the major parties.
if we're playing the fantasy sports version of politics, she is the first overall pick out of the liberal candidates. but in the real thing, i don't think there's a path there
Agree with your choice of Anita Anand. I've had tremendous respect for her ever since I ran into her in law school.
I'm doubtful as to Mr. Chmpagne. He is too optimistic, too upbeat, not serious enough for me. But you may be right politically (as opposed to policy) and bubbles may be what is needed in a campaign.
The real problem is that, seeing Tuesday's results, the Liberals cannot count on NFP voters voting strategically and coming to them at the last minute. More likely the opposite.
It is too late. The bed is made. Switching leaders this close to an election, perhaps really close, is not a sound strategy. And no, the situation is not comparable to the US with Biden/Harris. Given the timeframes, it would require anointing a new leader, which is not going to be acceptable to the people missing out. After all, who is going to decide it has to be Anand?
Switching leaders now is panicking. Understandable and I know it is expressed because Evan and others care, but it is not a smart strategy given all the constraints.
It is not too late to implement Evan’s earlier suggestions. It also encouraging that all senior ministers are much more robust in their approach to the opposition and the provinces. If they follow through with doing much more interviews, in depth and with substance, then this will be hard to match for the Conservatives. And Trudeau himself needs to go find the rude steelworkers and have that conversation that it is unacceptable that Doug Ford (or another premier) cannot get him a family doctor.
Will it be enough? Hard to tell, but maybe Trudeau team finally feels that they have nothing to lose.
don't usually feel this way, but in this case i disagree with you, strongly.
someone with anand's current profile would be a great option heading into the 2021 election in a world where covid doesn't happen, or if trudeau re-signed at any point when the liberals were still the favored party nationally.
for a party that is bleeding seats left and right (no pun intended), i don't see how a relatively unknown, low profile, soft spoken - and yes, this has to be mentioned, a woman of colour - does anything other than exacerbate that. doubly so if the plan is to minimize her position by appointing a leader in/for quebec.
i'm fully with you that the liberals need to make a change to hold onto more than 50 seats. i also don't know if carney is the best option, but in the way that joe biden was "enough", i think that's the path. and if it can't/won't be him, we're better off seeing ralph goodale or marc garneau as the biden analogue rather than to anchor one of the more effective liberal ministers with the unfixable mess trudeau is leaving.
said this in another one of your comment sections, but i think the liberals are at the point of needing a full scale re-build, not a re-tool. bring in some savvy vets that can eat up hard matchups and minutes so the prospects can cook for the next generation.
I've been of a similar mind! But I gotta say I like this idea! I've liked Anand from the start - but what really sold me was she was recently criticized by Paul Wells - someone who is not generally liberal friendly. She contacted him and asked to respond to his critique! That alone is impressive. Then she turned him around to her perspective. That is really impressive.
My feeling for many months now has been that Anita Anand would be a great choice. I didn’t know about the Paul Wells situation, but it does not surprise me. She’s brilliant and courageous.
Agreed Kimberly! That sold me. Someone commented about her ethnicity being a disadvantage. I would counter that it might be an advantage. We have a large immigrant population. Those who tend to vote Liberal even on occasion would not be as concerned with that. Those that would be concerned would not like vote liberal to begin with!
To me, your logic makes a lot of sense. And honestly, my other thought regarding the “readiness” of Canadians to vote for a woman of colour was…if not now, when? The wisdom and openness of our electorate may surprise some people who look at us through a narrower lens.
Agreed!
It's lovely of Scrimshaw to announce who he thinks should replace Justin Trudeau but I take his suggestions with a grain of salt because he's at heart a conservative who reluctantly votes for Liberals because he's a decent guy who can't bring himself to vote for the corrupted imbeciles running conservative parties today. Suggesting a Trudeau loyalist replace Trudeau at the helm will not help the Liberal Party. I don't care how bright, capable etc she or he is. The Liberals have a lot of bright and capable people. Trudeau loyalists will not get votes.
I expect the vast majority of voters do not know Anand from their elbow AND the Conservatives will ruthlessly attack any leader the Liberals choose. They've already libeled Freeland and they relentlessly attack Carney. No one is spared. Poilievre's well- funded, well-oiled, rage-farming machine with a million trolls helping him out is the reason Justin Trudeau is loathed. The message is simple: blame Trudeau. Blame him for inflation, blame him for COVID, blame him for supply chain issues, blame him for free market capitalism run amok, blame him for home prices, blame him for Bank of Canada decisions, blame him for provincial rent policies, blame blame blame. None of it is rational or factually-based. Is the country a mess? Oh yes, but how many provincial premiers have fucked things up...these people are never mentioned because most of them are conservatives, and they too blame Trudeau for all of their mistakes.
Trudeau needs to go because Poilievre's lies have taken hold, but he's in a pickle. If an election is held within the next few months, a leadership change will make no difference to his party's fate. If an election is held a year from now, I'd say the party has a chance because TIME is Poilievre's nemesis. The longer his four-slogan sideshow endures, the worse it will be for him. He knows 2025 will be a better year for the economy, jobs, and inflation. Poilievre's single solution for everything is end the carbon tax and erode payroll taxes (that sustain pensions and EI). Of course, eroding taxes will hurt working people because without revenue you can't sustain social security but he can't mention that fact. He is also afraid of an enquiry into foreign interference. His leadership was helped by Modi (this is on the record) and now he's taking selfies with a notorious Russian propagandist, Katrina Panova. Hugging her, clasping her hands in his for photos. He refuses to get the security clearance every other leader has. His excuse, that "if I get clearance, I can't speculate about security issues" is complete nonsense.
What we should all hope and pray for now is that the Bloc and "sellout" Singh don't bring down the government before Oct 2025. Force Poilievre to campaign as long as possible to weaken his fortunes. Time is Poilievre's kryptonite. The leadership of the liberal party is a secondary issue to the prospect of an early election which Poilievre would hands down win regardless of who is leading the Liberal Party.
I saw some of Nate Erskine-Smith’s videos on Twitter and I am really curious what you think of him as a potential leader (altho I guess it doesn’t make sense to waste him on the next election). It seems he can more easily separate himself from the current government and he seems quite charismatic. I have no idea how good his French is. Sorry if it’s a dumb question; really enjoy your work.
Hmmmmm ...... "I am quite proud of this government’s accomplishments."
Evan, I say this with incredible respect, You need help in dealing with your delusions.
Interesting idea but the more one thinks about it the more sense it makes
Agree wholeheartedly, Evan. Anita Anand has been my choice for a long time.
Isn't Anita Anand President of the Treasury Board, the department responsible for the government's return to office directives? That alone will keep me from voting in her favour.
But is a single issue (I agree with your stance on return-to-offfice, btw) more important than the overall goal of protecting our democracy from the demagoguery that Poilievre represents? To me, no single issue is worth that…
It not just the issue, but the incompetence, wastefulness and being out of touch with their employees and the people as a whole that this decision demonstrates.
Don’t worry though, I still won’t be voting for PP
I know we don’t like to think about this but Anand being ethnically South Asian will hurt her winning chances. Especially since so much of the pushback on immigration is targeted, not to the Ukrainians but to the hundreds of thousands of new arrivals from South Asia. The image of South Asians has taken a hit in Canada and having two major party leaders of South Asian descent might aggravate things.
As a matter of realpolitik, she’d have to be significantly more strict on any immigration pivot to be credible. She’d almost have to walk back the entire Liberal policy of the last four years, and any equivocation would destroy her credibility on the issue
On the other hand, only Nixon could go to China. If the Liberals really are ready to pivot their immigration policy, she might be able to sell a complete rethink with more credibility and less pushback than any of the alternatives
100%. we also can't ignore that she'd be the only woman to lead any of the major parties.
if we're playing the fantasy sports version of politics, she is the first overall pick out of the liberal candidates. but in the real thing, i don't think there's a path there
Agree with all of this....waiting for the Scrimshaw Pablo Rodriguez reaction.
Agree with your choice of Anita Anand. I've had tremendous respect for her ever since I ran into her in law school.
I'm doubtful as to Mr. Chmpagne. He is too optimistic, too upbeat, not serious enough for me. But you may be right politically (as opposed to policy) and bubbles may be what is needed in a campaign.
The real problem is that, seeing Tuesday's results, the Liberals cannot count on NFP voters voting strategically and coming to them at the last minute. More likely the opposite.
It is too late. The bed is made. Switching leaders this close to an election, perhaps really close, is not a sound strategy. And no, the situation is not comparable to the US with Biden/Harris. Given the timeframes, it would require anointing a new leader, which is not going to be acceptable to the people missing out. After all, who is going to decide it has to be Anand?
Switching leaders now is panicking. Understandable and I know it is expressed because Evan and others care, but it is not a smart strategy given all the constraints.
It is not too late to implement Evan’s earlier suggestions. It also encouraging that all senior ministers are much more robust in their approach to the opposition and the provinces. If they follow through with doing much more interviews, in depth and with substance, then this will be hard to match for the Conservatives. And Trudeau himself needs to go find the rude steelworkers and have that conversation that it is unacceptable that Doug Ford (or another premier) cannot get him a family doctor.
Will it be enough? Hard to tell, but maybe Trudeau team finally feels that they have nothing to lose.
don't usually feel this way, but in this case i disagree with you, strongly.
someone with anand's current profile would be a great option heading into the 2021 election in a world where covid doesn't happen, or if trudeau re-signed at any point when the liberals were still the favored party nationally.
for a party that is bleeding seats left and right (no pun intended), i don't see how a relatively unknown, low profile, soft spoken - and yes, this has to be mentioned, a woman of colour - does anything other than exacerbate that. doubly so if the plan is to minimize her position by appointing a leader in/for quebec.
i'm fully with you that the liberals need to make a change to hold onto more than 50 seats. i also don't know if carney is the best option, but in the way that joe biden was "enough", i think that's the path. and if it can't/won't be him, we're better off seeing ralph goodale or marc garneau as the biden analogue rather than to anchor one of the more effective liberal ministers with the unfixable mess trudeau is leaving.
said this in another one of your comment sections, but i think the liberals are at the point of needing a full scale re-build, not a re-tool. bring in some savvy vets that can eat up hard matchups and minutes so the prospects can cook for the next generation.