Liberals exercising caution on triggering election

By Les Whittington Bruce Campion-Smith - Ottawa Bureau

OTTAWA–After a few weeks of election fever, Liberals are becoming less gung-ho about sending Canadians to the polls right away.

The mood at yesterday's closed-door meeting was considerably more cautious than it was last week when the party was smarting over Prime Minister Stephen Harper's move to force three confidence votes – on the budget, Afghanistan and crime laws – in March.

"It looks like the Prime Minister is pulling back after practising government by threat for the last few weeks," said one Liberal.

Despite a hankering to take on the Conservatives in an election campaign, Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion is holding off on a decision on whether to dump the minority government, his colleagues say.

There is a widespread conviction in Dion's caucus that waiting can only play in their favour.

"My sense is that the public is not in a mood for an election yet," said MP Glen Pearson (London North Centre).

Many senior Liberals are convinced that Dion, after a difficult first year as leader, is improving as a national political figure and will benefit from more experience.

Some MPs say the party is not well enough organized yet, while others think a continuing downturn in the economy will hurt the Tories' chances. And the party is wary about allowing Harper's strategy to dictate the timing of an election.

"We're not going to hand them one on a silver platter," said Senator David Smith, campaign co-chair.

The most likely trigger for a move by Dion to bring down the Tories will come with the federal budget, which is being delivered on Feb. 26.

Dion is passionate about the need to challenge Harper's policies in an election. But he is being told by many in his caucus that he should be patient, and is now said to be in a wait-and-see mood until Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's budget.

The NDP and Bloc Québécois have said they will try to defeat the government over the budget. In the 308-seat Commons, Tories hold 126 seats, Liberals 94, the Bloc 49 and the NDP 30. There are four independents and five vacancies.

Meanwhile, NDP Leader Jack Layton yesterday accused the Conservatives and Liberals of trying to skirt election-financing laws with plans for lucrative fundraisers.

"I think the new election reform laws were designed to try and stop this sort of thing from happening," Layton told reporters.

The Liberals drew flak for a fundraising auction that boasted the "sky is your limit."

In return for a donation last night, supporters could play golf with former prime minister Paul Martin, attend a hockey game with Liberal MP and famed NHL goalie Ken Dryden, play tennis with Bob Rae or lunch with Justin Trudeau.

Dion conceded later that the wording was a mistake and the Liberals would respect Elections Canada donation limits on any contributions made to the party at the auction. Donations were earmarked to support Ottawa-area riding associations.

The Liberals took aim at a Tory fundraiser at which supporters paid $500 each to hear Flaherty speak about the government's outlook on the economy and its fiscal plans, according to the invitation. The Tuesday night event was to raise cash for Brian McGarry, the party candidate in Ottawa Centre.

"The idea that a finance minister – just 10 days or so before his budget – should ask people to come and listen to his views on his own budget, for $500 a person, is highly inappropriate," said Liberal MP John McCallum. "Essentially what he's doing is selling access."