Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff speaks during a news conference on the first day of the Liberal caucus summer retreat in Sudbury on Aug. 31, 2009.CHRIS WATTIE/Reuters
Michael Ignatieff's hawkish side was on display Monday as he criticized the Harper minority government's summer performance, and vowed that any decision to take it down in the fall will be on a question of "principle," and not of "polls."
The Liberal Leader's gunslinger act at an afternoon press conference on the first day of a three-day caucus meeting in this Northern Ontario city contrasted with his more dovish caucus members, many of whom are worried about going to the polls so soon after last year's election.
What appears to be developing is a tension between Mr. Ignatieff and his inner circle - who would love to see him as prime minister for the 2010 Olympics - and his MPs, some of whom want to wait.
Anthony Rota, the national caucus chair, told reporters Monday afternoon that, "there is no real unanimous mood in there," for an election.
"It's more up for discussion to see what the circumstances are and what Canadians want from this government," said Mr. Rota, the only Liberal MP from Northern Ontario.
Mr. Ignatieff, however, seemed to indicate that there was little to discuss.
"We've kept this government on life support for 10 months. It's important to remember that," he said at his news conference. "We have put the country first. We voted for a budget about which we had serious reservations because we thought some stimulus is better than no stimulus; we thought some help to the unemployed is better than no help to the unemployed."
However, he said, nothing has improved over the summer on these keys issues. In fact, he dismissed the meetings of the special Conservative-Liberal working group on changes to employment insurance as having "turned into a bit of a charade."
"And so this is the kind of matter that we are going to have to take up in the caucus," he said. "I want to listen to what they have to say, and then we will make our decision. The decision will be very clear."
Mr. Ignatieff said the decision would be "serene." The full caucus meets Tuesday.
"This is a question of principle, not a question of polls," he said in his news conference.
The Liberals and Conservatives have been in a dead-heat in the national opinion polls throughout the summer, frustrating some Liberals who had hoped their standings would be higher after Mr. Ignatieff took over. Instead, they have about the same support former leader Stéphane Dion had last summer.
Mr. Ignatieff's statements were made amid reports that his team is planning a major advertising campaign , beginning after Labour Day.
One insider said Monday that the ads in English Canada will show Mr. Ignatieff in statesmanlike poses as he tries to make himself better known to Canadians.
However, the French-language ads, said the insider, will be much harder hitting on the government and Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
It appears Mr. Ignatieff is beginning to develop a narrative for an election campaign. He and his inner circle are pushing hard on the government's handling of foreign acquisition of Canadian companies, such as Nortel and Vale Inco, which is based in Sudbury.
Vale Inco workers are on strike, and Mr. Ignatieff and his team met with United Steelworkers leaders Monday.
Asked about the meeting, Mr. Ignatieff launched into an attack on the Harper government.
"We welcome inward investment," he said. "But we don't want to have inward investment at the price of Canadian workers, jobs and at the price of Canadian technologies.
"We feel very strongly that the government of Canada, the Conservative government, has failed to stand up for Canadian technology and Canadian jobs, and that's the issue."
It appears that the Liberals are backing away from making their demands to change employment insurance the key to propping up the government.
Last June, the leader agreed not to defeat the Harper government and provoke an election, in return for a bipartisan Liberal/Conservative special working group on changes to EI and an opposition day, in which a no-confidence motion could be triggered, at the end of September.
Last week, Senator David Smith, one of the campaign co-chairs, appeared to put the brakes on a late September no-confidence motion over EI, suggesting that there is fatigue among Canadians with regards to elections.
On Monday, House Leader Ralph Goodale said that "EI is an important issue, but it's not the only issue."
One Liberal MP said that many in the caucus were pleased with Mr. Smith's statements, especially about fighting so many elections so close together. Mr. Harper called an election last fall, the third since 2004.