Liberal finance critic Scott Brison speaks to The Globe and Mail's editorial board in Toronto on March 4, 2011.Peter Power/The Globe and Mail
With two leadership races under his belt, Scott Brison's name is likely to come up as a potential candidate to lead the Liberals - but it sounds like he'll be taking a pass.
One of only 34 Grits elected to the new Parliament, Mr. Brison said he and husband Maxime St. Pierre are thinking of starting a family.
"I don't want to have one of Canada's first same sex divorces," he said when asked if he is considering another leadership race. "If you're going to make that commitment, I not only want to be a parent, I want to be a good parent and that's something we both feel strongly about."
Mr. Brison ran for the Progressive Conservative leadership in 2003 before switching to join the Liberals after the PCs merged with the Canadian Alliance to form the Conservative Party of Canada. He was also a candidate for the Grit leadership in 2006.
Mr. Brison, the party's finance critic, said he's not expecting the upcoming Conservative budget will be much different from the one presented in March by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty before the election.
Sounding rather dejected by the results of the election, Mr. Brison said Prime Minister Stephen Harper should recognize that about 60 per cent of Canadians did not support his approach.
"Hope springs eternal," he said, "but it's highly unlikely that he will try to work with other parties with a majority."
Following Michael Ignatieff's decision this week to resign as Liberal leader, the party must now choose an interim chief and decide on when to hold a full leadership convention.
Earlier Wednesday, Liberal MP Justin Trudeau said he was "concerned" by the amount of attention he's receiving as a potential candidate. He told the CBC that the party needs more than just a "cute leader." He said Liberals need to do a lot of hard work rebuilding on the ground.
Bill Curry