NOVEMBER 2004 Jim Coutts

THE TENETS AND CONSTITUENCY ROOTS OF LIBERALISM — OVERHAULING THE RED MACHINE Jim Coutts When Prime Minister Martin’s campaign strategists discarded the Liberal brand to run under the Team Martin banner in the last election, they abandoned the political trademark of a party that has governed Canada for most of the last century. Jim Coutts, a lifelong Liberal activist who served Prime Ministers Pearson and Trudeau, writes that the Liberals’ fabled Red Machine has actually been in long-term decline and is overdue for a major overhaul. He identifies five major “policy markers” that must be renewed: reform, French-English partnership, Canadian identity, balanced economic management and an open-door immigration policy. “These markers,” he writes, “have been part of the Liberal fabric long enough, and pursued consistently enough, to have become part of the Liberal identity.” Along with intellectual renewal, he writes, the Liberal Party needs to be rebuilt at the grassroots, and Martin has the opportunity “to become the first Liberal leader since Mackenzie King to pay serious attention to constituency-level party recruitment.” En troquant l’étiquette libérale pour la bannière de « équipe Martin », les stratèges de campagne du premier ministre ont délaissé la marque d’un parti qui a gouverné le Canada pour l’essentiel du dernier siècle. Militant libéral de toujours et conseiller des premiers ministres Pearson et Trudeau, Jim Coutts juge que la légendaire « machine rouge » est en perte de vitesse depuis un bon moment déjà et qu’il est grand temps de la rénover en profondeur. Il faudrait ainsi renouveler cinq grandes doctrines libérales : réformisme, partenariat anglais-français, identité canadienne, gestion économique équilibrée et ouverture des politiques d’immigration. Ces marqueurs sont intégrés au tissu libéral et dictent les politiques du parti depuis si longtemps, estime l’auteur, qu’ils sont presque devenus indissociables de son identité. Au-delà du renouvellement de ces principes, ajoute-t-il, le Parti libéral doit également reconstruire sa base. Paul Martin a ainsi l’occasion d’être le « premier chef libéral depuis Mackenzie King à miser vraiment sur le recrutement au niveau des circonscriptions ». few days after winning back a Liberal majority in the Pierre Trudeau could well ask the same question today. In A 1974 election, Pierre Trudeau invited his national cam- recent years, the mythic Red Machine has driven itself paign committee and media advisers to dinner at 24 Sussex unsteadily along the road and sometimes seemed headed Drive. He reminisced that evening about his father, Charlie, a straight for a cliff. A period of policy stagnation, the departure veteran Quebec campaign organizer for the conservative bleus. of two bruised leaders and rumblings against a barely installed Charlie Trudeau spoke with such awe of the vote-getting third, loud and divisive intra-party squabbling and a near elec- exploits of what he called the Liberals’ “Red Machine” that toral defeat — whatever happened to the Big Red Machine, one young Pierre pictured it as a giant unstoppable juggernaut, a of the world’s oldest and most successful political parties? And magic perpetual motion machine that chewed up and spat out what are the implications for Canada’s governance, which has all in its campaign path. That evening, the prime minister been entrusted to the Liberal Party for 75 of the last 105 years? looked around at his own rather bedraggled campaign organ- Writing as a Liberal partisan and party activist for most of izers, and bemusedly asked us: “Is this all there is?” my life, and a sympathetic colleague of friends in other par- POLICY OPTIONS 9 NOVEMBER 2004 Jim Coutts ties, perhaps I can best summarize my Liberals...Twenty-one subcommittees, two bad polls that the “Liberal” brand concerns about the current state of the on which every delegate and visitor was no longer useful and would have party by contrasting last year’s Liberal will have a chance to sit, will winnow to go. Many in the party returned the leadership convention with the first one down the resolutions and feed them to favor by sitting on their hands, or by I attended in 1958 —as a delegate, it so a central policy committee. From there complaining publicly (no less!) about happened, supporting Paul Martin’s they will go to plenary sessions of the Paul Martin and his campaign team. leadership candidacy. Though Paul Sr. rally for final decision.” For Liberals running against a newly came in a distant second, like other By contrast, the 2003 convention merged Conservative party in English opponents of Lester Pearson he was wel- was a lighter-than-air affair of balloons Canada, and a Bloc Quebecois many comed back with his supporters and and banners, with a foreign rock singer had left for dead, a minority govern- went on to play a distinguished role as to add philosophic content. Its sole ment barely snatched back in late campaign was decidedly The current weakening of the Liberal Party began well before not a brilliant outcome. In the advent of “Team Martin.” It probably would not have fact, it was ominous. The question now is occurred but for the neglectfulness of party leaders and their whether Martin has the tal- supporters (myself included) during the five decades since the ents, the team and, not retirement of William Lyon Mackenzie King. Perhaps the best least, the desire to get the example of the deterioration in grassroots political Red Machine back on the road. The answer is impor- participation is that campaign telephone calls that you get tant not only to Liberal asking for your support are apt to come from a professional partisans. The Grits are the phone bank working for two different parties at the same time. only Canadian party that has survived for 150 years, Pearson’s external affairs minister. By purpose seemed to be anointing Paul and for most of the past 105 years gov- contrast, the opponents of Paul Jr. were Martin Jr. as party leader and prime erned the country with some degree of shown the door, and not surprisingly minister. A collection of federal lobby- success. Whether they win or lose elec- fell to “un-Liberal” public squabbling. ists, paid Ottawa ministerial staff, pro- tions is probably of no great concern This was probably predictable given the fessional organizers, and wealthy to most Canadians. But win or lose, nature of the 2003 convention and its businessmen had spent ten years and Canadian public life would be far intra-party prelude. over $25 million to mount a more or poorer in my view if the Liberals were less hostile takeover, as the party elec- to lose their cohesion as a broad cen- n 1958, the leadership convention toral apparatus was systematically trist party. Such a development would I was preceded by and in some meas- closed to all but one candidate. permanently destroy both a major ure devoted to refining by party mili- Meanwhile, the weakest Liberal party source of Canadian thinking on the tants of new ideas that would president in memory spent two years shape of public policy, and a critical eventually provide the social reform trying to block election financing link between government and citizen. agenda of the Pearson government. In reform, convince the public that there In the corrupt and ineffectual big-city upstairs rooms at Ottawa’s Chateau was no real need for a leadership con- governments of the Tammany Hall era, Laurier Hotel a core of senior conven- test, and finally, tried to engineer the we see what happens when parties are tion delegates consolidated floor reso- withdrawal of the remaining candi- too strong. But there are also great lutions and unpaid policy advisors date. This, he cheerfully explained, dangers Canada should avoid in soci- refined them for inclusion in the new would save the party the expense of eties like Singapore where government leader’s acceptance speech. Three years actual balloting, and allow more time is efficient and effective but political later in 1961 a Liberal convention was for the US-style show-biz spectacle on parties are weak. The weakening of the organized to focus exclusively on a set prime time TV. It was a sad chapter for Liberals is of even greater concern of policy initiatives that would form the same Liberal party which in 1919 because Canada has already lost (at the platform and shape the issues in had first introduced democratic leader- least for now) its other great historic the 1962-63 elections and define the ship balloting to Canada. national party, the Tory party of legislative agenda when Pearson came Macdonald and Cartier. to power. I attended this meeting with erhaps no one should have been The thesis of this essay is that the great expectation, having read in the P surprised in the federal election two keys to Grit success were a strong Edmonton Journal: “Some 400 resolu- which followed when Liberal signage set of Liberal “policy markers,” and a tions have been drafted by constituen- was painted over with a “Team Mar- strong community-based party organi- cy organizations and individual tin” logo. Martin advisers opined after zation that operated year in and year 10 OPTIONS POLITIQUES NOVEMBRE 2004 The tenets and constituency roots of liberalism — overhauling the Red Machine out — not just in elections. The ero- ly exercise power. But that would be Liberals often seem to have mis- sion of both explains the Liberals’ cur- true for any Canadian party. What’s placed: a community-based party rent difficulties. more, Lester Pearson and others who organization, and the Liberal policy worked directly with Mackenzie King markers. Neither key can work with- he current weakening of the Liber- told me that he was anything but pas- out the other.

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