While
voters across Quebec were tentatively waiting for the results of the April 7
provincial election, and the implications it would have for the future of both
the province and the rest of Canada, one former – yet popular – figure from
provincial politics past was tentative about his future in federal politics.
During an
appearance at the B’nai Brith Canada annual Public Policy Conference last week
in Montreal, former Equality Party leader and MNA Robert Libman was asked if he
was considering running for the Conservative Party nomination in the Mount
Royal riding during next year’s federal election. In response to that query, Libman didn’t
confirm – nor deny – his intention of running for the Tories in Mount Royal, a
staunch Liberal stronghold since 1940, which has previously been represented by
former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and former Justice Minister Irwin Cotler,
who recently decided to step down after serving as its Member of Parliament
since 1999.
And
Libman’s response to this question came on the heels of an announcement made by
Cote St. Luc Mayor Anthony Housefather at the end of March, who stated his
intentions of seeking the Liberal Party nomination in Mount Royal.
Libman is
no stranger to the world of politics. An architect by trade, he helped to
establish the Equality Party in 1988, in response to then-Premier Robert
Bourassa’s use of the Notwithstanding Clause following the Supreme Court of
Canada’s ruling that parts of the Quebec language law – Bill 101 – was
unconstitutional, especially when it came to restricting the use of English on
commercial signs. The Equality Party’s accomplishment of having four of its
candidates elected to the Quebec National Assembly (including Libman) in the
September 1989 provincial election stunned the Quebec political scene. Libman
served as an MNA until 1994. The following year, he wrote Riding the Rapids, a very informative best selling memoir about his
turn at changing the face of provincial politics.
In 1998,
Libman was elected Mayor of Cote St. Luc and three years later was elected
Mayor of the Cote St. Luc-Hampstead-Montreal West borough in the wake of the
controversial municipal mergers
that created the short-lived Montreal megacity. He also served on the Montreal
Executive Committee and City Council before leaving municipal politics in 2005.
These days, Libman runs Libcorp, his own architectural consulting firm and is a
much sought after political expert and analyst by many local and national TV
and radio news shows.
It was his vast knowledge of provincial politics that brought him to the Public Policy Conference, where he delivered a fascinating, informative recap and perspective on the recent election, which he called it "one of the most interesting campaigns in Quebec history." He also cited how the level of concern amongst the Jewish community, especially when it came to the threat of a third referendum on separation if Pauline Marois' PQ government would win a majority mandate, has increased drastically (as well as a considerable feeling of angst) since the last provincial election less than two years ago, in which Marois won a minority government and ended the nine-year Liberal government of Jean Charest.
Whether Libman decides to take his political ambitions to the federal level remains to be seen. But if the scenario one year from now allows two popular municipal mayors (not to mention experienced and widely respected politicians) battle it out for a riding that has been the jewel in the federal Liberals' crown for over 70 years, it will certainly be one of the most exciting races that Mount Royal riding has ever witnessed in a very long time.
To be continued, as they say...
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