Jack Layton raised the NDP’s status in Parliament. But he also raised the stakes so much higher for his successors.
Before he died this summer, he’d just begun to address the downside of success: nagging questions of substance — namely on the issue of Quebec sovereignty — that were temporarily subsumed by his tremendous electoral performance.
For their part, Canadians had just begun evaluating Layton as a potential prime minister and weighing his positions and pronouncements with newfound seriousness.
There will be no such adjustment period for those who would fill Layton’s shoes. As Ed Broadbent said last week, in endorsing NDP president Brian Topp’s bid for leader: “This is the big leagues. It is the first time we will be consciously selecting a leader that the people of Canada will immediately be judging (whether) he or she is capable of being prime minister.”
Topp, the first candidate in the race, has many assets. His years as a party strategist and adviser have made him knowledgeable on a gamut of issues. His French is perfectly fine. His lack of charisma and of experience in electoral politics can be overcome.
While Topp must still sell himself to the party and to the public, the ultimate question is whether people are in the mood to buy what he is selling. Topp made a few remarks at his kick-off that might not sit well with Canadians.
As one of the backroom architects of the 2008 NDP-Liberal coalition that tried to unseat the Conservatives with the support of the Bloc Quebecois, Topp made no bones about forming other such coalitions in future, if circumstances warrant.
There is nothing illegitimate about this, but it’s wildly unpopular.
He also mused about giving Quebec new seats in Parliament, if Ontario, Alberta and B.C. get additional representation based on their growing populations.
He argued Quebec’s relative numbers should be kept artificially high to reflect its status as a “nation” within Canada.
On the foreign policy front, Topp jumped in head first, saying Canada should support Palestinian statehood in an upcoming UN vote.
Quite apart from the fact it’s premature to recognize any entity with ill-defined borders, Canada should be wary of endorsing anything that smacks of unilateral declarations of independence elsewhere, while insisting, under the Clarity Act, that the secession of Quebec could only come after successful negotiations.
Topp may soon discover he is very vulnerable on policy.
From the Halifax Chronicle Herald, published Sept. 19.