Live: 2011 Extraordinary General Meeting
Hi Folks, I’m live blogging the 2011 Extraordinary General Meeting of the Liberal Party of Canada (LISTEN LIVE HERE) from my hotel room in downtown Vancouver. On the docket are two amendments to our constitution and five sub-amendments that will determine the timelines for Liberal renewal. Extraordinary it’s called, and extraordinary it is. For the first time, the Liberal... Read More
Sure, But What Have We Done To You Lately?
As a Liberal in Alberta I’ve become well accustomed to the litany of complaints thrown at our Party. I’ve taken abuse about the NEP, the GST, and the sponsorship scandal. And as a Liberal, I know my talking points. How the NEP was agreed to by then Premier Lougheed and how it was world oil prices – not any policy from Ottawa – that caused the collapse of... Read More
LPC Extraordinary Convention
Decisions that will affect the future of the Liberal Party of Canada are in your hands. The June 18, 2011 extraordinary convention will be held by teleconference and will allow delegates to debate and vote on amendments to the Constitution that would delay the Leadership Vote and delay the next biennial convention to January 13-15, 2012 – an important step in our rebuilding process. If... Read More
What We Did This Weekend In Alberta
At a Special General Meeting in Calgary the Alberta Liberal Party voted to overhaul the organization with a series of dramatic changes including: a By-Law amendment that binds the organization to member policy, a change to the way votes for leader are counted, and – most dramatically of all – opening nomination and leadership contests to all Albertans who wish to participate,... Read More
A New Liberal’s Guide to Change
There’s a school of thought in liberal circles right now about the need to think long and hard about what kind of movement liberalism is going to be before we rush forward with any dramatic overhaul of our Party. But when it comes to organizational politics you don’t need to figure out what needs to change before you start changing it. The wheels of politics move very... Read More
Kickstarting Renewal
Liberal Parties are long lived in Canada. When the Liberal Party of Canada was created, the secret ballot did not exist. When the Alberta Liberal Party was created, the right of women to vote was still over a decade away. And we’ve built our parties organically over the years like a house that grew into an estate – adding a new room every now and then, tearing down the... Read More
A New Liberal Movement
Canada 150, a thinkers conference put on by the Liberal Party of Canada to find the next big ideas was an amazing meeting. But its conclusions were completely set aside before we even got to leave the conference hall. CEOs, Managing Partners, Venture Capitalists, Executive Directors, Deans and Professors, entrepreneurs and the odd average Canadian for good measure got together and... Read More
Yes, There Is A Problem
It’s not just an Alberta thing. Nationally and provincially, Liberal organizations share long term difficulties that need to be addressed before the downturns we face become irreversible and liberalism is wiped off of the Canadian landscape. Alberta Liberal Party In every election since 1993 the Alberta Liberal Party has reduced in popular vote... Read More
