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NEW REALITY LOOMS FOR TWO WHO DEFECTED TO THE LIBERALSBELINDA STRONACH: Cabinet minister will need all her star power in tight race
By KAREN HOWLETT
Wednesday, January 18, 2006 Posted at 5:12 AM EST
NEWMARKET, ONT. — Belinda Stronach strolls into a dressing room at the Ray Twinney arena in Newmarket, north of Toronto, where a group of boys who play on a minor hockey team are just getting ready to go on the ice.
The boys can barely contain their excitement when they see who she's with -- Toronto Maple Leafs player Tie Domi.
"See. Told you he's here," one boy whispers to his teammates. Another, nine-year-old John MacDonald, shouts, "Go, Belinda!" as the boys and their surprise visitors grin for the cameras. Mr. Domi isn't here simply to autograph hockey sticks and jerseys. He is campaigning for a friend.
Ms. Stronach is going to need all the help she can get with what is shaping up to be a tight race in her riding of Newmarket-Aurora. Although the boys who play for the Aurora Tigers are too young to vote, she can try to win over their parents in the bleachers with the help of one of the Leafs' most popular players.
As she herself says, Aurora is a "hockey town."
Mr. Domi told reporters he wants Paul Martin's Liberals to remain in office.
"I think our country is in good shape. I don't think we need change."
Mr. Domi is not one who usually spends time on the campaign trail.
But Ms. Stronach, who counts former U.S. president Bill Clinton among her friends, is no ordinary candidate.
A celebrity throughout her two years in politics, Ms. Stronach, 39, ran for the leadership of the Conservative Party in 2004, coming second to Stephen Harper. Her business pedigree as a former corporate chief executive and the profile she lent to the political right earned her a place on Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential people.
In the 2004 federal election, she won her seat in the House of Commons as a Conservative, then famously crossed the floor to the Liberals last May, helping to prop up Mr. Martin's government at a crucial juncture. Mr. Martin rewarded her with a cabinet post.
This time, Newmarket-Aurora will be the most-watched race in York Region, which stretches from Toronto north to Lake Simcoe, and from Woodbridge east to Markham.
Ms. Stronach has two things going for her. The riding was a Liberal stronghold until she won it in 2004, by fewer than 700 votes. And she has name recognition in the fast-growing region, which has a population of about 115,000. Her hometown of Aurora is the base for auto-parts giant Magna International Inc., founded by her father, self-made multimillionaire Frank Stronach. Ms. Stronach worked at Magna for 18 years, including three as CEO.
"I think she's grossly underestimated," said Ed Lumley, a former Liberal cabinet minister and a long-time Magna director who spent last Saturday campaigning for Ms. Stronach. "Once you get beyond her star quality, she knows what she doesn't know and she works at it."
On the down side, Ms. Stronach is confronting two big negatives: simmering anger over her defection and the Liberal Party's dwindling fortunes.
"Any time you go against the tide, it's always hard to win," said a friend who also spent Saturday knocking on doors in her riding.
In a recent interview at a coffee shop in a sprawling shopping mall in Aurora, Ms. Stronach was in an upbeat mood, saying she does not get the sense the Liberals are heading for defeat.
"A lot of people say to me, 'I couldn't vote for you last time, but I'm voting for you this time,' " she said.
She won't talk about the prospect of life on the losing team, should Mr. Harper form the next government as widely expected, or Plan B if she loses her seat next Monday.
"I'm working hard to get re-elected," she said. "At the end of the day, I'll be fine if I get re-elected and fine if I don't."
She joked that she would be a shoo-in if girls the same age as her 12-year-old daughter could vote. But she doesn't see herself setting an example for other women contemplating a career in politics.
"I have way too many skeletons to be a role model, but they're all happy skeletons," said the mother of two children, who is twice divorced and who broke the heart of her then-boyfriend, Conservative MP Peter MacKay, when she left the Tories.
Ms. Stronach is running against Conservative Lois Brown, 51, and New Democrat Ed Chudak, 53. Both say they are optimistic about the support they are attracting.
"It's going to be another tight race," predicted Rita Smith, communications head for Ms. Brown. "I think it's going to be excruciatingly close."
Buzz Hargrove, the Canadian Auto Workers union president who has endorsed Mr. Martin, has also thrown his support behind Ms. Stronach by urging New Democrats to vote for her.
Ms. Smith said the political mood in the riding has shifted since early January to less talk about Ms. Stronach's defection and more talk about Mr. Harper's policy announcements. The Conservatives' child-care plan, under which parents would get $1,200 a year for each child under age six, is especially popular with stay-at-home mothers, she said.
Mr. Chudak said he is picking up support from disaffected Liberals, including those who have not forgiven Ms. Stronach for switching parties.
"I think Belinda's crossing the floor is playing here much more than she would have expected," he said.
Ms. Stronach says she had to defect because her more moderate views became increasingly at odds with Mr. Harper's right-wing stance. Voters should be wary of Mr. Harper as well, she said, despite the kinder, gentler image he is projecting during the campaign.
"I think he is saying what he has to say to get elected," she said. "I think he is saying one thing to his supporter base and another thing to mainstream Canadians. He's not telling the truth to somebody."
Ms. Stronach is in the unique position of having worked for both Mr. Harper and Mr. Martin. She said she cannot understand why anybody would risk throwing away the prosperity Canada has enjoyed under the Liberals.
"Ontario has to wake up. Canada has to wake up," she said. "Don't throw away a good thing. If the Harper Conservatives are elected, you might get a lot of what you don't like."
==============================
Anyone want to start a list of cabinet ministers going down?
I'm thinking Stronach, McLelland and Pettigrew may all fall.
By KAREN HOWLETT
Wednesday, January 18, 2006 Posted at 5:12 AM EST
NEWMARKET, ONT. — Belinda Stronach strolls into a dressing room at the Ray Twinney arena in Newmarket, north of Toronto, where a group of boys who play on a minor hockey team are just getting ready to go on the ice.
The boys can barely contain their excitement when they see who she's with -- Toronto Maple Leafs player Tie Domi.
"See. Told you he's here," one boy whispers to his teammates. Another, nine-year-old John MacDonald, shouts, "Go, Belinda!" as the boys and their surprise visitors grin for the cameras. Mr. Domi isn't here simply to autograph hockey sticks and jerseys. He is campaigning for a friend.
Ms. Stronach is going to need all the help she can get with what is shaping up to be a tight race in her riding of Newmarket-Aurora. Although the boys who play for the Aurora Tigers are too young to vote, she can try to win over their parents in the bleachers with the help of one of the Leafs' most popular players.
As she herself says, Aurora is a "hockey town."
Mr. Domi told reporters he wants Paul Martin's Liberals to remain in office.
"I think our country is in good shape. I don't think we need change."
Mr. Domi is not one who usually spends time on the campaign trail.
But Ms. Stronach, who counts former U.S. president Bill Clinton among her friends, is no ordinary candidate.
A celebrity throughout her two years in politics, Ms. Stronach, 39, ran for the leadership of the Conservative Party in 2004, coming second to Stephen Harper. Her business pedigree as a former corporate chief executive and the profile she lent to the political right earned her a place on Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential people.
In the 2004 federal election, she won her seat in the House of Commons as a Conservative, then famously crossed the floor to the Liberals last May, helping to prop up Mr. Martin's government at a crucial juncture. Mr. Martin rewarded her with a cabinet post.
This time, Newmarket-Aurora will be the most-watched race in York Region, which stretches from Toronto north to Lake Simcoe, and from Woodbridge east to Markham.
Ms. Stronach has two things going for her. The riding was a Liberal stronghold until she won it in 2004, by fewer than 700 votes. And she has name recognition in the fast-growing region, which has a population of about 115,000. Her hometown of Aurora is the base for auto-parts giant Magna International Inc., founded by her father, self-made multimillionaire Frank Stronach. Ms. Stronach worked at Magna for 18 years, including three as CEO.
"I think she's grossly underestimated," said Ed Lumley, a former Liberal cabinet minister and a long-time Magna director who spent last Saturday campaigning for Ms. Stronach. "Once you get beyond her star quality, she knows what she doesn't know and she works at it."
On the down side, Ms. Stronach is confronting two big negatives: simmering anger over her defection and the Liberal Party's dwindling fortunes.
"Any time you go against the tide, it's always hard to win," said a friend who also spent Saturday knocking on doors in her riding.
In a recent interview at a coffee shop in a sprawling shopping mall in Aurora, Ms. Stronach was in an upbeat mood, saying she does not get the sense the Liberals are heading for defeat.
"A lot of people say to me, 'I couldn't vote for you last time, but I'm voting for you this time,' " she said.
She won't talk about the prospect of life on the losing team, should Mr. Harper form the next government as widely expected, or Plan B if she loses her seat next Monday.
"I'm working hard to get re-elected," she said. "At the end of the day, I'll be fine if I get re-elected and fine if I don't."
She joked that she would be a shoo-in if girls the same age as her 12-year-old daughter could vote. But she doesn't see herself setting an example for other women contemplating a career in politics.
"I have way too many skeletons to be a role model, but they're all happy skeletons," said the mother of two children, who is twice divorced and who broke the heart of her then-boyfriend, Conservative MP Peter MacKay, when she left the Tories.
Ms. Stronach is running against Conservative Lois Brown, 51, and New Democrat Ed Chudak, 53. Both say they are optimistic about the support they are attracting.
"It's going to be another tight race," predicted Rita Smith, communications head for Ms. Brown. "I think it's going to be excruciatingly close."
Buzz Hargrove, the Canadian Auto Workers union president who has endorsed Mr. Martin, has also thrown his support behind Ms. Stronach by urging New Democrats to vote for her.
Ms. Smith said the political mood in the riding has shifted since early January to less talk about Ms. Stronach's defection and more talk about Mr. Harper's policy announcements. The Conservatives' child-care plan, under which parents would get $1,200 a year for each child under age six, is especially popular with stay-at-home mothers, she said.
Mr. Chudak said he is picking up support from disaffected Liberals, including those who have not forgiven Ms. Stronach for switching parties.
"I think Belinda's crossing the floor is playing here much more than she would have expected," he said.
Ms. Stronach says she had to defect because her more moderate views became increasingly at odds with Mr. Harper's right-wing stance. Voters should be wary of Mr. Harper as well, she said, despite the kinder, gentler image he is projecting during the campaign.
"I think he is saying what he has to say to get elected," she said. "I think he is saying one thing to his supporter base and another thing to mainstream Canadians. He's not telling the truth to somebody."
Ms. Stronach is in the unique position of having worked for both Mr. Harper and Mr. Martin. She said she cannot understand why anybody would risk throwing away the prosperity Canada has enjoyed under the Liberals.
"Ontario has to wake up. Canada has to wake up," she said. "Don't throw away a good thing. If the Harper Conservatives are elected, you might get a lot of what you don't like."
==============================
Anyone want to start a list of cabinet ministers going down?
I'm thinking Stronach, McLelland and Pettigrew may all fall.