Bob Rae gears up for federal byelection in Ontario

Updated Sat. Dec. 22 2007 6:08 PM ET

The Canadian Press

TORONTO -- The ghosts of byelections past aren't haunting former NDP premier Bob Rae, who rallied his supporters Saturday to kick off his campaign in Toronto ahead of the holidays.


Rae, the former Ontario NDP premier turned federal Liberal, has been waiting months for the chance to win a seat in the House of Commons, one of four ridings left vacant since early last summer.


The four byelections, slated for Mar. 17, could give the Liberals and leader Stephane Dion a much-needed boost after their humiliating defeat in three Quebec byelections last September.


But that loss doesn't appear to worry Rae, the veteran of eight successful election campaigns.


"I think here there's a lot of support, I think the indications are very good,'' he said. "We've got a terrific organization and we're ready to do battle here.''


The Liberals, who won all four ridings in the 2006 general election, have a good chance of hanging onto at least three of them -- two in Toronto and one in Vancouver.


The fourth, Saskatchewan's Desnethe-Missinippi-Churchill River riding, is the most vulnerable, which the Liberals won in 2006 by just more than 100 votes over the Tories.


Rae's riding of Toronto Centre, comprising a diverse mix of well-heeled homes and poverty-striken neighbourhoods like St. Jamestown, has been Liberal territory for more than decade under former cabinet minister Bill Graham, who retired in July.


Rae is up against Conservative candidate Don Meredith, an activist on youth violence issues, who was acclaimed last week after party officials pushed out the riding's outspoken locally chosen candidate, Mark Warner.


The Liberal foreign affairs critic, who plans to move into the riding, said he's anxious to get in the House of Commons and grill the Conservatives on the direction of Canada's military mission in Afghanistan, currently slated to end in 2009.


"If we continue down the path that (Prime Minister Stephen) Harper wants to take us on, we're really going to be essentially engaged in a counterinsurgency campaign in Afghanistan, and I think that's extremely unwise,'' he said.


"I don't think that's where people want to be. I think they want to see us in a peacekeeping role. I think they want to see us in a peacemaking role.''


Rae's well-oiled campaign machine won't get into gear until Jan. 2, when the door knocking will start in earnest.


"He has the drive and the ability to connect people and to bridge people from all different groups,'' said Michelle Oliel, 26, a volunteer for Rae's campaign.


"For me, I'm an articling student -- very busy. And there's no other place or anybody that I'd rather give my time to than Bob.''




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find it odd how the media can now have such nice things to say about bob rae , after he is the premier who lead ontario thru one of its darkest economic times ever which then lead to the election of ontario pc's under mike harris .
and he has only been an actual card carrying federal liberal for a few years as i understand . know back in the 80's he was a federal ndp mp for toronto .

   

Rae singing from Layton's song book may not be helpful......

The PC appointed canadidate has a problem being put in over a locally selected candidate may have problems getting full support from the local CPC riding assn.

Should be interesting.

   

will admit toronto centre even before the nomination issues was not a very likely conservative win anyways. is just too urban and is home to large gay population which need i go into detail but isn't very conservative.

but could of seen a chance for the ndp there , but not even sure if they have a candidate yet or even plan on trying in this by-election .

this is really the ideal seat for a by-election for the liberals rate now and they know it , and mp only quit cause he figured its impossible for them to lose it right ? this riding is essentially downtown toronto

   

the PC will not win in Toronto..... the tories screwed ontario and toronto big time..... Rae is almost a shoe in..

   

I wish Bob Rae luck!

He'll get in and that'll be even better for us Tories.

We still remember him here, even if you three olds don't.

The joys of "equity" hiring practices and "Rae-days", all will be dragged back up in time for an election.

GO BOBBY GO!

   

I'm beyond amazed that a Liberal/NDP like Rae even knows how to say big words like "counterinsurgency" much less understand what it means. I mean, isn't the leftist approach to all-things-military usually to just make goofy comparisons of Canadian or US troops to the schutzstaffel and then leave it at that?

   

Dion and Rae, what a dream-team!

This next general election is gonna be FUN!

   

agree bob rae has some baggage and in general in other provinces ndp turned liberals didn't do that well anyways , but he can and will likely get elected in downtown toronto , if he was running in the suburbs it would be much different .
but even provincially when there were by-elections in toronto there generally a waste of time for conservatives , know there were a few between 05-07 and none went pc .

   

bob's likely just jumping on the anti bush band wagon as he's running in one of most anti-bush areas in the world , downtown toronto .

   

jeeze .... you guys read the papers ... watch TV? or are you still circling the wagons..? the tories are on the skids.. falling in popularity as we speak.. the best is yet to come.... the green issue if major and world opinion of Canada and the Harper government leaves alot to be desired..... Harpers is from the west...give him enough rope and he will hang himself.....

   

well thats what the media would like us to beleive , not sure its true myself . saw a few polls today that say otherwise . one says chalk river restart was largely popular and an ipsos poll which came out dec 22 says tories are still at 35% to liberals 32% . so maybe other widely publised poll which said liberals were leading was maybe jumping to conclusions or a mathematical error or something different than other polls .