His family, the Grants and Masseys on his mother's side, are very privileged, and he's been more a part of an international academic elite than an ordinary Canadian. It's kind of the Obama thing, except Ignatieff actually does have the academic achievements that Obama's people claim for him.
So I'd suppose that average Canadians would rather be tortured to death than vote for Ignatieff's party this time. Years ago candidates were parachuted in from academia or the diplomatic corps to the top of the Liberal Party -- Lester Pearson and Pierre Trudeau back in the 1960s. But nowadays Canadians are probably a bit more populist and voters resent being told to vote for "their betters."
The Libs might have done better perhaps with Ignatieff's former college roommate, Bob Rae, an old NDP man who ran Ontario in the '90s, or with Ken Dryden, a former NHL goaltender. Both were in the running for the Liberal top spot. What was the party thinking?
It could be the guilt associated with Ad Scam. After all, Iggy ran on Ethics, and Trust. LOL! Then he brought out Mr. Dithers and Da little guy from Shawinigan.
The worry is that if the left unites under the NDP, well....
:-(