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Even in Quebec the public is split about 50-50 on the Green Shift plan, and if you can't fool Quebecers with an environmental plan that screws Alberta, who can you fool?.....

MONTREAL -In a way, Stephane Dion's leadership problems began on Day One, in December, 2006, when 82% of the delegates to the Liberal convention voted for someone else on the first ballot. When Dion stormed from third place to overtake Michael Ignatieff and Bob Rae, there were at least two other guys who thought they should have won. Actually three, counting Gerard Kennedy, who would have been third rather than fourth if a handful of his delegates hadn't parked with Martha Hall Findlay on the first ballot to reward her for an outstanding speech. In that sense, Dion wasn't even...

Stéphane Dion, who came from fourth-place standing to win the leadership of Canada's Liberal Party early this month, declared immediate war on the minority Conservative government last week, and made it clear he is determined to force a late-winter election. Implicitly, he made something else clear. He will attack the government on two principal issues, both of them integral to Canadian-American relations. One is the Kyoto Treaty, the other the Canadian role in Afghanistan. If he wins the election, therefore, America's northern neighbor will once again become vaguely hostile territory, as it was under the last Liberal government. On Kyoto,...

Sadly, the Liberals know not what they do John Robson, The Ottawa Citizen Published: Friday, December 08, 2006 Based on the record, Stephane Dion's victory at the Liberal convention is not surprising. But it is troubling. And yes, I predicted it on the radio beforehand; any fool can be wise after the fact. First, the federal Liberals have not won an electoral majority with an anglophone leader since 1945: before steel-belted radials, TVs in homes, or the birth of any of the eight convention leadership contenders. Liberals' blithe self-image as the Natural Governing Party may obscure their vision of...

Dark horse candidate Stéphane Dion surged from fourth to first to claim the federal Liberal leadership, defeating Michael Ignatieff on Saturday in the final ballot. Dion garnered 2,521 votes in the fourth-round tally, or about 54 per cent of the delegates, ahead of Ignatieff, who received 2,084 votes, or about 46 per cent. "The most exciting race in the history of our party is over," Dion told a jubilant crowd of some 5,000 delegates Saturday evening at the party's convention in Montreal. "Let's get ready for the election." The new leader, who initially was given little chance to win, hailed...

OTTAWA (CP) - Paul Martin supporters are targeting some Liberal MPs in a bid to purge the party of any pockets of dissent against his leadership, insiders say. Martin denied the charge Thursday. Party sources and MPs said numerous Liberals are being targeted in their home ridings by challengers vying for local nominations at pre-election meetings expected early next year. The movement took stride after Martin's very first day as Liberal leader last month when he announced he would halt the current practice of protecting sitting MPs. He said it is an attempt to make the process more democratic. Critics...