Bob Rae Named Interim Liberal Leader

The veteran politician faces a daunting task in keeping the Liberals relevant as the third party in Parliament.

In what was probably the least surprising political event of the year, the Liberal party caucus voted for Bob Rae to be its interim leader. The honourable member from Toronto Centre beat out Marc Garneau for the top spot in a closed-door vote held by the party's 34 MPs and 45 senators. Rae, a former NDP premier of Ontario, is expected to be leader for about 18 months while the Liberals set about finding a more permanent replacement ahead of an election set for 2015. One of the conditions the party laid out for whoever was elected as interim leader was that they could not run for the permanent position, a term Rae agreed to in writing.