Five Great Canadian Political Comebacks

Harper won the seat of power on the strength of his vision – so Michael Ignatieff should stop harping on Tory fumbles and sharpen his message.

It was the summer of 2005. Paul Martin was “making history” as prime minister (thanks to a little help from Belinda Stronach), gay marriage had just been legalized, and Gwen Stefani was proving she was no Hollaback girl.

That same summer, an embattled Opposition leader by the name of Stephen Harper embarked on a cross-country tour to try and humanize himself. Things didn’t go very well. Harper was 10 to 12 points back of the Liberals in most polls; a band of disgruntled Tory misfits in Quebec had demanded his resignation; and, oh, there was that embarrassing photo op when Harper mistook the Calgary Stampede for a Village People costume party.

It all kind of makes a flat tire on the Liberal Express seem minor by comparison, eh? Given Harper’s struggles in opposition, it’s certainly premature to write Ignatieff off.

Then again, despite the embarrassing poll numbers and wardrobe, Harper did have one thing going for him in 2005 – Adscam. Attack ads centred on kickbacks and corruption are a lot easier to write than ones about the drawbacks of voluntary census sampling methodologies.

It’s no wonder that so many Liberals can get a little too “scandal happy” at times, grasping blindly for the next Adscam. Helena Guergis! Detainees! Fake lake! That’s not to say these issues aren’t worth talking about – it’s just that they likely won’t bring down the government. When taken to the extreme, as was the case with last summer’s asinine “wafer-gate,” this over-caffeinated scandal scavenger hunt can become downright comical.

I would argue the real lesson to be learned in Harper’s comeback wasn’t that he rode the wave of scandal to 24 Sussex. It was that he only won after presenting a clear vision that resonated with Canadians. Harper’s “all scandal, all the time” campaign in 2004 didn’t work, so in December 2005 he started to campaign with a policy announcement every morning. He had priorities that showed he stood for something: lower taxes, cleaner government, and getting tough on crime. Suddenly, Stephen Harper didn’t look so scary.

The biggest lesson Ignatieff can learn from Harper’s struggles as Opposition leader is that he needs to put a positive vision of the country forward and show voters what he stands for.

That, and avoid tight leather vests.

This article is part of the series, "Five Great Canadian Political Comebacks." Check out the rest of the essays here.