Over the weekend during the three-day convention, the Liberal Party of Canada
approved a resolution calling for the legalization and regulation of marijuana. A new
Forum Research poll shows that two-thirds of the Canadian people are in support of legalizing or decriminalizing marijuana.
As the Liberal Party comes to the agreement, one of the next major steps in the federal party is to elect a permanent leader. Since
Michael Ignatieff stepped down after a terrible performance in
last spring’s federal election, Toronto Centre Member of Parliament Bob Rae has been the
interim leader.
Although Rae has stated in the past that he will not seek the permanent leadership, he has remained coy as of late. Furthermore, a new poll may prompt him to become the next leader of the party.
Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and his wife, Terri.
According to a
Forum Research survey, 21 percent of Canadians believe Rae would be the best choice for leader of the Liberals. In second place is former NHL all-star goalie and former Liberal MP Ken Dryden, who also sought the party’s nomination in the past, with nine percent. Former Ontario minister Gerard Kennedy was third at five percent.
Rounding out the list of candidates include Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, who has been
rumoured for months now that he is seeking the party’s leadership position, and Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney.
During the convention, the party also agreed to permit outsiders to vote in future leadership races. Analysts suggest that this would help Rae if he made the decision to run due to his name recognition across the country.
“A lot of this is driven by name awareness,” said Lorne Bozinoff, Forum Research president, in an interview with the
National Post. “There are a lot of people who are well-known within the party but not well-known outside the party. Rae has an extremely high profile, so he's well-known outside the party."
The telephone survey was conducted with 1,211 adult respondents on Jan. 13. The poll contains a margin of error of +/- 2.8 percentage points.
