It’s the last day at camp

Mark Eyking and Michael Ignatieff at press conference in Baddeck. Photo : Greg Kolz

AT MCDONALD’S IN ANTIGONISH — It’s September 1st. How did that happen?

After three magnificent days in Nova Scotia, we’re going home, and I’m very, very sad. The drive from Cape Breton feels like the long, lonely bus ride leaving summer camp, but without the bus (the Liberal Express left here on Monday night, to refuel before the next leg of the tour. After Michael Ignatieff’s bus-free journey to NWT, the Liberal Express will be rolling through Northern Ontario next week).

As MPs and Senators enjoyed their three days of meetings at Camp Liberal, nothing appeared to make them as happy as when they were teasing me for becoming irrelevant. It’s not as if Michael Ignatieff needed a speechwriter in the first place, but it took more than 100 off-the-cuff speeches on the Liberal Express to really expose me as a fraud. Politicians and journalists alike rejoiced in reminding me of my redundancy. Hilarious, right?

I won’t be of much more use this fall, either. At the end of today’s caucus meeting, Michael Ignatieff announced a new series of (unscripted!) townhall meetings, in every region of the country. We’re calling them “Open mike.” Some have suggested that we’re deliberately playing on the difference between “Open Mike” Ignatieff and “Closed Steve” Harper. I have no idea where they got that idea.

So if you missed the Liberal Express this summer, stay tuned: we’ll be coming to a community near you this fall.

- A.G.

Adam Goldenberg, Michael Ignatieff’s speechwriter, will be blogging from the Liberal Express (almost) all summer. For up-to-the-minute reports from the bus, follow him on Twitter. Email him at adam@email.liberal.ca.

Not even the beginning of the end

Michael Ignatieff greets supporters in Baddeck. Photo : Greg Kolz

Reports of the end of the Liberal Express have been greatly exaggerated.

Seven weeks, 142 stops, 10 provinces, 2 territories, and nearly 40,000 kilometres after the tour began at the Calgary Stampede, we’re not quite finished. Northern Ontario and the Northwest Territories: Lock up your baked goods.

(Side note: yesterday, I figured out why I’ve been eating so many Timbits this summer. It’s because they are the progressive centre of the Canadian donut. Think about it.)

Yesterday was an important milestone for the Liberal Express, as Michael Ignatieff, Zsuzsanna Zsohar, and a bus-load of MPs and Senators arrived at the Liberal Party’s National Caucus summer retreat, in Baddeck, Cape Breton.

When Michael Ignatieff arrived, 350 people were waiting for him, in a packed hall on the shores of Bras d’Or, and spilling out into the street. In the crowd was a Cape Breton—and Canadian—legend: Allan J. MacEachen. Later on, in his speech, Michael Ignatieff singled him out for recognition, prompting what was probably the most heartfelt standing ovation I’ve seen all summer. But then, history and emotion are what you expect when you come to this province.

Liberal MPs Anthony Rota and Mark Eyking got the crowd fired up. Then the lights dimmed for an adrenaline-pumping slideshow—with music by Cape Bretoner Ashley MacIsaac—recapping what Liberals did on our summer holidays.

Oh, look! Here it is!

The Headlines

Ignatieff: summer tour ‘changed me’

In Nova Scotia, on board the Liberal Express with Michael Ignatieff

Ignatieff’s summer tour unified Liberals, say Grit MPs

Prêts à l’action

Michael Ignatieff galvanise ses troupes

Baddeck retreat: Grits regroup

Summer of growth for Liberal party: MPs

La tournée estivale d’Ignatieff a porté fruit, disent les libéraux

Ignatieff’s old-fashioned bus tour to continue into fall

Liberals in Cape Breton to work on policy

When Michael Ignatieff took the stage, his speech blew the doors off the place. Which was helpful, because we all went outside for hot dogs when he was finished.

You all know I’m biased, so I’ll leave the task of reviewing the speech to the pros. You might have seen some of these headlines (at right) in your local newspaper—or, if you’re me, in your Twitter inbox-thing.

Today, Tuesday, the Liberal caucus is meeting here in Baddeck. Then Michael Ignatieff heads back to Ottawa, irons a few shirts, and soon thereafter jets off to Yellowknife.

I, meanwhile, will be preparing mentally for a much-delayed reunion, between myself and the treadmill. The nightmares have started already.

- A.G.

Adam Goldenberg, Michael Ignatieff’s speechwriter, will be blogging from the Liberal Express (almost) all summer. For up-to-the-minute reports from the bus, follow him on Twitter. Email him at adam@email.liberal.ca.

[Slideshow] See what we’ve accomplished so far this summer

You may have heard about the great slideshow that was presented at the rally in Baddeck, Nova Scotia, yesterday. You can watch it here where it is being displayed alongside messages of support from Canadians across the country. We hope you’ll add your own.

[VIDEO] Michael Ignatieff in Nova Scotia

The Liberal Express hits over 35 000 kilometers in Nova Scotia on the way to the Liberal Summer Caucus in Baddeck.

Michael Ignatieff visits his grandparents house in the Eastern Townships, Quebec

This is the first Canadian home of Michael Ignatieff’s grandparents. Paul and Natalie Ignatieff settled in the Eastern Townships after escaping Bolshevism in Russia in 1928. “This is where it at all starts for the Ignatieff family.”

Rita on my mind

Michael Ignatieff and Rodger Cuzner with Rita MacNeil in her Tea Room, Big Pond, Nova Scotia. Photo: Sarah McMaster

I’d been thinking about Rita MacNeil all day. When I read yesterday’s itinerary, and saw that she was part of the Liberal Express stop in Big Pond, Cape Breton, I immediately emailed one of the tour directors. Here is the transcript of that email exchange:

From: Adam Goldenberg
To: Leigh Anne Dingwall
Time: August 28, 2010 11:55 p.m.
Subject: Rita

Are you serious?!

From: Leigh Anne Dingwall
To: Adam Goldenberg
Time: August 28, 2010 11:58 p.m.
Subject: RE: Rita

Yup

From: Adam Goldenberg
To: Leigh Anne Dingwall
Time: August 28, 2010 11:59 p.m.
Subject: Re: RE: Rita

THE Rita MacNeil?!

From: Leigh Anne Dingwall
To: Adam Goldenberg
Time: August 29, 2010 12:02 a.m.
Subject: RE: Rita

Yup

From: Adam Goldenberg
To: Leigh Anne Dingwall
Time: August 29, 2010 12:03 a.m.
Subject: Re: RE: Rita

OMG

Rita was on my mind at the Tim Horton’s in Elmsdale, during the Liberal Express whistle stop with MP Scott Brison. She was on my mind at the Masstown Market, which Michael Ignatieff visited with our candidate Jim Burrows. And she was on my mind in Antigonish, while Michael Ignatieff spoke to Liberals gathered at St. Francis Xavier University.

As we crossed the Canso Causeway onto Cape Breton, MP Rodger Cuzner commandeered the bus microphone and led a sing-along rendition of “Working Man.” At this point, I was completely lost.

Finally, the Liberal Express pulled up to Rita’s Tea Room in Big Pond, where Michael Ignatieff literally bowed at the feet of a Canadian icon.

“On behalf of everyone who travels with me, and on behalf of the whole party,” he said, “I want to pay tribute to a national institution — I want to pay tribute to Rita MacNeil.”

He talked about Nova Scotia’s culture of hard work and sacrifice, about coal mines buried kilometers under the sea, and about the power and resonance of Rita’s music. As Michael Ignatieff spoke, a few of us noticed a tear in Rodger Cuzner’s eye.

Then it was on to Sydney for the night. Tomorrow, the Liberal Express arrives in Baddeck, as our journey draws ever nearer to a close.

- A.G.

Adam Goldenberg, Michael Ignatieff’s speechwriter, will be blogging from the Liberal Express (almost) all summer. For up-to-the-minute reports from the bus, follow him on Twitter. Email him at adam@email.liberal.ca.

A natural campaigner

Members of the Liberal Express at a stop on the way to Rita's Tea Room in Nova Scotia. Photo: Sarah McMaster

Michael Ignatieff has emerged as a natural campaigner. Case in point, this morning he delivered inspirational remarks in downtown Elmsdale that connected extremely well with even the early-morning, coffee-buying, crowd of almost 100 people. One press gallery reporter, who is on the Liberal Express for the first time on this leg, called the improvement “striking”.  The crowd loved it!  He hit all the right notes including rural healthcare, universal medicare, pensions, the census, respect for our veterans, and continued support for supply management in agriculture.

He made a strong and passionate pitch to red tory progressive conservatives to join the centrist, fiscally conservative, and socially progressive Liberal Party. And, he called on NDP and Green Party voters to support the Liberal Party.  He said to do otherwise will only help the Harper Conservatives secure another electoral win.

The crowd erupted when he noted that “Canadians make the rules”, a reference to Stephen Harper’s recent remark in Tuktoyaktuk that he makes the rules. A very nice close to a great first stop in my home province.

-Scott

Scott Brison is the Member of Parliament for Kings-Hants and the Liberal Critic for International Trade.

A real tour

Michael Ignatieff with a young shopper at Masstown Market in Nova Scotia. Photo: Sarah McMaster

After spending three weeks criss-crossing the North Shore, the South Shore, and the Eastern Townships, we took a short break to fly to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.

When we arrived, local Grits were waiting for us, at an event at Rudders Wharf. The experience was a reminder not only that Canada is a big country, but also that much of our country is rural. Our journey made us realise that the internet and cell-phone reception aren’t part of everyday life for everyone.

This is why we’re committed to doing something about the situation.

The Bloc Quebecois accuses us of being out-of-touch. They say that they are the only progressive alternative in Quebec.

Well, let me simply remind the Bloc that the Liberal Express has travelled more than 39,000 km, and made more than 135 stops all over Canada, of which 30 have been spread across 8 different regions of la belle province.

From St-Élie-de-Caxton to Ayer’s Cliff, the people that we have met have sent us a clear message:

Mr. Harper doesn’t fit the values of Quebec, and the Bloc can do nothing to prevent him from imposing his backward ideas.

The Liberal Express has crossed provincial boundaries from one ocean to the other, and has brought people together in the four corners of our country, to make it clear that there is an alternative to the Conservatives. This is something the Bloc can never achieve.

- Brigitte

Brigitte Legault is a senior advisor to Michael Ignatieff. Right now, she’s on her way to Cape Breton!

Resistance is fertile

Cumberland–Colchester–Musquodobit Valley must be one of my favourite riding names in the country. It’s up there with Tobique–Mactaquac, Haute Gaspésie–La Mitis–Matane–Matapédia, and B.C.’s own West Vancouver–Sunshine Coast–Sea-to-Sky Country, which has the longest moniker in the House of Commons. (I think the shortest is Essex, but I could be wrong.)

Anyway, back to Cumberland–Colchester–Musquodobit Valley. (Seriously, say it ten times fast. Heck, try five.)

We’ve got a great candidate in — three times in one blog post! — Cumberland–Colchester–Musquodobit Valley, Jim Burrows. He was our host today at the Masstown Market in, well, Masstown. He and Michael Ignatieff were greeted by bagpipes and plenty of people, one of whom had strong words for every politician in the place.

I didn’t catch her name, but she was unhappy with politicians who break their promises, and said as much to Michael Ignatieff. (At this point, Stephen Harper would have had the RCMP tackle her to the ground, before speeding away on an ATV.)

“I’ll tell you about politicians who keep their promises,” Michael Ignatieff said. “Lester Pearson promised public healthcare, and he kept his promise. Pierre Trudeau promised a Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and he kept his promise.”

He might have continued, but the lady interrupted. She complained that, in her view, Canada lets in too many immigrants, who “get more rights than naturalized [sic] citizens.”

“I’ll tell you something,” Michael replied. “They let in a crazy Russian family called Ignatieff. So there you go.”

So ended one conversation at Masstown Market. There were plenty of others before we got back on the bus, lunch in hand, and set our course for Antigonish.

- A.G.

Adam Goldenberg, Michael Ignatieff’s speechwriter, will be blogging from the Liberal Express (almost) all summer. For up-to-the-minute reports from the bus, follow him on Twitter. Email him at adam@email.liberal.ca.

Look mom, no Timbits!

Michael Ignatieff and Scott Brison with local liberals in Elmsdale, Nova Scotia. Photo: Sarah McMaster

This morning, in Elmsdale, Nova Scotia, I turned a corner. For the first time in more than a week, the Liberal Express stopped at a Tim Horton’s — “The busiest in Atlantic Canada,” I’m told — and I managed to escape without consuming a single carbohydrate. It may have been 5 a.m. back home on the West Coast, but I’m pretty sure I could hear my mom cheering.

It being before 11 a.m., Michael Ignatieff had his usual: black coffee, no sugar. (Have fun with that, armchair psychologists of Canada.) He and rock-star local MP Scott Brison shook every hand in the place. The babies of Kings–Hants were spared only by their absence. This was before 10 a.m. on a Sunday, after all.

The hour didn’t deter the crowd of local Liberals who were waiting for us in the parking lot. Speaking in front of the Liberal Express, Scott Brison took careful note of our location.

“We’re standing between a Sobey’s and a Tim Horton’s — two business started by great Nova Scotia entrepreneurs,” he said. “It just shows you how wrong Stephen Harper was when he called Atlantic Canadians ‘defeatist.’” The crowd approved.

Then it was Michael Ignatieff’s turn, at the 138th event of the Liberal Express tour. He talked about bridging the rural-urban divide in Canada, about broadband internet and cell-phone coverage and healthcare. And he challenged Stephen Harper’s hubris, when he said, just a few days ago, “I make the rules.” (“We make the rules,” Michael Ignatieff said, “Canadians make the rules!”)

He also talked about the choice Canadians will face at the next election, whenever it comes: “Do you, or do you not, support universally-accessible, publicly-funded, single-payer healthcare in this country?” You see, the next government will be responsible for renegotiating the federal-provincial healthcare agreements, which come up for renewal in 2014.

“Who do you trust,” Michael Ignatieff asked, “the party that created the healthcare system, that brought in the Canada Health Act and has defended it ever since, or a party that, in opposition, campaigned to destroy it?”

The crowd in Elmsdale sounded pretty well unanimous on that point.

Now we’re back on the road, heading up to Cape Breton. Lucky for me, I’ve got something even more exciting to look forward to than my beloved Timbits: we’re having tea with Rita MacNeil — yes, the Rita MacNeil — in Big Pond later today! I’ve got strict instructions for that tour stop: to say hello to Rita for my mom.

- A.G.

Adam Goldenberg, Michael Ignatieff’s speechwriter, will be blogging from the Liberal Express (almost) all summer. For up-to-the-minute reports from the bus, follow him on Twitter. Email him at adam@email.liberal.ca.