Little opportunity to shine in first Liberal leadership debate on Sunday

Liberal leadership hopefuls are sparring over an existential issue for their once mighty party: can it win the next election on its own or does it need to co-operate with other progressive parties?

The issue dominated the first hour of the first leadership debate, which is giving federal Liberals their first chance to directly compare and contrast the nine candidates promising to lead their party out of the political wilderness.

Vancouver MP Joyce Murray was the only contender to embrace co-operation, touting her one-time plan to let Liberals join forces with New Democrats and Greens in ridings where a united front could defeat the ruling Conservatives in the next election

But the other eight contenders vehemently ruled out the notion, maintaining the Liberal party can stand on its own and return to power on its own terms.

Front-runner Justin Trudeau questioned how electoral co-operation would work.

“What kind of values are we willing to jettison?” he asked.

Arguing that Liberals favour freer trade while New Democrats oppose it, Trudeau said: “I’m not willing to give up our values for that.”

Former Toronto MP Martha Hall Findlay suggested Liberals, reduced to a third-party rump in the last election, need to regain confidence in their ability to win.

“Where did our confidence go?” she asked “We are the true alternative.”

Murray stuck to her guns.

“Despite all of the wonderful words about the Liberal party, which I agree with, and despite all of the enthusiasm and confidence that this time we can be government again, which I hope is true, Canada is too important to let Stephen Harper win the election in 2015,” she said.

“We have got to get rid of Stephen Harper … We appeal to the 18 million Canadians who did not vote for the Conservatives.”

The debate marks the first chance for dark horse candidates to try to narrow the huge lead Trudeau is widely thought to have in the race.

The Montreal MP, under pressure to demonstrate that he deserves the mantle of front-runner, needs to deflect any jabs with aplomb, avoid any serious stumbles and display depth and substance, as well as his undisputed charm.

For rival contenders with relatively high profiles – MPs Marc Garneau and Murray, former cabinet minister Martin Cauchon and Hall Findlay – the task is twofold: put paid to the perception that Trudeau is unstoppable and position themselves as the best alternative.

For the clutch of lesser-known, never-elected candidates – Toronto lawyers George Takach and Deborah Coyne, Ottawa lawyer David Bertschi and retired military officer Karen McCrimmon – the debate offers their best chance to date to demonstrate that they should be considered serious contenders.

Party officials say the first debate is sold out, with some 900 Liberals paying $20 a pop for the privilege of attending. Thousands more are expected to tune in online or by television.

Each candidate made a brief opening and statement and will make a brief closing statement. The bulk of the two hours will be taken up by a series of three-way debates in which candidates respond to 14 questions, including 12 pre-selected questions from audience members.

Topics include foreign ownership, aboriginal affairs, the environment, social housing, Pacific Rim trade and electoral co-operation.

Liberal members and supporters are to vote by phone and online for their next leader throughout the week of April 7, with the winner to be announced on April 14.

The dynamic of today’s first debate could well be influenced by the fact that Liberals will vote by preferential ballot, marking their first, second, third and subsequent choices. When a voter’s first choice is knocked off the ballot, their second choice is counted, and so on, until one candidate emerges with more than 50 per cent.

Anyone hoping to make a come-from-behind win will have to gain support from rival candidates as they drop off the ballot. As a result, none of the dark horses is likely to say anything during the debate to alienate supporters of their fellow long-shots.

However, they could theoretically take shots at Trudeau with impunity. As the front-runner, his supporters’ second and third choices are never likely to be counted so it matters little if they’re angered by attacks on their main man.

Even so, Trudeau’s challengers are likely to show restraint, conscious that many Liberals would never forgive a candidate who launched a no-holds-barred assault on the probable winner, thereby handing the Conservatives devastating fodder for their next wave of attack ads.

Liberals haven’t forgotten that the Tories used footage from the 2006 Liberal leadership debates to skewer the winner of that contest, Stephane Dion.