Toronto – Dalton McGuinty is being suggested as next leader of the federal Liberal party particularly on the ground has no baggage, but he would need Joe the Mover to help him switch jobs.
The Liberal premier is being portrayed by some of his supporters and news media as the ideal successor to Stephane Dion because, they say, he also could pull his federal party together quickly and win a large share of the votes in Ontario, the most populous province.
McGuinty has undeniable assets, including having won majorities in two successive Ontario elections, a feat rarely achieved in recent decades, which suggests he has appeal and political smarts.
He is young enough at 53 and has a low-key manner people like.
But the premier has baggage, the heaviest being he has spent much of the past five years complaining the federal government takes billions of dollars a year more from Ontario than is fair and hands it to other provinces.
McGuinty has made this claim incessantly at federal-provincial conferences, in motions introduced in the legislature and meetings where anyone would listen.
He tried hard to make this issue a major one in the federal election campaign by speeches, appeals through news media, circulating pamphlets and asking all federal party leaders to support his cause.
The premier said he would not endorse a party — normally he endorses the Liberals — unless it committed itself unreservedly to what he called “fair” funding. None did and he stuck to his promise.
If there is anything residents in other provinces know about McGuinty it is he wants a lot more money for Ontario and it will have to come out of what Ottawa sends them now.
Many residents of them will not support a federal leader who wants to send more money to Ontario, which they already view as a fat cat, and a party including the federal Liberals will be hesitant to choose one.
McGuinty also has baggage merely in being from Ontario, because many in other provinces view this as a province that runs the country and has too much power and wealth.
The last Ontario premier who went on to lead a federal party, Progressive Conservative George Drew half-a-century ago, was unable to win acceptance nationally and lost two elections. Federal parties are reluctant to choose former premiers as leaders also because they have been unable to translate their appeal to the federal scene, particularly being seen as out of their depth or too attached to their province.
The last to try, Robert Stanfield, former Conservative premier of Nova Scotia, while much admired personally, could not win in three federal elections starting in the 1960s.
McGuinty also is not quite as sure a vote-getter when his record is more closely scrutinized. He won the 2003 election after the Conservative government lost popularity because voters who once were ecstatic over the-tax cutting of premier Mike Harris grew angry because public services became weaker and Ernie Eves, who succeeded Harris, had no chance.
McGuinty is not quite as shrewd and wildly popular as some think he is, but his heavier baggage as a premier who has dedicated a large part of his career to getting more money for Ontario is not likely to be a hero to the rest of Canada.
Eric Dowd is a veteran member of the Queen’s Park press gallery.
