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OTTAWA – Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff put an end to a dispute that threatened to test his leadership Friday, giving former Justice Minister Martin Cauchon the green light to run for the Liberal nomination in the riding of Outremont.
Nathalie Le Prohon, a successful businesswoman who had been favored by Ignatieff’s Quebec lieutenant Denis Coderre for the riding will instead run in the southwest Montreal riding of Jeanne LeBer, currently held by the Bloc Quebecois.
While he isn’t being handed the riding on a silver platter – he will have to go through a nomination meeting then take on high profile NDP MP Thomas Mulcair – Cauchon was happy and confident he can win back the riding he held for more than a decade.
“I’m ready to roll up my sleeves and get back to work and make sure we keep building the party in Quebec and really focus on our goal which is to give Canadians a solution to the Harper government.”
Ignatieff’s decision puts an end to a squabble between Cauchon and Coderre that was getting messier by the day.
Speaking to reporters at a hastily convened news conference late Friday afternoon, Ignatieff said the key to resolving the conflict came that morning when Le Prohon called him and offered to run in Jeanne LeBer, leaving the path clear for Cauchon in Outremont. Ignatieff paid tribute to her, Cauchon and Coderre, praising their willingness to put the good of the party first.
Earlier, Ignatieff publicly offered Cauchon an olive branch, saying he wanted him to be part of the team.
“Martin Cauchon has had a great record as an MP, a great record as a minister...No party with any intelligence is going to neglect the immense capability and quality of Mr. Cauchon.”
Elizabeth.thompson@sunmedia.ca