20 years ago this week, Jean Chrétien was elected Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada in Calgary. That same week, the Meech Lake Accord died as last minute scrambling for provincial consensus failed to get completed before the ratification deadline.
For those attending the Calgary Liberal Leadership Convention, delegates were welcomed by a full page ad in the Calgary Herald welcoming them to the city but also advising that a new political player was on the scene and that this player, the Reform Party, intended on bringing a new populist Conservative perspective to Canadian politics.
As delegates deliberated and chose Jean Chrétien to lead them, they could not foresee the events that were coming in the not too distant future. In looking back at the events of June 1990, we can also look back with hindsight on the events that have occurred since 1990 that have helped to transform Canadian politics – the referendum on the Charlottetown Accord and its defeat, Chretien majorities in 93, 97 and 2000, the rise of both the Bloc and Reform Parties which caused the decimation of the Progressive Conservatives, the far too close 1995 Referendum in Quebec,, the Canadian economy going from record deficits to surplus under the leadership of Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin, the 9-11 attacks and the need to concentrate on security and anti-terrorism measures as well as Canada’s participation in the Afghan engagement, the coronation of Paul Martin in 2003 and his minority government in 2004 after the unification of Canada’s Conservative Parties which helped create the conditions by which Stephen Harper was elected Prime Minister in 2006. – are just a few examples of momentous events that have occurred since the Calgary Liberal convention and the death of Meech
No one sitting on the floor of Calgary’s Saddledome could have predicted the totality of events that would occur over the next two decades but that week many of the wheels would begin turning to bring us the Canada we have today.
In looking at the past 20 years and their unpredictability, we see that government cannot foresee the future but with good management, good advice they can prepare themselves for a myriad of possibilities on many different fronts.
So, as we look forward to the next 20 years we do not know precisely what events will occur – whether they be continued minority governments, mergers or coalitions on the left and right, continued debate about the role of the federal government – we can only hope our political leaders are able to face them and make decisions to the benefit of Canadians.
