In 2011 I was on the convention floor in Calgary, Alberta, advocating for the same change that is in front of the federal Liberals today (see constitution document here [PDF]). I spoke of openness, inclusion, the need for a new force in politics, and the empowerment that an open primary can deliver to the Alberta Liberals (the provincial Liberals in Alberta, a totally separate party from the federal Liberals).

First, a bit of history.

Earlier in 2011 the Alberta Liberal Party embarked on a grand experiment. Weighting each constituency with 500 vote max, with each vote adding to its particular tally until it hit the max to then be weighted amongst the 500 points of that constituency (say, 1000 people voted, each would have a 0.5 points in the ultimate counting of the points across Alberta). This is what is the current system with the federal Liberals right now, and would be roughly the system if a leadership race was happening before the upcoming convention.

But the Alberta Liberals did something different, above and beyond the weighting of votes. On the ALP convention floor in May 2011 I voiced my thoughts on having the most open and inclusive party in Alberta. along with many others in the party who sought that change: and we pushed through the vote on having the process to the tune of 95% in favour. The party, with its young executive and able group of delegates, sought a new direction of inclusiveness and openness to pull in every interested Albertan into the Liberal fold. We added a tier of membership that could vote for the leadership and for nominations of candidates (while not policy or other party-related elections): encouraging 27,000 Albertans to say that, yes, they wanted to vote for a candidate for the leadership of the Alberta Liberal Party. The ALP doubled its turnout from its last leadership race. It also increased regular memberships, as people saw the party in a new light and brought them to the table as candidates, constituency presidents, and, for some, as candidates. It forced several reporters to rewrite their pre-written articles on the convention.

Why I’m In Favor of Alberta-Style Primaries for the Liberal Party of Canada

It is an amazing thing to be able to say to a Canadian–any Canadian–that we want them to help us choose the next leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. This inclusion, this openness, and this call to action is an act that (a) builds up the connection between the Liberal party and individual Canadians, in addition to (b) creates a new frame of mind for how Canadians perceive the Liberals. It fundamentally changes the discourse on the Liberals and by the Liberals.

On the first point, to be asked to look at our leadership candidates and pick the one they want, or a ranking of what they want, gives them an emotional connection to said leader and to the process, along with the party, giving them that power. This connection, going up to and including the next election, can be utilized to bring in volunteers, donations, and even candidates.

On the second point, Canadians have been given over the last ten years a particular view of the Liberal Party. Through Adscam, every parliamentary sitting of the dual Conservative and NDP anti-Liberal spin, and through a happily negative media landscape that engorges itself on conflict, the Liberals have been shown to the Canadian public as a party that does not serve them. Ignatieff was the worst hit by this: by constant, years-long efforts by both the NDP and the Conservatives he was written off by Canadians as someone not genuine: either because he “didn’t show up for work” as one NDP attack ad had it, or because he was a nefarious man just in it for himself. An open primary process breaks from this longstanding, almost decade long, smearing of the Liberals. It shows the party as it truly it: an inclusive home for Canadians to put their trust and faith in.

If we are more open than any other party in North America, more welcoming than any party in Canada, and more willing to offer benefit to saying that “Yeah, I’m a Liberal” increasing our seat count and soon re-entering government is well within reach. An open primary is part of this, along with changing the very nature of our party.

It isn’t only inclusion, however, that would be built by an open primary.

If done correctly, the open primary would push leadership candidates to run a large scale campaign, almost like a regular, national one during a federal election, that would require data entry, information gathering, a Get Out the Vote machine, volunteers across the nation, and a direct appeal to Canadians. This would build up the machinery where before there were little, or none, to better the Liberal party machinery in Canada in preparation for the election in 2015.

Additionally, there is the bonus of gathering data, emails, phone numbers, and voter ID. These pieces of data sometimes run into the thousands of dollars to pay for. Through an electoral process as outlined above, it would come cheaply–or free, in most instances–building up the database on Liberalist. Hillary and Obama, in the primary races in 2008, shared the same voter system in fact and Obama, after wining the nomination, was able to put to full use the information gathered on a microtargeted level to reach out and build an electoral team that swept into the White House. If we do that with Liberalist, with adding many new people, we can create a deeper and more powerful database that would strengthen the Liberal party going into 2015.

A New Liberal Party

Finally, it creates a new generation of Liberals. This is something that strikes to the core of the matter of party politics, especially with the LPC, for myself. I began as a politico in 2008–after the errors of Martin and Chretien, and after the errors of the provincial party. When I walked into the role of President of the Calgary East Federal Liberal Association my research brought me to the conclusion that political haberdashery, of the worst kind, turned off the Liberals of the constituency in the mad grab for power by certain people in the party. Now in my role as President of the Calgary-Klein Liberals I found myself relieved that I did not have to enter the bitter strife that had gone on previously between differing groups.

I could walk into my role as president, call up people, and build fresh: free of the bitterness, free of the anger, and free of the debilitating unwillingness of certain folks to work together. Also, I was free of a certain awkwardness of competing personalities that had been solidified over years of interacting partisans. It was a fresh start for a New Liberal party, and has brought to the fore a new movement in Calgary-Klein.

I want the same for Canada, with the federal Liberals. That is why I feel the need for an open primary process, tied to a weighted one-member one-vote concept, to better the politics of Canada and build the Liberal Party of Canada.

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