I thought yesterday was weird. So far, today is shaping up to be just as bizarre as everyone scrambles to try and take credit for Harper’s resolution.
By Thursday morning, Ignatieff was firmly planting his flag in the initiative.
“It really did start with us, in the leadership campaign, going into small towns in Quebec, reaching out, listening to Quebecers . . . ,” he told CTV’s Canada-AM.
“They asked us, as a party, to affirm their distinctiveness, their particular place in the history of our country and I was pleased in my campaign to do so. And I think we have every reason to say this started with us.”
NATIONAL NEWSWATCH – During an interview Thursday afternoon with New Brunswick talk radio show host Tom Young, Liberal Leadership candidate Stephane Dion took partial credit for Prime Minister Harper’s stand asking the House of Commons to declare that Quebec is a nation  “within a united Canada.”
Describing himself as a “trouble fixer,” Dion told host Tom Young that the prime minister called him for advice on how to solve the Quebec Nation issue. Dion indicated he advised the PM on how to fix the problem. He also indicated that he will be supporting the government motion because it’s very close to the solution he freely gave the prime minister.
I’ve got four draft posts sitting on my computer I’m planning for post this weekend with my final thoughts on the final four candidates. One of the reasons I had against voting Ignatieff as my second choice was his view on federalism. One of the reasons I had in favour of going Dion as my second choice was his view on federalism. I still think you can learn a lot about candidates by the way they’ve handled this question but if all four frontrunners endorse this resolution (which I unfortunately think they will), it’s pretty much taken this off the table as a policy issue.