By Pepper Parr
January 23rd, 2025
BURLINGTON. ON
There she was on the street outside the Liberal Party of Canada head office in Ottawa, telling media that she had just filed her papers, paid the required fee ($50,000 at this point)- now she was legitimately a candidate for the leadership.
Gould: “I want to make sure that the Liberal Party of Canada works for its membership.”
It was snowing, snow plows were passing in the background as she explained what her thinking was in terms of what the Liberal Party had gotten wrong and what she wanted to do in the way of making changes.
She didn’t mince her words.
“I decided to run two weeks ago and in that time we have built a national organization.
“I need people to vote for me no later than the 27th – and please donate “because I don’t have deep pockets.”
In each of the public events the Gazette has covered Gould has spoken in French and English. Her command of French is very good.
She points out that the Liberal Party of Canada is more than one person. It’s the 1000s of Canadians across this country who have raised their hands to say that they want to build a better country. “It’s their opportunity to have great debates about the kind of country that we want to be. I want to make sure that the Liberal Party of Canada works for its membership.
“I’ve heard from too many people across this country that the Liberal Party of Canada hasn’t given members the space they need. I’m here today to propose three things to make the Liberal Party of Canada about the members and give power back to our membership.
Gould: “Ottawa doesn’t know best.”
“First and foremost, we need to get together more; I’m going to bring back policy conventions. We’ve been talking at you for too long. It’s time for the Liberal Party of Canada to listen to our members once again.
“I remember attending regional meetings and national conventions where we had great debates on the convention floor. We need to get back to that, because the people across this country who join our party do so because they have things to say and they have ideas to share. I want us to be that Big Red Machine, not just in terms of knocking on doors, which is incredibly important, but in terms of the ideas that you are bringing forward to make our country the amazing place that it is.
Two: “I would be committed to meeting on an annual basis with all the constituency presidents across the country.
“I also think it’s time for us to decentralize the party. Ottawa doesn’t know best. We need to empower our regions, our provinces, our people on the ground who are the eyes and ears that hear from our communities.
“One of the reasons I think we lost touch over the past couple of years is because we weren’t listening to our membership. You were talking to your neighbors, you were hearing from people across the country, and you were telling us what we needed to focus on, and we got too focused on being government in Ottawa and not enough on what was happening on the grounds in our communities.
“I want to make sure that we have more field organizers in every region across the country, and not just on the ground, but digitally as well. We ran an excellent campaign in 2015 but it’s 2025 now.
Gould: “I get it, I understand. But I need your ideas. I need your energy because you are going to keep propelling us forward.”
“Three: I would make sure that we are empowering young liberals in this country and bring back the national youth director position. Young liberals have always been a force in our party, and we need to make sure that you have the respect and the space to be that force once again, when I think about where Canada is today, I know that young people in general feel disenfranchised. They’re worried about the future, and I’m here to say to all young Canadians, I get it, I understand. But I need your ideas. I need your energy, because you are going to keep propelling us forward.
Gould was asked:
What specifically did your party do? What policies did it put in place that makes Canadians lose trust?
Gould: “Yeah, Look, I think we have to be honest about the fact that Canadians have lost trust in our party, and part of it is because I don’t think we responded to the issues that they were telling us mattered to them. I think when it came to the end of the pandemic and the spike in inflation, Canadians were saying, things were really hard. And we didn’t say, you’re right. We didn’t say, yeah, things are really hard right now, and here’s how we’re going to fix it. It took us too long to understand that Canadians were struggling to make ends meet.
“Instead of taking a moment and listening to Canadians, we said, here’s all the great things that we’re doing for you. And I don’t think that was the right approach. You know, when mortgages were going up, when rents Were going up, when groceries were going up, – we didn’t respond quickly enough to the areas where Canadians were struggling, and I think we have to do a better job of that policy problem.
“You have to have policies that respond to where Canadians are at and we didn’t respond quickly enough to where Canadians were. We got there eventually, but Canadians had been saying to us, we’re struggling and we need help, and it took us too long to listen to what they were saying.”
Gould: “I don’t think we got the capital gains tax increase right. I’m having lots of conversations with the tech sector, with folks that are affected by it, to try and figure out what we can do to encourage growth and have more entrepreneurship here in Canada. So I’ll have more to say on that in the coming days.
Gould: “… having an election, might not be the best thing to do immediately after the leadership has been decided.”
Asked about the endorsements some candidates were getting she said: “That’s a great question for my Cabinet colleagues, – what I can tell you is that the liberal leadership is decided by the membership. I have full respect for my Cabinet colleagues, for colleagues in caucus, and I encourage them to endorse whoever they decide to, but let’s remember that the leadership of the party is decided by the membership, and what I am hearing from the membership across the country is how excited they are by my candidacy and the fact that so many people are raising their hands making donations, asking to volunteer.
“Unlike some of the other candidates, I’ve only been organizing for two weeks.
Gould on what she would do: “I would make permanent a GST cut on children’s clothing, diapers, strollers and the like.”
Will you try to govern as prime minister, or would you immediately call for an election?
Gould: “I think it’s a little too early to determine that. I think we have to understand where we are, look at what we are facing in the way of a potential trade war with the United States. We have to know where we are on March 9, where the country is, before we decide where we need to go, because at the end of the day, whatever decision a future prime minister makes needs to have the best interest of Canadians at heart. And if we are in an extremely difficult position with the United States, having an election, might not be the best thing to do at that time, but I think we have to see where we are on March 9.
Media: “Why do you think that you can face Donald Trump and get a win against Donald Trump?
Gould: “Because I face bullies in the House of Commons every single day. Stand up to them and win. I know how to stand up for Canadians. I know how to build a team that can do that, and I’m not afraid of a challenge
Gould: “That’s why I did it.”
Asked about the release of the Fall Economic Statement Gould said: “As the government House leader at the time, I felt that it was the responsible thing to continue to deliver the Fall Economic Statement. I mean, as the Government of Canada, we have a fiduciary responsibility to Canadians and to markets. Despite the chaos that could have ensued that day, I took the decision to say that we have to do this because markets and Canadians are expecting it.
“I didn’t write the fall economic statement, I saw it at the same time as everyone else. I felt that it was important for stability and for calm to make sure it was presented. And that’s why I did it.”
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Do let us know if you hear any other leadership candidate say what Gould is saying.
By Ray Rivers
