Mapleleafweb.com: Spotlight: Chretien Announces Departure

Please Note! This particular section of Mapleleafweb is outdated and is in the process of being updated and migrated to the new version of Maple Leaf Web. Maple Leaf Web makes no guarantee that the information below is up to date and or correct.

Please update your bookmarks and thank you for your patience. Please contact us if you have any questions or comments

Site Map | Contact | Help

Feature Sections

» Election 2006

» Features

» Spotlight

» Voter Almanac

» Interviews

Political Action

» "How To" Guides

Interaction

» Discussion Forums

» Mailing List

» Web Chats

» Polls

Research

» Supreme Court
Charter Cases

Site Info

» Contact Us

» Help

» Site Search

» About Us

Spotlight:

Jump to . . .

» Introduction
» Announcement
» Reaction
» Biography
» Recent Timeline
» Possible Replacements
» Party History

More Information

« Chretien Fires Martin
« Federal Cabinet Shuffle
« Federal Budget 2001

More Information

« Liberal Party Website

Chretien’s Announcement

Content of the Announcement

On August 21, Chretien announced that he would not be seeking another term as Prime Minister. The main points of Chretien’s public statement are as follows:

Over the summer, the Liberal Party has not been focused on governing.
Two years ago, he had decided not to run for another term as Prime Minister.
It was his view that it would be in the best “political interests” of the Liberal Party for him to suppress his intentions until the end of his term was closer. However, many in the Party had told him to make his intentions known publicly as soon as possible.
He will fulfill his mandate and focus entirely on governing from now until February 2004. After that time, his work will be done and a new leader will be chosen.

Prime Minister Chretien’s Speech on Stepping Down

Reasons for the Announcement

In his public statement, PM Chretien asserted that he had always intended to step down. He simply thought it prudent to wait until closer to the end of his term to announce it.

Over the last year, however, a split within the Liberal Party had developed that forced Chretien’s hand. With Paul Martin's departure as Minister of Finance, the party was split into Chretien and Martin camps. This split threatened not only Chretien's leadership, but the Party’s popularity and its ability to properly govern the country. These tensions would have boiled over at the party’s convention and leadership review in February 2003.

Chretien’s announcement is an attempt to avoid this threat and begin bridging party differences. As Stephen LeDrew, the Liberal Party’s president, stated of Chretien’s announcement “I think that the main concern was that a political vote [on the leadership of the party] in February was going to be divisive.” “Whether he won or lost, it was going to be costly to the party. And I think that it was something to be avoided.”

More on the Split between Chretien and Martin
Canada News Media Links