# Peter MacKay leaving politics



## Remius (29 May 2015)

More at link.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/peter-mackay-justice-minister-to-leave-federal-politics-1.3092480

http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/justice-minister-peter-mackay-won-t-seek-re-election-1.2396996

Interesting...


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## Edward Campbell (29 May 2015)

Peter MacKay leaves with a mixed record ... some of his ministerial judgements have led many Conservatives to question his fitness to lead, but he will always be acknowledged as a _leader_ with vision and foresight for his decision to join Stephen Harper in _"uniting the right."_

He was never popular with the _hard right_ wing of the CPC, especially those with deep roots in the _Reform Party_, many of whom felt (still feel) that the old Progressive Conservatives were 99% wishy-washy pinko progressive and only 1% _true blue_ conservative. But he did lead almost the whole PC 'family' into the CPC, including e.g. Scott Brison who later crossed the floor to become a Liberal, and that made him a power within the CPC and guaranteed that Prime Minister Harper would always give him a senior cabinet post.


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## dapaterson (29 May 2015)

Jim Prentice.

John Baird.

Peter MacKay.

Seems as if potential future leaders are leaving before the next election.  I'd love to be reading the Tories' internal polling... are they afraid of sharing space with Elsie Wayne?


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## Kilo_302 (29 May 2015)

The rats are fleeing the ship. Peter Mackay is one the more despicable member of Parliament.


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## Remius (29 May 2015)

Kilo_302 said:
			
		

> The rats are fleeing the ship. Peter Mackay is one the more despicable member of Parliament.



Actually the progressive conservatives seem to be fleeing the ship.  This should have conservatives worried about a potential fracturing of the coalition that keeps them united.


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## PuckChaser (29 May 2015)

Kilo_302 said:
			
		

> The rats are fleeing the ship. Peter Mackay is one the more despicable member of Parliament.


Tell us more about what the Liberal party thinks about this.


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## Kilo_302 (29 May 2015)

PuckChaser said:
			
		

> Tell us more about what the Liberal party thinks about this.



Ha. The Liberals are worse.


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## brihard (29 May 2015)

dapaterson said:
			
		

> Jim Prentice.
> 
> John Baird.
> 
> ...



Wow, no kidding. Let's also not forget the death of Jim Flaherty who was also of a rather high profile within the party.


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## dapaterson (29 May 2015)

Best editorial cartoon so far.


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## Remius (29 May 2015)

Brihard said:
			
		

> Wow, no kidding. Let's also not forget the death of Jim Flaherty who was also of a rather high profile within the party.



More importantly he resigned from cabinet before his death.

_*Corrected for accuracy_


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## observor 69 (29 May 2015)

Stephen Harper’s task more difficult without Peter MacKay: Hébert 

With the loss of Peter MacKay, Stephen Harper’s task of leading his party to a fourth mandate this fall has become more daunting.

By: Chantal Hébert National Affairs,  Published on Fri May 29 2015 

If it were not for Peter MacKay, Stephen Harper would never have become prime minister and it is an open question whether he can secure another majority mandate or, for that matter, another election victory, without him.


What is certain is that, in the absence at his side of the man who led the Progressive Conservatives to his tent a bit more than decade ago, Harper’s task of leading his party to a fourth mandate this fall has become more daunting... and a bit more lonely.


If you believe, as I do, that the moderate conservative voters who gave Harper a majority in 2011 stand to decide the outcome of the upcoming campaign, then the loss of MacKay as a candidate is a grievous one. 


Preventing red Tory voters from turning into blue Liberals (or taking on a shade of NPD orange) will be harder in his absence. 

Rest of article at link:

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/05/29/stephen-harpers-task-more-difficult-without-peter-mackay-hbert.html


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## brihard (29 May 2015)

Crantor said:
			
		

> More importantly he resigned from cabinet before his death.
> 
> _*Corrected for accuracy_



Oh, I'm well aware. Though it was all over the span of only a few weeks- I would suspect that in his case it was pretty much completely related to his medical condition. I mentioned him only to add to the list of significant players who are no longer in play.

I'm quite curious as to what MacKay will do, and I wish him well. Though it won't stop me from enjoying the odd giggle at his expense.


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## Remius (29 May 2015)

Brihard said:
			
		

> Oh, I'm well aware. Though it was all over the span of only a few weeks- I would suspect that in his case it was pretty much completely related to his medical condition. I mentioned him only to add to the list of significant players who are no longer in play.
> 
> I'm quite curious as to what MacKay will do, and I wish him well. Though it won't stop me from enjoying the odd giggle at his expense.



Possibly despite his assertion to the contrary about his health being the reason.  I suspect that his opposition to income splitting was the real reason...

I'm sure Mr. MacKay will find some "rewarding" work, not unlike Mr. Baird.


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## Privateer (29 May 2015)

dapaterson said:
			
		

> Jim Prentice.
> 
> John Baird.
> 
> ...



Diane Ablonczy (http://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/calgary-mp-confirms-retirement-from-federal-politics)


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## brihard (29 May 2015)

Privateer said:
			
		

> Diane Ablonczy (http://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/calgary-mp-confirms-retirement-from-federal-politics)



Saw that; didn't really recognize the name. Has she been a player of any significance in recent years? There's always a spate of 'I'm outs' as an election approaches, normal retirements etc...


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## dapaterson (29 May 2015)

Brihard said:
			
		

> Saw that; didn't really recognize the name. Has she been a player of any significance in recent years? There's always a spate of 'I'm outs' as an election approaches, normal retirements etc...



Twenty two years and age 66 means she can retire to an immediate pension.


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## Ostrozac (29 May 2015)

Brihard said:
			
		

> Saw that; didn't really recognize the name. Has she been a player of any significance in recent years? There's always a spate of 'I'm outs' as an election approaches, normal retirements etc...



To be fair, it's not like she's suddenly noticed the election coming up, as she already did announce her retirement in July 2013.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/lebreton-ablonczy-step-aside-as-cabinet-shuffle-looms-1.1334908

Is this a re-announcement? Or did nobody really notice her quitting when she put her release in last time?


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## cupper (29 May 2015)

E.R. Campbell said:
			
		

> Peter MacKay leaves with a mixed record ... some of his ministerial judgements have led many Conservatives to question his fitness to lead, but he will always be acknowledged as a _leader_ with vision and foresight for his decision to join Stephen Harper in _"uniting the right."_
> 
> He was never popular with the _hard right_ wing of the CPC, especially those with deep roots in the _Reform Party_, many of whom felt (still feel) that the old Progressive Conservatives were 99% wishy-washy pinko progressive and only 1% _true blue_ conservative. But he did lead almost the whole PC 'family' into the CPC, including e.g. Scott Brison who later crossed the floor to become a Liberal, and that made him a power within the CPC and guaranteed that Prime Minister Harper would always give him a senior cabinet post.



But how much of the questionable ministerial decisions were really of his own making, and how many did he play the scapegoat on? Harper's history of micromanagement and keeping a tight rein of his caucus seems to point more of the latter than the former. Nothing ever gets done without Harper's approval. As long as you are willing to wear bus tracks on your back if things go wrong, it's your ball.

I think MacKay's potential in Canadian politics was stunted with the deal to bring the PC's into the Reform fold and create the CPC. Harper definitely owed his own success to MacKay, and repaid him with prominent positions within cabinet, but I suspect there was also an air of suspicion a la Caesar vs Brutus that coloured the relationship between Harper and MacKay.


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## opcougar (30 May 2015)

dapaterson said:
			
		

> Jim Prentice.
> 
> John Baird.
> 
> ...



If any of them waited until after the next election to resign then they have to wait until the age of 65 to collect their big fat government pension. If they retire now the can collect it at age 55. 

Cartoons Galore





“The world's most influential diplomat and Ottawa's most eligible bachelor seem to be hitting it off. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay enjoyed a chummy – and unusual – visit to MacKay’s Nova Scotia riding yesterday.” (9/15/2006)





“We’re here to look at all the good work that’s being done,” he told reporters gathered on the tarmac at this international military base in southern Afghanistan, amid brisk winds and wintry temperatures. “I think there has been a lot of progress made in five years.” (1/9/2007)





“Prime Minister Stephen Harper was forced to defend his chief of defence staff, Gen. Rick Hillier, after a televised report suggested the Conservative government was dissatisfied with the charismatic general and wants to replace him.” (10/4/2007)

See more
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/05/29/8-editorial-cartoons-featuring-peter-mackay.html


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## JS2218 (30 May 2015)

Crantor said:
			
		

> More at link.
> 
> http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/peter-mackay-justice-minister-to-leave-federal-politics-1.3092480
> 
> ...



Very sad to see him leave. He was an outstanding Defence Minister, Justice Minister, family man, and one of the two men who should be credited for uniting the right and taking down the corrupt Liberals in 2006.


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## JS2218 (30 May 2015)

Kilo_302 said:
			
		

> The rats are fleeing the ship. Peter Mackay is one the more despicable member of Parliament.



He's 49, been in politics for 18 years, has a new wife and new child, and has another child on the way. His dad was in politics and Peter rarely got to see him. Is it so despicable to think that he might want to be with his family and watch his kids grow up?


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## opcougar (30 May 2015)

I hope you know there is more to the whole story that meets the eye? Same goes for John Baird who since stepping down March 16 this year, he has been racking up positions in the private sector.

Mining giant Barrick Gold appointed him to its international advisory board. Canadian Pacific Railway named him to its board of directors.

He is also advising Hong Kong billionaire Richard Li, the son of one of the wealthiest man in Asia, on international matters.



			
				JS2218 said:
			
		

> He's 49, been in politics for 18 years, has a new wife and new child, and has another child on the way. His dad was in politics and Peter rarely got to see him.* Is it so despicable to think that he might want to be with his family and watch his kids grow up?*


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## JS2218 (30 May 2015)

opcougar said:
			
		

> I hope you know there is more to the whole story that meets the eye?



Please, enlighten us  ???


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## jollyjacktar (30 May 2015)

I wonder who they'll offer me as a replacement candidate for the next election... I think they'll get their ass handed to them.


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## OldSolduer (30 May 2015)

Kilo_302 said:
			
		

> The rats are fleeing the ship. Peter Mackay is one the more despicable member of Parliament.



Have you ever met the man? If not, I will tell you I have on several occasions. 

He's remarkably intelligent, and far from being a "rat".


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## McG (30 May 2015)

I read one article that speculated his leaving now opens the door to returning as a saviour should Conservatives do less than stellar in the coming election.


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## George Wallace (30 May 2015)

opcougar said:
			
		

> I hope you know there is more to the whole story that meets the eye? Same goes for John Baird who since stepping down March 16 this year, he has been racking up positions in the private sector.
> 
> Mining giant Barrick Gold appointed him to its international advisory board. Canadian Pacific Railway named him to its board of directors.
> 
> He is also advising Hong Kong billionaire Richard Li, the son of one of the wealthiest man in Asia, on international matters.



 :

Really?  Have you actually kept much track as to where our former leaders have gone, not only political, but from the military?  They all get hired on somewhere by some large corporation or major Education Institution.  So what is your point?


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## MARS (30 May 2015)

opcougar said:
			
		

> I hope you know there is more to the whole story that meets the eye? Same goes for John Baird who since stepping down March 16 this year, he has been racking up positions in the private sector.
> 
> Mining giant Barrick Gold appointed him to its international advisory board. Canadian Pacific Railway named him to its board of directors.
> 
> He is also advising Hong Kong billionaire Richard Li, the son of one of the wealthiest man in Asia, on international matters.



Good for them.  They are both pretty intelligent, smart, capable guys, regardless of their politics. They are probably only now getting paid what they are worth - political office would never have given them that kind of renumeration, in a financial sense.  They can have their lives back now.  I applaud each of them for their service and respect their decisions.


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## cupper (30 May 2015)

Further to what others have said, MacKay would be a much more lucrative get for any law firm / private corporation because of the multiple portfolios he had during his career in Ottawa.

Every law firm in Canada would dream of getting a former justice minister on the letterhead. His stint at Foreign Affairs makes him desirable to the boards of NGO's and businesses doing work overseas. And the Defense industry will be tripping all overthemselves with offers.

Essentially MacKay can write his own ticket from here on in.

Point of disclosure, I met Peter MacKay several times back in his Dal Law School days and when he was with the Prosecution Service in NS through a former girlfriend of mine who was a classmate of his. I liked the guy, he was intelligent and personable. And nothing during his political career in Ottawa has changed that opinion.


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## jollyjacktar (30 May 2015)

I am sorry to see him go.  He is for me, the only MND that I had any use for since I first put on the uniform in 1980.


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## opcougar (30 May 2015)

Same point as the poster who seems to really think the main reason McKay has quit, is truly because he wants to spend more time with the family. Going to roll your eyes and ask the other poster how he knows this for a fact?

 :



			
				George Wallace said:
			
		

> :
> 
> Really?  Have you actually kept much track as to where our former leaders have gone, not only political, but from the military?  They all get hired on somewhere by some large corporation or major Education Institution. * So what is your point?*


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## OldSolduer (30 May 2015)

opcougar said:
			
		

> Same point as the poster who seems to really think the main reason McKay has quit, is truly because he wants to spend more time with the family. Going to roll your eyes and ask the other poster how he knows this for a fact?
> 
> :



Maybe it's your perception that's a problem. Have you ever met him? I have and I have to say I like him. 
Not all politicians are sleaze balls.


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## cupper (30 May 2015)

For MacKay, his political career had come to a standstill. By making a deal with Harper to bring the PC Party into the Reform fold, he ensured his position as a power broker within the party and caucus. But it also limited his opportunities to become Leader and PM. That would only have happened if the CPC suffered a significant electoral defeat, or a internal party coup took place. With the former, the party wouldn't recover and he would not get to sit as PM. And with the latter, Harper's tight grip on the reins and micromanaging every aspect of the government apparatus, a regime change was not likely to happen.

I believe that MacKay does want to step back from public life for at least the near future. Even Solomon makes a good point about MacKay's own experience as a child of a political power broker:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/timing-of-peter-mackay-s-departure-politically-damaging-1.3093969



> _MacKay has a young family and he and his wife are expecting a daughter in the fall, so his explanation that he wants to spend time with his young family is understandable. His own parents divorced when he was young, and his father Elmer, a minister in the Mulroney cabinet, was often absent as MacKay grew up. It is an experience he has publicly said he does not want to repeat for his own children._



But what raises a big question is the timing of the decision, not so much because it throws the election strategy into chaos, but rather MacKay filed the nomination papers, and told the press in February that he was ready for the upcoming campaign. And with the departure of other high profile members, Harper made it clear that anyone who was planning on not running this fall had to make their intentions known so plans could be made, and the announcements managed. 

What changed in the interceding 3 months?

And as some of the pundits have pointed out, do not rule out an eventual return to political life. 

https://youtu.be/UPw-3e_pzqU


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## George Wallace (31 May 2015)

opcougar said:
			
		

> Same point as the poster who seems to really think the main reason McKay has quit, is truly because he wants to spend more time with the family. Going to roll your eyes and ask the other poster how he knows this for a fact?
> 
> :
> 
> ...



Wrong answer.

If you can't answer a simple question, then why continue to post?

*Have you actually kept track of where our former leaders, political and military, have found highly placed jobs?  Have you?*

That is MY POINT.   You are complaining of one person in your "Harper/Conserveative Hater" rhetoric, when almost every former leader in this country, no matter their political stripe, have been snapped up by big business, industry, universities, legal firms, etc.  Guess this flies right over your head as you focus solely on your agenda.


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## opcougar (31 May 2015)

Funny you should mention "interpretation"...ironic ain't it as it applies to discussions on here and responses? YES I have met McKay on more than one occasion in and out of uniform, and sat down at a table with him. He actually still owes me a towel (cos he / his people forgot to pack a towel for his trip).

I realize not all politicians are "sleaze balls", just like not every bloggins driving a Ford F-whatever / Dodge Ram is an a-hole overcompensating for something else.



			
				Hamish Seggie said:
			
		

> Maybe it's your perception that's a problem. *Have you ever met him?* I have and I have to say I like him.
> Not all politicians are sleaze balls.


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## Colin Parkinson (1 Jun 2015)

The CPC is getting stale and long in the tooth for a government, after they fall, Harper will likely move on, McKay will have distance and a good rep, likely making a good candidate to take over the party. Also does leaving now not keep him under the old pension rules?


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## George Wallace (1 Jun 2015)

Colin P said:
			
		

> The CPC is getting stale and long in the tooth for a government, .....



No more so than any of the long sitting Liberal governments of the past.


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## Edward Campbell (1 Jun 2015)

George Wallace said:
			
		

> No more so than any of the long sitting Liberal governments of the past.




Quite true, George, but that's (mostly) why we tossed them out ... 1957, 1979, 2006. Liberals get old and stale, so do Conservatives.

The "long sitting Liberals" were, of course, Mackenzie King and St Laurent who had back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back majorities (six in all) from 1935 to 1957. Typically, since then, parties have held on to back-to-back majorities for eight (Mulroney) to eleven (Pearson/Trudeau) to thirteen (Chretien/Martin) years. Stephen Harper has been prime minister for nine years now ...


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## George Wallace (1 Jun 2015)

Often the result of a long sitting government is the will of the people for stability in times of trouble.  The Liberals took us through WW II and Korea in those years 1935 to 1957.  It is more likely a result of prosperity and stable world politics that drives the population to want, or want to experiment with, a change.  I am not sure we are in quite that situation at the moment, and have no real alternatives in the other parties to replace the current one.  The departure of MacKay and others could be the instrument of a change, before it is due, by creating an atmosphere where strong delegates in other parties will win over Conservatives in those Ridings, which could in turn bring in a weak Prime Minister.  This election should prove interesting.  

[Edit to add]  I wonder what kind of successor Peter MacKay has in his Riding (as with all the other retiring MPs) to fill his void in the Party?


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## The Bread Guy (2 Jun 2015)

George Wallace said:
			
		

> I wonder what kind of successor Peter MacKay has in his Riding (as with all the other retiring MPs) to fill his void in the Party?


According to CBC, at the riding level anyway ....


> CBC News has learned Fred DeLorey, Conservative dir. of pol. operations, will seek party nom(ination) in Peter #MacKay's riding of Central Nova.


He appears to be from Nova Scotia, and has advised the PM about the area, so an interesting choice.


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## Sig_Des (2 Jun 2015)

I've always liked Mr. MacKay, but I wonder how much the following played in his decisiong. If I were in his shoes, it would make financial sense.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/peter-mackay-exit-allows-him-to-collect-full-pension-at-55-1.3095572



> *Peter MacKay exit allows him to collect full pension at 55
> 
> New pension rules for MPs means those elected after October must wait until age 65
> 
> ...


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