There was no sweet deal for Thunder Bay-Superior North MP Joe Comuzzi.
In welcoming Comuzzi into the Conservative caucus Tuesday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he didn‘t buy Comuzzi‘s loyalty.
“Joe will be a lead voice in our caucus from this part of the country,” Harper told a packed room at a Thunder Bay hotel.
“No deal means no deal.”
Comuzzi confirmed Harper offered him no incentives.
“There were no inducements, no quid pro quo and no favours,” he told the large gathering of both Conservative and Liberal supporters.
Comuzzi had been talking with Harper and other Conservatives off and on since Liberal Leader Stephane Dion turfed him from the party in March for supporting the Conservative budget. Comuzzi, who has been sitting as an Independent since then, said he believed the budget contained millions in research money that could benefit Thunder Bay.
It was widely expected that $14.7 million is included in the budget for the Molecular Medicine Centre on Munro Street. That funding still hasn‘t been announced, but Harper hinted it could be coming.
Comuzzi told The Chronicle-Journal he was still having doubts as late as Monday about hooking up with the Tories until he got a telephone call from Douglas Fisher, a one-time NDP MP for Port Arthur (1957-65) and dean of the parliamentary press gallery.
“Good for you,” Fisher said, according to Comuzzi. “Don‘t ever look back and good luck.”
That was all Comuzzi needed.
“When I got that call, I became absolutely convinced and decided right then and there that I would never look back,” he said.
Harper, who was making his first official visit to Thunder Bay, said Comuzzi is the latest in a long line of former Liberals who have joined the Conservative party. They include Lawrence Cannon from Quebec, David Emerson from British Columbia and Wajid Khan from the Greater Toronto Area.
“Joe Comuzzi supported our recent budget and our historic deal which resolved the Canada-U.S. softwood dispute,” said the prime minister.
“So it feels very comfortable to stand here today with Joe and welcome him to the Conservative caucus,” Harper said to rousing applause.
Comuzzi said he looked forward to serving as part of Canada‘s new government.
“I gave 18 years to the Liberal party,” he said. “But it‘s not my party anymore. Mr. Dion is taking it down a road I cannot follow.”
Dion suggested Monday that Harper might have made a secret deal with Comuzzi to win his loyalty.
“I hope the government will not buy his support through an announcement in his riding,‘‘ Dion said on CTV‘s “Mike Duffy Live‘‘ show.
Comuzzi, 74, said he will serve out his term and may run in the next election, depending on when it is.
“The prime minister wants to go to late 2008 or 2009,” he said. “I hope I‘m around when the next election is called.”
If he does decide to run, he has a good chance of winning the riding as a Conservative, said those in the crowd Tuesday.
“People see him as a man of integrity,” said Ron Saddington, president and chief executive officer of Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre.
Scott McFadden, chief executive officer of Thunder Bay International Airports Authority Inc., said Comuzzi has a following.
“It‘s not necessarily affiliated with any political stripes,” McFadden said. “I think that‘s served him well in the past and it will in the future.”
Don Paterson said Thunder Bay-Superior North voters would have a tough decision in the next federal election if Comuzzi does run.
Paterson, who lost the Liberal nomination to Ken Boshcoff in neighbouring Thunder Bay-Rainy River, conceded Comuzzi has been popular in his riding.
“It will be a tough choice for the people in Thunder Bay-Superior North whether to stay with what the traditional vote has been, or if they‘re more interested in having somebody who has a seat at the table of the government,” Paterson said.
Businessman Cliff Friesen predicted there will be no repercussions for Comuzzi.
“He‘s not betraying the Liberal party at all,” Friesen said. “You have to remember he was thrown out of caucus. I don‘t think there‘s going to be any fallout for him at all.”
Lakehead University president Fred Gilbert agreed.
“He‘s demonstrated he‘s a man of the people,” Gilbert said.
“I think, knowing the people of Thunder Bay and Northwestern Ontario as well as I do, they will appreciate that level of conviction.
“It will not be as important what party that Joe‘s running for as much as what Joe stands for,” Gilbert said.
“I don‘t think it (switching parties) will do him any damage.”
Iain Angus was one of the few naysayers in the crowd.
The city councillor and former MPP and MP said it will be a challenge for Comuzzi to retain his level of popularity.
“He was already in decline as a Liberal, and secondly the Northwest has not been kind to Conservatives since the Depression and I can‘t see that changing,” Angus said.
Nishnawbe Aski Grand Chief Stan Beardy said it doesn‘t matter to him who is elected in the riding.
“For me as a First Nation leader, I work with whoever the elected representative is and I‘m hoping to maintain a relationship with Joe regardless,” he said.
