2020 Liberal Party of America Leadership Election
On January 8, 2020, at the Liberal Party Caucus meeting,
MP Al Johnson (Lib- Queens Northeast) challenged incumbent Liberal Party Leader
Rob Portman (Lib- Clermont-St. Clair) for the leadership of the party. Even though Portman defeated Johnson more than 2 dozen votes in the Caucus Vote, no candidate received more than 3/5's of the vote, triggering a Members' vote.
Johnson in his campaign attacked Portman over the Liberals' loss in
2019 and blamed the loss on Portman's ineffective opposition to Labor. Instead, Johnson claimed that the Liberals needed to reunite with the Democratic People's Party in order to form an effective opposition against the new Labor-Progressive-Green Government. The former NYC mayor argued that a strong DPP showing has always led to a Labor government and a united Liberal-DPP front would be unstoppable against Labor.
Portman however argued that the Liberals should not sacrifice their values to the DPP and doing so only would cause a worse electoral defeat. Portman also consistently linked Johnson to the divisive DPP leader,
Sarah Palin (DPP- East Central Cascadia), and said that she should never be given the reigns to the Liberal Party. Portman defended his electoral record saying that even though the Liberals did not form a government, they gained enough seats to prevent Labor from forming one as well (although every party other than Labor gained seats).
In the end, Johnson managed to handily defeat Portman to gain the position of Leader of the Opposition. Poll data showed that Liberal Party members have grown tired of a fractured right, and they decided that beating Labor is issue number one for them. Portman who lost by nearly 15 percent and only won 11 provinces resigned from Parliament shortly after the results of the election were announced. Johnson will take his position as Opposition Leader once Parliament comes back into session next week and has reportedly already begun talks with DPP leadership to reach a settlement.
2020 Labor Party Leadership Retention Election
In a much less contentious election,
Prime Minister Maura Healey (Lab- Lowell, MA) went up for a Members' retention election in January 2020. Healey was elected in December 2019 by a Caucus Vote to replace
PM Mike Madigan (Lab- Southwest Chicago) who resigned after it became clear he would not be able to form an government in the wake of losing his majority in the 2019 federal election. However, Labor Party rules dictate that all leaders must go before a Members' vote either by a standard election or a retention election.
Healey since her election to the leadership was able to form a coalition with the Progressive Party and the Green Party, and so far, has been able to keep the arrangement fairly strong. However, the Progressives and the Greens have begun to demand that electoral reform be brought up form debate in Parliament, causing strain with the Labor Party.
Healey easily won her retention election to stay on as Leader of the Labor Party and as Prime Minister winning by nearly 60 percent and only getting below 70% of the vote in a handful of provinces.