Article content

Mike Crawley is not offering a quick fix. He is not suggesting the Liberal Party of Canada can regain its past dominance with a little tinkering here and there. His glasses are Liberal red, but they are not rose-coloured.

“There are a number of riding associations that are frankly moribund,” he says. Vast stretches of the country are without a Liberal presence.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Down to the nitty-gritty: Rebuilding the Liberal party Back to video

But in his bid for the party presidency, Mr. Crawley says the long decline of the once-unbeatable brand, which culminated in a crushing electoral defeat in May, provides a chance for Liberals to finally do what they have long needed to do: Find a purpose.

[np-related]

“I believe absolutely there has to be a big, open debate over the next 20 months,” he says.

More importantly, Mr. Crawley says, sitting across a table at a Toronto coffee shop, any discussion about the party’s future must eschew old strategies.

“I think it’s a mistake to simply say ‘We need to be centrist’ or that we can be successful as the centrist option.