OTTAWA

Turns out Michael Ignatieff was just visiting after all.

The former Liberal leader has accepted a job at Harvard University - the same stomping grounds wide-eyed Grits plucked him from seven years ago to return to Canada for a chance at becoming prime minister.

Ignatieff will rejoin Harvard Kennedy School in January in what the school describes as a "half-time faculty appointment" as professor of practice.

The same news release said Ignatieff will split his time between Cambridge, Massachusetts and Toronto where he will continue to teach at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto.

He landed at the U of T days after leading the Liberals to the party's worst electoral defeat - an historical thrashing that left 34 MPs standing while relegating Grits to third-party status in the House of Commons.

He also lost his Toronto seat in the May 2011 vote that gave Prime Minister Stephen Harper his first majority and vaulted the NDP to official opposition.

The Conservatives were relentless in their attacks on Ignatieff, often portraying the author and film maker as a visitor because of the amount of time he lived away. Many of the ads often ended with: "Ignatieff, he didn't come back for you."

The "Just Visiting" campaign was largely based on an interview he gave to the Harvard Crimson in November 2005.

"If I am not elected, I imagine that I will ask Harvard to let me back," he said at the time. "I love teaching here and I hope I'll be back in some shape or form."

Turns out he'll be back in person.

Mark.Dunn@sunmedia.ca

Twitter:MarkDunnSun