VANCOUVER—The resignation of Vancouver-Granville MP Jody Wilson-Raybould from the prime minister’s cabinet on Tuesday not only deepened a federal interference scandal but could also lead to bigger problems for the Liberals in the upcoming election, political experts say.

The Prime Minister’s Office has been accused of interfering to stop Wilson-Raybould, once head of the Justice Department, from prosecuting Quebec engineering giant SNC-Lavalin.

But for former veteran parliamentarian Svend Robinson, the scandal surrounding her departure brings up memories of another reckoning 15 years ago. The so-called sponsorship scandal in 2006 plunged the Liberals into the political wilderness for a decade.

That could happen again, warned Robinson, who praised Wilson-Raybould for her independence, strength and integrity. He called on her caucus peers to come to her defence and demand transparency from the PMO, as some did in the earlier scandal.

“What’s happening now brings back the memories vividly of the rot that led to the sponsorship scandal and the sense of entitlement these people have,” said Robinson, a former New Democrat MP who’s seeking nomination in Burnaby-North Seymour after leaving politics in 2004.

“When you look back at the sponsorship scandal, that was a direct link between corporate interests and money for the Liberal Party ... What is remarkable is the similarities between the two; both are about integrity and ethics at the top.”

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Also known as “AdScam,” the years-long federal controversy involved hundreds of millions of dollars in public funds illegally paid to Liberal-friendly advertising firms in Quebec to sway voters. Top officials were jailed.

It came to a head in 2004 with the release of a scathing auditor general’s report and the launch of a public commission of inquiry that found rampant law-breaking linked to the Prime Minister’s Office of the day and the Liberal Party.

“The sponsorship scandal was directly responsible in many ways for the loss of confidence Canadians had in government,” Robinson said. “This could have that same kind of impact. It is very, very, very serious.”

Raybould-Wilson’s departure early Tuesday morning from Justin Trudeau’s executive council came after allegations she’d been demoted from attorney general — one of the most powerful positions in the country — for refusing to bow to his staffers’ pressure to drop criminal charges against a major employer, according to a Globe and Mail report.

Speaking to reporters in Toronto on Thursday, Trudeau denied any directions were given to Wilson-Raybould.

“Neither the current nor the previous attorney general was directed by me or anyone in my office to take a decision in this matter,” he said. “We have been consistent that Canada is a country of rule of law that respects the independent judiciary and always will.”

Wilson-Raybould could not be reached for comment. The prime minister expressed surprise at her quitting on Tuesday, a day after he said he had “confidence” in her. In her letter of resignation, posted to her Twitter account early Tuesday, she said she had retained for legal advice respected former Supreme Court of Canada judge Thomas Cromwell.

“I am aware that many Canadians wish for me (to) speak on matters that have been in the media over the last week,” she wrote. “I am in the process of obtaining advice on the topics that I am legally permitted to discuss in this matter.”

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The B.C. Assembly of First Nations, which Wilson-Raybould previously led, considers her descent a setback.

“First Nations in Canada were exalted to finally see a First Nations woman deservedly placed in a high position within the federal government,” said regional chief Terry Teegee in a statement.

“The loss of an integral and powerful member of government signals serious upheaval in the Canadian government’s Liberal Party, and moreover the Prime Minister’s Office, with potentially unethical business influences.”

But while the B.C. politician appears to remain popular among many of her constituents, having her moved from crusading justice reformer to veterans affairs and now a mere backbench MP will no doubt damage the Liberal brand in her riding, experts said.

That means her vow to run for re-election, given to The Star on Jan. 23 after her move to Veterans Affairs, could be an uphill climb even if she is personally popular.

Wilson-Raybould’s riding was created for the 2015 election to account for population increases. The area it covers has for two decades leaned Liberal, though prior to the 1990s it alternated with the Conservatives every few terms.

But in the Liberals’ breakthrough election, Wilson-Raybould — a newcomer star candidate with credibility as the Assembly of First Nations’ B.C. leader — won the riding with a commanding 44 per cent of the vote.

That was 17 per cent more than well-known NDP candidate Mira Oreck, a veteran of Barack Obama’s U.S. campaigns and now a top staffer in the B.C. Premier’s Office. The Conservative candidate was less than one point behind Oreck at 26 per cent.

Her win was part of Lower Mainland political gains in previously close electoral battles with Tories, victories pollsters say were critical to the Liberals’ national success, alongside the Atlantic Provinces. Other Liberals who made a breakthrough in the region that year included Pamela Goldsmith-Jones, Terry Beech and Harjit Sajjan, who is now defence minister.

“This region was critical in the 2015 election to the federal Liberals getting in,” said pollster Barb Justason, of Justason Market Intelligence. “It would certainly hurt the party, but whether (Wilson-Raybould) wears that in the context of the things she’s achieved, I don’t know.”

While the riding didn’t exist previously, the four from which it took territory had previously leaned Conservative. The neighbourhoods now encompassed in the new riding had leaned Tory in 2011, with more than 35 per cent voting Conservative, compared to the Liberals in second place with 30 per cent, the NDP with 24 per cent and five points for the Greens.

The riding took the most turf away from Vancouver-City Centre; in the 2011 election it was a tight three-way race, with the Liberals eking out a narrow victory over a mere five-point tie between the Conservative and NDP candidates. But it’s otherwise been considered a Liberal stronghold thanks to veteran MP Hedy Fry, who has held the riding since 1988, when she seized it back from 13 years of Conservative rule.

Vancouver-South, which was also heavily tapped to create Wilson-Raybould’s riding, went Conservative in 2011 but had been a Liberal bastion for nearly two decades after it was wrested from the Tories.

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