Article content continued

Consider, first, three who were until very recently at the very pinnacle of the party’s power structure, short of the PM himself: Moore, John Baird and Peter MacKay. Though he was said not to want the leadership, Baird was routinely mentioned as a prospect. The former foreign affairs minister might, of course, return. Or he might examine the recent fate of another top Tory who was lured away from a lucrative private-sector job by the prospect of power — that would be Jim Prentice — and gratefully keep his distance.

Let’s talk about Prentice, to digress for a moment: He was the vaunted moderate Conservative former minister, no longer in federal politics, off doing the Lord’s work in Alberta. He would patch up his home province, it was held, and then, possibly, return triumphantly to Ottawa following the Harper era. Oops. The epic scale of Prentice’s recent drubbing by New Democrat Rachel Notley has put an end to such talk.

Back to the current cabinet: Moore — charming, articulate, fluently bilingual, still under 40, with a growing family and a couple of important portfolios under his belt — has long been perceived as someone who might become the anti-Trudeau (during the months when the latter’s rush to power seemed unstoppable) and bring generational change. Moore cited family reasons for stepping out; his young son has special needs. It is the best of reasons for a politician to quit. But he was among the few senior federal Tories who could marshal the party base while also appealing to socially progressive swing voters. His departure leaves a void.