Will Lord throw hat in the ring?

By BRIAN LAGHI
From Thursday's Globe and Mail

(Ottawa):  New Brunswick Premier Bernard Lord is reconsidering his decision
not to seek the leadership of the new Conservative Party of Canada, sources
have told The Globe and Mail.

Even provincial party activists are saying they may have to give him up for
the good of the country. "If there are people inside the province and
outside the province that indicate that it would be in the best interests
of the province for him to make this federal move, then I'm convinced that
he probably would," said Lisa Keenan, president of the New Brunswick
Progressive Conservative Party." ..... Is it under consideration? Sure
it's under consideration."

Ms. Keenan, who guessed that Mr. Lord will ultimately stay in New
Brunswick, said Mr. Lord is considering running after receiving phone calls
from several heavyweight conservatives across the country. She likened his
dilemma to the one faced by Quebec Premier Jean Charest, who was put under
intense pressure in 1998 to leave the federal Tories for the provincial
Liberal leadership.

Several sources confirmed to The Globe and Mail yesterday that Mr. Lord has
been approached with substantial offers of organization and money. The
sources also said that Newfoundland Premier Danny Williams has telephoned
Mr. Lord pressing him to run, and has asked Alberta Premier Ralph Klein to
do the same.

Yesterday, Mr. Lord himself appeared to keep his options open when asked
whether he would rule out the possibility of running. "A lot of things
can change in life," he said in Fredericton. Advisers close to the
Premier have been careful not to say whether he is willing to look at the
job. Mr. Lord has a razor-thin majority in the New Brunswick Legislature
and is concerned about angering the electorate by leaving prematurely  just
as former Newfoundland premier Brian Tobin did.

Peter Van Loan, a past president of the federal Progressive Conservative
Party, said he would support Mr. Lord and believes several others will do
the same. He said many party members think former Canadian Alliance leader
Stephen Harper and ex-Tory leader Peter MacKay carry significant baggage.

Mr. Harper and Calgary lawyer Jim Prentice have both announced they will
seek the job. Sources said supporters of Mr. Prentice phoned the Lord camp
recently in an effort to ascertain whether the New Brunswick Premier was
running.

"He's got proven experience as a winner. He's gone through tough
elections and still won. He's got that fluid, flawless bilingual,
bicultural appeal," Mr. Van Loan said. "There is a constituency
out there that thinks -- and I don't number myself among them -- it's best
for the party if it has a leader that's different than the existing
ones."

The pressure on Mr. Lord has also stalled movement on other candidates.
Some party members have been working to get Alliance MP Chuck Strahl into
the race, but that effort has shifted into neutral while they wait to see
whether Mr. Lord will run for the job. "People have been calling and
the proposals to him are more substantive than the first time this
arose," an inside source said. "I think this time it is quite
seriously being considered."

Mr. Lord was originally wooed for the Tory leadership last year. He turned
it down, saying he had much left to do in New Brunswick. However, the new
position up for grabs is leader of a united party. Should he run, Mr. Lord
would start with a leg up in Atlantic Canada and Quebec, where the old
Canadian Alliance had few members. Should Mr. Klein and Manitoba Tory
Leader Stuart Murray throw in their backing, Mr. Lord might also cream off
some support in the West, where the Alliance party was dominant.


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