OTTAWA – Call it a version of the Dosey Doe as political parties swapped partners Wednesday on Day 5 of an election campaign where defections topped billion-dollar announcements.
Conservative conspiracy theorists were first on the tiles with sightings of a coalition alien in southwestern Ontario after a sophomore NDP candidate hung up his lawn signs and defected to the Liberals.
Then the dance card heated up with another betrayal – this time a former Liberal candidate renounced his party and pledged his allegiance to the Tory who narrowly beat him last fall in a Toronto-area byelection.
The Tories said the resignation of Ryan Dolby in London, Ont., is solid proof Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff is hatching a plot with the NDP and Bloc to overthrow Conservative Leader Stephen Harper should the prime minister win a minority May 2.
“The Liberals and the NDP are deviously scheming to help each other in ridings across the country,” Harper spokesman Dimitri Soudas said about Dolby’s sudden resignation in Elgin-Middlesex-London.
Dolby said he packed it in for the good of the country and because he wanted a good night’s sleep. Others privately said he waited to quit until the campaign had begun to embarrass NDP Leader Jack Layton.
“I think it’s the best decision on behalf of my family, my community, and my country,” he said, noting he tossed and turned the night before deciding Canada would be better off under a Liberal government.
In Vaughan, north of Toronto, Tony Genco broadsided Ignatieff, saying the party is adrift, out of touch and can never form a majority under his leadership.
“The Liberal party I joined over 20 years ago in university has disappeared. The ideas that I tried to represent of balance, diversity and nation building no longer exist in this version of the Liberal party.”
Genco acknowledged some will accuse him of sour grapes for supporting former Ontario top cop Julian Fantino — the Liberals didn't nominate him to run in the election despite his strong effort in the byelection. Genco said he feels the country needs a strong Conservative majority to prosper.
The NDP, meanwhile, said Dolby went rogue, and a replacement will be named later in the week.
The Liberals rejected Conservative charges Dolby was enticed to break ranks as part of a larger coalition blueprint that calls for similar defections on both sides to prevent vote splitting.
Mark.Dunn@sunmedia.ca
the winnipeg sandbox
