Liberal Party of Canada leadership election, 2013
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| Date | April 14, 2013 |
|---|---|
| Convention | Westin Hotel, Ottawa, Ontario |
| Resigning leader | Michael Ignatieff |
| Won by | Justin Trudeau |
| Ballots | 1 |
| Candidates | 6 |
| Entrance Fee | $75,000 CDN |
| Spending limit | $950,000 CDN |
An election for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada was triggered by Michael Ignatieff's announcement on May 3, 2011, of his intention to resign as leader following the party's defeat in the 2011 federal election. On May 25, 2011, Bob Rae was appointed by Liberal caucus as interim leader. The party announced Justin Trudeau as its new leader on April 14, 2013, in Ottawa.
Michael Ignatieff declared on May 3, 2011, that he intended to resign as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, but his statement was worded so as not to be an actual resignation to avoid immediately triggering a leadership vote under party rules; he tendered a letter of resignation to the party's National Board of Directors on May 11. Under the provisions of the party's constitution, the Board was required to set a date for a leadership vote to be held within five months thereafter. However several MPs expressed their reluctance to hold a third leadership election in eight years and instead wanted to take the four years of electoral stability provided by a majority parliament as an opportunity to rebuild under an interim leader for as much as two years before selecting a permanent leader.
The Board met as required on May 19 and set the election for October 28 and 29, 2011, but adopted a proposed constitutional amendment allowing this leadership election to be held between March 1 and June 30, 2013, with the exact date to be announced no sooner than five months in advance. The next convention of the party adopted the amendment on June 18, 2011. On June 13, 2012, the Board decided to call the leadership vote for April 2013 with a specific date to be confirmed during the summer. The Board subsequently established April 14, 2013, as the date the leadership election winner is to be announced and November 14, 2012, as the official start of the race. It also set a spending limit of $950,000 and a debt limit of $75,000, both considerably lower figures than allowed in 2006.
In the case of a vacancy in the leadership, the Board is required to meet to appoint an interim leader "in consultation" with the parliamentary caucus, i.e., its 34 MPs and 46 senators. Before this meeting, the Board determined it would not consider anyone unless that person has the support of a majority of MPs and of the caucus as a whole, was bilingual, and promised in writing not to seek the permanent leadership and not to discuss or negotiate significant changes to the party, which would include a merger with the New Democratic Party (NDP). This was taken as intended to exclude Bob Rae a potential leadership candidate who had significant support among Liberal senators and had talked about a merger shortly after the general election loss, as well as Deputy Leader Ralph Goodale, who is not bilingual, and any other MP who may intend to run in the leadership campaign. Nonetheless, after the caucus discussed the interim leadership on May 11, 2011, it met again on May 25 and voted to recommend Rae as interim leader over Marc Garneau; the Board subsequently confirmed the appointment.
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