National Liberal campaign director Ishmael advises candidates to rent campaign offices for two months: Liberal sources

With all federal parties entering the final phase of preparations for an anticipated election call next month, a top Liberal campaign official told candidates, campaign managers, and riding association presidents last week that they should rent campaign offices for two months. Liberal sources who attended the online meeting on Monday, July 19, said that in response to questions from the attendees about how long their campaign office rental lease should be, Azam Ishmael, the party’s campaign director, advised them that it should be two months. “He said, ‘Start looking for a campaign office, go get a campaign office.’ And someone said, 'How long a lease should we get?'” a Liberal source who was present at the meeting, and quoted Mr. Ishmael as replying, “two months is a good idea.” Other sources also present during the meeting confirmed the same. The sources declined to be identified because they are not authorized to speak to the media about Liberal strategy. “Azam said that you pretty much have to rent an office for two months, a week prior to the writs coming down, and then a couple of weeks to take down signs and your office space, all that other stuff,” said the second source, recalling Mr. Ishmael’s response. Minister of Families, Children and Social Development Ahmed Hussen (York South-Weston, Ont.), the Ontario campaign co-chair, also attended the meeting. By law, election campaigns must last between 36 and 50 days. The prime minister decides on the length of the campaign. The Liberal government has not said how long the next election campaign will last, though Chief Electoral Officer Stéphane Perrault said recently that he would “prefer” that the writ period be longer than the minimum of 36 days. “There is merit to a longer writ period in a pandemic, because everything takes more time,” Mr. Perrault said during his appearance before the Procedure and House Affairs Committee on June 15. “In terms of recruiting and in terms of finding polling places, it does take more time. Within the parameters of the act, in my view, a longer period is preferable.” Though Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Papineau, Que.) is responsible for deciding on the length of the campaign, his office referred questions on the subject to the office of Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc (Beauséjour, N.B.), whose spokesperson did not offer a clear response. “Elections Canada, as an independent agency, is mandated to be ready to conduct a federal election or byelection at any time,” said Jean-Sébastien Comeau, press secretary and communications adviser to Mr. LeBlanc, in his written response, two weeks ago. “This includes planning for a potential federal general election during the COVID-19 pandemic, and in the context of a minority government. In the event of an election, we are confident that Elections Canada will be able to ensure that Canadian citizens can exercise their democratic rights, and that election officials can carry out their duties safely and securely.” Official Languages Minister Melanie Joly and Liberal MP Navdeep Bains are the national campaign co-chairs for the Liberal Party. The Hill Times file photographs The Liberal Party held the online meeting on July 19. Suzanne Cowan, president of the Liberal Party and Mr. Ishmael led the meeting. Since January, the Liberal Party has been holding regular monthly meetings with candidates, campaign managers, and campaign volunteers to update them about the party’s election readiness and to answer their questions about the upcoming campaign. Depending on the timing of the election, last week’s meeting could be the last or the second last if the next election is triggered in August. In response to a question from The Hill Times about Mr. Ishmael’s comment for renting campaign offices for two months, a Liberal Party spokesperson Braeden Caley replied via email: “While opposition parties have voted to prompt an election more than a dozen times in recent months, our focus throughout has been to do everything it takes to keep Canadians safe and supported. While we don’t comment on the specifics of election readiness planning, that would be a mischaracterization of the guidance that Mr. Ishmael and the party have been discussing with local candidates and their teams.” In the same email, Mr. Caley also said that it’s “not uncommon” for nominated candidates of all parties and their campaigns to search for offices once the nomination process in individual ridings is concluded. “It is not uncommon at all for local candidates from all parties to begin searching for office space once they are nominated, and now that public health guidance is making it possible, the Liberal Party has been advising local teams on how best to connect with Canadians safely this summer,” Mr. Caley said. Government House Leader Pablo Rodriguez is the regional campaign co-chair for Quebec. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade Campaign managers and candidates interviewed for this article said they expected the election to be called next month, but didn’t know when the writs would be issued. Some said they thought the campaign would start after the Aug. 17 provincial election in Nova Scotia. In the absence of any concrete election call, they said they were planning on signing leases starting Aug. 1 or mid August, and running until the end of September or mid October. Considering that the Liberals are the front-runners, based on recent polling numbers, the Liberals would probably want the shortest possible writ period, to give their opponents fewer days in which to turn around the momentum. The next election has not been called yet, but all the major federal parties are preparing for one, and the Justin Trudeau Liberals recently announced the regional co-chairs and directors who will run the next campaign. At last week’s meeting, the party announced the appointment of five senior cabinet ministerial staffers as regional campaign directors. Those include: Katherine O’Halloran, campaign director for Atlantic Canada; Marjorie Michele, for Quebec; Mike Rosati, for Ontario; Cory Pike, for Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and the North; Mike Burton, for Alberta, and Shaun Govender, for British Columbia. Ms. O’Halloran is Mr. Trudeau’s Atlantic assistant in the Prime Minister’s Office; Ms. Michele, until earlier this month, served as chief of staff to Treasury Board President Jean Yves Duclos; Mr. Pike is chief of staff to Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan; Mr. Burton is chief of staff to Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller; Mr. Govender is Digital Government Minister Joyce Murray’s chief of staff; and Mr. Rosati is the director of political operation for the Liberal Party of Canada in Ontario. iPolitics first reported the names of regional campaign directors last week. It’s a standard practice for senior ministerial and opposition party staffers, regardless of which party is in power or opposition, to take a leave of absence from their parliamentary jobs and help out their respective parties during an election campaign. In ministerial offices, usually only one staffer stays back in the office and the rest work in the campaign. In MP offices on the Hill, most staffers work in their office during the daytime but volunteer for different campaigns after work hours. During the writ period, staffers who work for the national campaigns of their respective parties are paid by their campaigns, but their salaries are typically significantly lower than parliamentary salaries. Almost all return to their regular jobs after the election. Depending on the election outcome, some also get promotions or move to more high-profile positions. The Liberal Party named 25 regional campaign co-chairs from all regions of the country on June 25. Of these, five are in Ontario, three each are in Quebec and British Columbia, two each are in Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and the North, and one each are in Newfoundland and Labrador, and New Brunswick. The Globe and Mail first reported the appointment of Mr. Ishmael as the national campaign director, and that the party had appointed regional campaign co-chairs. The campaign co-chairs included Government House Leader Pablo Rodriguez (Honoré-Mercier, Que.), Social Development Minister Ahmed Hussen (York South-Weston, Ont.), Labour Minister Filomena Tassi (Hamilton West-Ancaster-Dundas, Ont.), Liberal MP Arif Virani (Parkdale-High Park, Ont.), former Liberal MP Kim Rudd, Liberal MP Paul Lefebvre (Sudbury, Ont.), Northern Affairs Minister Dan Vandal (Saint Boniface-Saint Vital, Man.) and Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan (Vancouver South, B.C.). In April, the party announced national campaign co-chairs including Liberal MP Navdeep Bains and Economic Development Minister Mélanie Joly (Ahuntsic-Cartierville, Que.) as national co-chairs. The party also announced on Jan. 21 that Associate Finance Minister Mona Fortier (Ottawa-Vanier, Ont.) and Liberal MP Terry Duguid (Winnipeg South, Man.) would be the party’s co-chairs of the national platform committee. Greg Lyle, president of Innovative Research, in an interview, described the position of national and regional campaign directors as “critical,” as they execute the campaign strategy. Campaign directors are some of the most important players in the team after the leader. “The real job of an effective campaign director is like a conductor in an orchestra,” said Mr. Lyle. “They don't play any of the instruments but they make the instruments work together. Their core role is campaign strategy, it's building the team and setting the direction for the team, and setting the direction as the campaign strategy.” He said the role of campaign chairs differs from campaign to campaign. It can be symbolic, where a party may appoint different persons to represent different parts of the party, or they could play a hands on role in campaign strategy. “They will be a morale booster,” said Mr. Lyle. “Campaign directors have to get a job done and sometimes there'll be hurt feelings as they do it. And the campaign chairs often will go around and patch things up after campaign directors stir things up.” In a minority government, all parties start to get ready for the next election right after the conclusion of the last election. The average age of a minority Parliament in Canada is between 18-24 months, and an election can be triggered if the government is defeated on a vote of confidence in the House. The incumbent prime minister can also ask the governor general to dissolve Parliament and call an election. The Hill Times Liberal campaign organization National Campaign Director: Azam Ishmael Regional Campaign Directors Atlantic: Katherine O’Halloran Quebec: Marjorie Michele Ontario: Mike Rosati Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and North: Cory Pike Alberta: Mike Burton British Columbia: Shaun Govender Campaign Co-Chairs National: Liberal MP Navdeep Bains and Official Languages Minister Melanie Joly Regional Campaign Co-Chairs Newfoundland and Labrador Shelly Moores Prince Edward Island Randy Cooper Brenda McAlduff Nova Scotia Joseph Khoury Kristan Hines Quebec Pablo Rodriguez Mathieu Bouchard Marjorie Michel Ontario Ahmed Hussen Arif Virani Filomena Tassi Kim Rudd Paul Lefebvre Manitoba Sandy Chahal Dan Vandal Saskatchewan Winter Fedyk Zach Jeffries Alberta Meghan Conroy Cathy Moar British Columbia Gabe Garfinkel Harjit Sajjan North Dave Munroe Jason Cunning

National Liberal campaign director Ishmael advises candidates to rent campaign offices for two months: Liberal sources

The Liberal Party announced the names of regional campaign directors at a July 19 online meeting of candidates and riding campaign officials, Liberal sources told The Hill Times.

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National Liberal campaign director Ishmael advises candidates to rent campaign offices for two months: Liberal sources

The Liberal Party announced the names of regional campaign directors at a July 19 online meeting of candidates and riding campaign officials, Liberal sources told The Hill Times.

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