KSG Prof. To Run For Head Of Canadian Party

Michael G. Ignatieff, a former Kennedy School professor, announced on Friday that he is running for the leadership of the Canadian Liberal Party.

Ignatieff, who left Harvard in September to become a visiting professor at a Canadian university and resigned from the directorship of Harvard’s Carr Center for Human Rights in December, was elected in January to the Canadian parliament. He is expected to become one of the front-runners in the race for Liberal Party leader.

“I am fighting to revive faith, not just in the Liberal party, but in politics itself,” Ignatieff said Friday in a speech to his supporters in Toronto.

“I’m a devoted Liberal, I’ve been one all my life. That’s why I’m in the fight to renew the party I love,” Ignatieff said. “All my life has been inspired by Canada, and now it’s my turn to try and inspire my fellow Canadians.”

Ignatieff, who holds a doctorate in history from Harvard, has been criticized by some for having lived outside of Canada for over 20 years, five of which he spent teaching at Harvard. In addition, he may face fire for his support of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

Lauren P. S. Epstein ’07, who is prime minister of the Harvard Canadian club, said that Ignatieff has a “lot going for him” but that it is still too early to determine his chances of winning.

“There’s a concern that he won’t be able to ‘climb down from the ivory tower’ and fight for the people who have to work every day,” Epstein said. “He’s not enough of a ‘normal man.’”

Ignatieff, who currently represents the Toronto region of Etobicoke-Lakeshore in Parliament, will compete against former environment minister Stéphane Dion in a race which could include over 10 candidates.

The change in leadership comes as the Liberal Party faces a crisis. The party lost its majority in the House of Commons in 2004, and Liberal Party Prime Minister Paul Martin’s government lost a vote of no confidence this past November. Conservative Party leader Stephen Harper, who became prime minister in February, assembled a coalition that keeps the Liberals out of power. The convention to choose the new Liberal Party leader will take place from Nov. 9 to Dec. 3.

In addition to his political and academic careers, Ignatieff is a former BBC broadcaster and an award-winning novelist.

—Material from the Associated Press was used in the reporting of this story.

—Staff writer Claire M. Guehenno can be reached at guehenno@fas.harvard.edu