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Harper, Ignatieff Have Closed Door Meeting in Ottawa

by Tina Kells | December 12, 2008 at 11:22 am

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Newly appointed Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff met with Conservative leader (and current Prime Minister) Stephen Harper to discuss the state of the nation in a closed door meeting in Ottawa, Friday. No word on what the two leaders discussed but Ignatieff is a Liberal-to-the-right and perhaps the agenda included discussions on how Harper can stay Prime Minister with support of the Liberals.

Neither the Liberals or Conservatives are saying what was discussed during the Ignatieff and Harper meeting, but the absence of Liberal coalition partner leaders makes for interesting speculation. Canadian Parliament resumes on January 26 with the Federal budget scheduled to be presented on January 27.

If the Conservative budget does not pass in the House it is considered a vote of non-confidence and the coalition will have to step up to rule or Canadians will be sent back to the polls. It is likely that Friday's meeting centered around Stephen Harper's efforts to ward off a non-confidence vote in the new year.

The meeting, which took place in Harper's office just off Parliament Hill, lasted close to an hour.

A Liberal spokesperson said no concrete proposals emerged from the meeting, while the PMO called the meeting cordial and businesslike.

The Liberals and NDP, along with support from the Bloc Québécois, are poised to vote down the government and ask to form a coalition government when Parliament resumes in late January.

Ignatieff, declared Liberal leader earlier this week, has said he wants to see what economic stimulus measures the Conservative government includes in its Jan. 27 budget before deciding whether to move ahead with the coalition.