Interim leaders aren’t just caretakers

Opinion

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This article was published 12/02/2022 (1335 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

On Feb. 2, after voting to remove Erin O’Toole as party leader, the parliamentary caucus of the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) elected Candice Bergen, MP for Portage-Lisgar, to serve as interim party leader of the party.

Many media commentators used the term “caretaker” to describe Bergen’s new role. The term suggests she is just “maintaining things” until a permanent leader is selected and cannot make any decisions of consequence. This is misleading, and an exaggeration.

The caretaker label is popular because the media need a shorthand way to describe interim leadership situations. However, it hides the different causes and consequences of filling a leadership vacancy with a time-limited appointment of an interim leader. Also, rather than being unusual, reliance upon interim leaders occurs more frequently at the national and provincial levels than is generally recognized.

During the past decade, interim leaders have been chosen twice to head the CPC, the Progressive Conservatives and the NDP in Manitoba, the Liberals in B.C. and P.E.I., and the Green party nationally and in at least one province. Despite the frequency of interim leaders, there has been extraordinarily little study of their impacts on the performance of parties, their internal unity, and their electoral success.

Multiple different circumstances can create the need for an interim leader. The most common occurrence is a leadership resignation or removal after an election loss, or even after a poor result which did not match expectations going into the contest. The contemporary CPC seems to have become a “one-and-done” party that allows only one loss before a leader is removed. This happened to Andrew Scheer in 2020, and now to Erin O’Toole.

Dissent within the party over the performance of the incumbent leader is another common circumstance which can lead to a formal vote in caucus and/or by the executive of the party to replace a leader. Not all parties have a mechanism to trigger a leadership vote by caucus; however, this does not preclude pressure being applied within caucus and beyond that forces a “voluntary” resignation of a leader.

Death of a leader, resignation for health or personal reasons, temporary absences for assorted reasons, entanglement in a scandal, appointment to another position and other developments can result in the selection of interim leaders.

The caretaker label implies the temporary replacement leader is powerless, which is inaccurate. In theory, such leaders have all the rights and responsibilities of a permanent leader; in practice, however, because they lack a mandate from the full party, they do not have the latitude to change the policy directions and the organization of party.

As prime minister or premier, an interim leader of a governing party has several prerogatives that are not available to an interim opposition leader. For example, if multiple cabinet ministers resign to enter the leadership race, the interim leader can fill the vacancies. An interim opposition leader can shuffle the lineup of the so-called “shadow cabinet,” as Ms. Bergen has already done by replacing some of the inner group of MPs who previously worked with Mr. O’Toole.

Interim leaders serve as the official representative of the party which means they receive the bulk of the media attention. Even as interim leader, they have some latitude to comment on events and to make policy statements on behalf of the party.

Interim leaders, whether in governing or opposition parties, should not be dismissed as unimportant, because they contribute to the adversarial clash between government and opposition, which is meant to produce transparency, responsiveness, accountability and learning about how better policy can be achieved.

Limited authority and limited time mean major accomplishments by interim leaders are generally not possible. However, they can make a difference. Just a couple of examples will have to suffice:

As interim leader and Progressive Conservative premier of Manitoba, Kelvin Goertzen took steps to repair broken bonds of trust with important stakeholder groups whom former premier Brian Pallister had antagonized.

At the national level, from 2011 to 2013 interim Liberal leader Bob Rae performed effectively in opposition, holding the Harper Conservative government to account, especially on Indigenous issues.

Returning to the case of Bergen, she has been described by her colleagues as a peacemaker. Her primary task is to begin to heal the divisions over leadership and/or ideology that have handicapped the CPC in recent decades.

This will be a big challenge for someone who clearly leans to the right. Keeping more moderate MPs in the CPC caucus content, especially during a year-long leadership contest that will likely amplify divisions, will take all her interpersonal and negotiating skills.

Paul G. Thomas is professor emeritus of political studies at the University of Manitoba.