Star candidates can boost flagging party brands. But they also could bring baggage

VANCOUVER — Political analysts say the power of personality is increasingly outranking party branding in Canada, and could see a rise in the number of star candidates in elections — and a prime example of that is the former high-flying central banker turned Liberal Leader Mark Carney.

In B.C., there’s former Vancouver mayor and provincial legislator Gregor Robertson, who was tapped by the Liberals over the weekend to run in Vancouver Fraserview — South Burnaby.

University of B.C. political scientist Max Cameron said parties often pursue high-profile candidates as vote getters or to serve specific roles once elected, but there’s a need to balance risk with reward when hand-picking such a candidate.

“It is probably fair to say that over time, riding (associations) have become less important, and more and more often, candidates are chosen by the party,” Cameron said.

“I do think that there’s a concern here, which is that it leads to increasingly centralized political parties where (local) riding associations become less and less important.”

Cameron said there’s a global trend of political parties becoming less powerful as organizations, and becoming more platforms for “office-seeking candidates.”

He said it’s “more genuinely democratic” when local riding associations choose their candidates than a celebrity parachuting in, and when former municipal and provincial politicians such as Robertson enter federal politics, they bring baggage.

There is also the “relatively ephemeral nature of party loyalties” as a risk factor, said Cameron, suggesting that a grassroots candidate driven by party ideology would be less likely to cross the floor.

“So this is not someone who is what would be considered a kind of a lifelong Liberal,” Cameron said of Robertson, who was an NDP provincial legislator.

“Now, that could be an advantage or disadvantage. In an era in which party membership and party loyalty is weak, people may not care a whole lot.

“People know Robertson, and so what they know of him may be positive, but it could also be negative. He certainly has a wealth of experience, but … toward the end of his time as mayor, I think that the perception was that he kind of ran out of energy.”

University of Victoria political scientist Michael Prince said while star candidates being “parachuted” into ridings is not new, it often “ruffles feathers” in riding associations.

In those cases, the question of loyalty turns to the voters.

“Mr. Robertson was clearly associated with Vancouver, so whichever riding they’re picking may not cause too much distress,” Prince said. “But in some cases, when parties do this, it does kind of step on the toes of some of the locals, and it’s really up to them then to decide how strong (their) party loyalty is.”

Political veterans do come with the advantage of being largely pre-vetted for issues, Prince said, while grassroots candidates require more scrutiny.

“More times than not, the people that we hear from (for past troubles) are not the star candidates,” he said. “It’s some of the just ‘regular’ candidates.

“So with a high profile, there’s a name-recognition. One would hope that they’ve already been subject more to the spotlight and the scrutiny of the press and by opposition.”

Fellow UBC political scientist Stewart Prest said Robertson answering Liberal Leader Mark Carney’s call also indicates the party is gaining momentum, as star candidates seldom join a flagging campaign.

“It is yet another indication that the Liberal campaign really has had a transformation of its fortunes,” Prest said. “People who have experience in politics and were unlikely to join a lost cause are seeing this as something they want to be a part of.

“I think it’s also an indication that the Liberals continue to believe in the power of celebrity candidates when they’re able to find them and identify them.”

Prest said the kind of high-profile candidate who gets recruited — or rejected — can be a sign of the broader directions the party leadership wants to take in an election.

He cited the federal Conservatives’ rejection of former B.C. cabinet veteran Mike de Jong as a candidate in the Fraser Valley, suggesting he may not have been a good fit for a populist, anti-institutional campaign.

“They’re trying to run a campaign that is really talking about the need for fundamental change, the idea that Canada is broken, and it needs to be rebuilt in this new and different, strong way,” Prest said.

“And it may be that some of these other figures like Mike de Jong don’t fit well with that kind of message.”

Former BC Liberal premier Christy Clark — who eyed the federal Liberal leadership before ultimately pulling out of the race — announced on Monday that she won’t be standing as a Liberal MP, after being widely discussed as a potential candidate.

— The Canadian Press