THOMSON: Actually, we do need to salvage the Liberal Party of Canada

Many Canadians who are not Liberal supporters, joined the party last week to have a say in the party's leadership contest. Are these interlopers going to save the Liberal Party? Right now the consensus, at least in the editorial columns of most Canadian news media outlets, is that the Liberal Party is a failed and flawed entity that not only deserves to burn to the ground, it needs to. I am inclined to agree with this sentiment. Certainly there can be no salvation for a party that has been so negligent on foreign interference, so economically frivolous, and so casually contemptuous of the Canadian identity, that any other option exists.Only the flames of a fiery cataclysmic electoral defeat can have any hope at all of purging the malfeasance, nepotism, and general rot which has infested the 157-year-old party. Two years’ worth of polling would seem to indicate that this cathartic event is nigh, but its totality is not guaranteed. Which is why left-leaning observers who have been calling the intentions of these infiltrators undemocratic, should probably be grateful to them.Because whether Liberal supporters want to admit it or not, the past 12 years of their cult like devotion to Justin Trudeau has left the party with no sense of itself. The introduction of outsiders to their echo chamber may help the party rediscover that identity faster than if they were left solely on their own.The interlopers, whether they realize it or not, are probably working against their own political interests in the long run by voting for the most conservative-friendly candidate. Their actions will only serve to make the Liberal Party stronger and more appealing to centrist voters. But that outcome, well intentioned or not, may actually benefit our democracy. I say this because as it stands, Pierre Poilievre and the CPC are not just any government in waiting, but possibly the largest majority government this country has ever seen. And while that may prove to be what the country wants; we should all desire to see them held accountable by a competent opposition in the House of Commons.Which is why it pains me to say that the party best suited to fill that important role is…(hear me out) a chastised and repentant Liberal Party. But only because the NDP and the BQ are far worse alternatives. While I have no particular beef with Mr. Blanchet and the BQ, their interests serve only one region of this country, and their underlying aim is the secession of Quebec from Canada. They can’t be trusted to look out for the good of the nation. The NDP under Jagmeet Singh on the other hand are no longer the ‘conscience of Parliament.’ In fact it’s tough to tell whose interests they actually represent. But based on the number of watermelon pins and keffiyehs they’ve been sporting, it’s no one we want to reward with additional power in Parliament.So while Justin Trudeau and his ilk need to be punished at the polls and have tainted the Liberal well foully, it’s worth remembering that in the past they were once a party that did great things for this country.They promoted our sovereignty and independence in the commonwealth, they introduced many beneficial social programs, and they maintained the unity of Canada through two separate Quebec referendums.With a bit of work, a little time, and the unsolicited help from a few thousand posers, I think that the Liberals can be that party again.And ultimately that’s something that we should all hope for, because eventually, somewhere down the road, we will want them as a viable option to replace Poilievre and the CPC.