Road to recovery begins in Quebec

Strip bare last Monday's federal results and what you have is the execution of Paul Martin's government at the hands of Quebecers.

Subtract the 10 Conservative gains in Quebec, move just a few thousand federalist votes from the multicultural ridings of Montreal to the Liberal column, and the result is a virtual tie.

Without the Conservative surge in Quebec and its attending positive impact on many voters in the rest of Canada, pundits could well be weighting the leadership merits of Peter MacKay and Bernard Lord, rather than those of Michael Ignatieff and Frank McKenna this week.

If this is to be a Liberal year when talking heads matter more than political animals, a rare time when participating in the race could be as important as winning it, Dion would be a good fit for this campaign.

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