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How it happened
OTTAWA, TORONTO -- The official version of Belinda Stronach's move begins last Thursday in Toronto. At a $1,000-a-plate black-tie dinner, she happened to run into a long-time friend, former Ontario Liberal premier David Peterson.
That chance meeting would prove crucial to her future, and that of the Conservative Party.
But the seeds may have been planted the week before, when Ms. Stronach was summoned by Conservative Leader Stephen Harper to his Rockcliffe mansion, Stornoway.
That call was prompted by controversial remarks she'd made to The Globe and Mail earlier that week, warning against triggering an election over a budget that promised critical infrastructure money to her Ontario riding.
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Mr. Harper, it seemed, was not pleased with her comments.
The private joke among some Tories was that she had been summoned to "see the principal."
A Tory insider says that Ms. Stronach also found out -- it is not clear whether she was actually told at this meeting -- that she was being frozen out of appearances in any election ads.
We all know how it ends.
Yesterday, Ms. Stronach stunned political Ottawa by crossing the floor to join Paul Martin's Liberals and his cabinet -- just two days before the budget vote that could bring down the government.
Liberals were thrilled; Ms. Stronach's move may save the Martin government from defeat.
Ms. Stronach's boyfriend, deputy Conservative leader Peter MacKay, however, was clearly not. He left town yesterday at noon on a flight to Halifax, avoiding his friends, colleagues, the media and any comment.
Several hours after he landed in Nova Scotia, Ms. Stronach was at Rideau Hall being sworn in as the country's new Human Resources Development Minister. The event capped off a five-day political whirlwind in which only a handful of Liberals knew what was about to take place and what was at stake.
Last Thursday evening, Ms. Stronach ran into Mr. Peterson and his wife, Shelley, at the Woodrow Wilson Awards fundraising dinner at the Liberty Grand, an event venue on the Canadian National Exhibition grounds. Ironically, the dinner organizers were the principals from Toronto consulting group Navigator: Paul Martin nemesis and Chrétien Liberal Warren Kinsella, NDP strategist Robin Sears and strategist Jaime Watt, also a friend of Ms. Stronach's.
Mr. Watt, said a friend, had no idea of the political skulduggery that was taking place at the dinner.
The hall was packedfor a dinner honouring Hilary and Galen Weston, as well as Bill Davis, for their citizenship and public service.
Mr. Davis delivered a rambling speech, ending with a warning: "I have something very serious to say about the political situation in Ottawa. Nothing is more important than the unity of the country."
Ms. Stronach was at a prominent table at the front of the room listening to Mr. Davis, the onetime Magna director who's been her political mentor.
Several days later, Ms. Stronach would pick up on this note, citing the deal between the Tories and Bloc Québécois as one of the main reasons for her decision to abandon the Conservatives.
"She was troubled," Mr. Peterson said yesterday about his brief meeting with Ms. Stronach at that dinner. The fact that she seemed to be pondering her options gave him the idea that she cross the floor.
The following day, Mr. Peterson, whose brother Jim is the International Trade Minister, telephoned Ms. Stronach and suggested that she could make a major contribution to the Liberal Party.
"I put it forward as a very serious option," he said. "It's no secret she's been unhappy for a long period of time."
That day, he also placed a call to the Prime Minister's chief of staff, Tim Murphy. Mr. Murphy called the Prime Minister that evening. He was intrigued.
"I don't know what to make of this but [Ms. Stronach] appears to be genuinely struggling with the idea of voting for the budget and crossing the floor," Mr. Murphy said, according to a senior Liberal source.
The Prime Minister's response was "Okay, keep me informed."
And Mr. Murphy did. Ms. Stronach and Mr. Peterson spoke throughout the weekend, including a three-hour meeting at her farm in Aurora on Sunday. They called back and forth to Mr. Murphy.
At that point only a handful of people knew what was about to transpire.
"We kept this thing extraordinarily tight," a senior Liberal said.
The former premier, who had first met Ms. Stronach through her father, Frank, the founder of Magna, provided counsel throughout the five-day period.
"If I had to make a judgment, she has the heart of a Liberal," Mr. Peterson said. "She's not a partisan person. She's a roll-up-your-sleeves and attack the problem kind of person."
Mr. Peterson said the looming budget vote was a major factor in her decision.
"This concentrates the mind. She's very worried about Quebec and lining up with the Bloc. Being a very constructive soul, she wants to fix things."
It was on Sunday, too, that she informed her father that she was poised to leave the Conservatives.
Mr. Stronach had ran unsuccessfully for the federal Liberals in 1988.
Over the weekend she also consulted with former Liberal cabinet minister and former Newfoundland premier Brian Tobin, who had also worked for her father's company.
Mr. Tobin encouraged her. He said it was the right thing to do. She also heard from former Tory prime minister Brian Mulroney, but not until after she had announced her decision. He called her yesterday, speaking to her as a friend and saying he supports her decision.
She also spent time on the weekend at a Conservative campaign college for candidates, in which confidential information about the election and the platform were talked about. She never let on to her colleagues that she was about to jump ship.
Events unfolded rapidly over the weekend, with the action moving to Ottawa and to a working suite at the Château Laurier, where Ms. Stronach lives while the House of Commons is in session.
At 4 p.m., Ms. Stronach and Mr. Peterson met face-to-face with Mr. Murphy.
For an hour they discussed her options. Shortly after 5 p.m. they called in her communications director, Mark Entwistle, and the Prime Minister's director of communications, Scott Reid.
The group spent another hour working through the logistics.
According to an insider, Ms. Stronach did not demand a cabinet post in return for her defection.
"The discussion sort of emerged organically," said a senior insider, "that she was unhappy with where the Conservative Party was at; that she was desperately unhappy about the Conservative Party working with the Bloc Québécois and was unprepared to be part of that bargain; and that triggered the discussion on whether or not it had reached a point where she had to cross in order to be faithful to what she felt was the right way to go.
The Prime Minister was reached at 6:30 p.m. on his way home from an event in Halifax.
His immediate reaction was to "invite her over to dinner. Let's spend some time together."
So he did and promptly at 8 p.m., Ms. Stronach, her aide, Mr. Entwistle, and Mr. Peterson were on the doorstep of 24 Sussex Dr.
For two hours they talked about public policy and the direction of the country. They dined on veal medallions, toasted pecans, spring turbot, home pickled onions and young cucumbers. For dessert they had chocolate semifreddo, mango terrine, Valrhona chocolate mousse and brandy snap. It was all washed down with a respectable sauvignon blanc and a cabernet merlot.
At 10 p.m. they said goodnight. And a little more than 12 hours later they met again, this time at the National Press Theatre to make the announcement.
Just before going out to meet the press, Ms. Stronach called Mr. Harper to advise him of her decision. However, he had already heard from Mr. MacKay.
She and the Prime Minister also spent some time together.
"He lamented the fact that while he was thrilled to be appearing with her and to make the announcement . . . he was little worried that when it came to style he was going to suffer by comparison."
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