As he was heading into the House of Commons this morning, I managed to catch Transport and Infrastructure Minister John Baird, who, before coming to Ottawa, was a minister in the Progressive Conservative governments of Mike Harris and Ernie Eves in Ontario.
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With the resignation of Ontario PC Leader John Tory in the wake of his by-election loss Thursday night, Baird is among those who many think might jump into the race to become PC leader in Ontario.
So, the first thing I did when I saw him was to ask: “Minister, do you want to be Premier?”
To which Baird smiled and replied: “My friend Dalton is the premier!”
The McGuintys (Premier Dalton and his MP brother David) and Baird have a long and sometimes acid history of political sparring. All three represent Ottawa area ridings.
So I ask again: “Well, would you like to succeed Premier McGuinty?”
Minister Baird smiled again at me as we continued to walk down the hall towards the Commons. We got to the Commons. He smiled again and whisked inside without another word.
Now, on the way out of the Commons, a gaggle of reporters was waiting for him and he stopped to scrum. Here's what he had to say about the PC Party leadership:
Reporter: So there might be a job opening in Queen's Park. Are you interested?
Baird: Which job is opening?
Reporter: John Tory's job.
Baird: I'm very happy here.
Reporter: How bad do you feel for Mr. Tory?
Baird: It's obviously a big disappointment. I mean John's a great guy. He's contributed a lot not just to the party but to the country and the province and it's obviously a disappointment.
Reporter: What does his loss say about the party's chances in the province?
Baird: I think there's got to be a significant amount of soul-searching as to what it's going to take to get the party back on track.
Reporter: Was it the party or was it John Tory?
Baird: These things are never a single cause.
Reporter: There's a few [MPs] from Queen's Park that moved up here. Do you see any of your colleagues going down or any of the first-time MPs from Ontario taking a run?
Baird: No idea. No idea.
Reporter: And you have no interest in —
Baird: I'm very happy with the job I have now.
Reporter: Has anyone approached you to ask you whether you are interested in the job from the party.
Baird: David Akin did earlier.
Reporter: From the party? He's from the party?
Baird: No.
There is only one candidate who can unite the Ontario PC Party, and hold it together with a pair of red suspenders:
Randy Hillier
What I understood from this post:
1. The question asked was poorly phrased. (Yes, I tend to be pedantic).
“Has anyone approached you to ask you whether you are interested in the job from the party.”
The phrase “from the party” is logically connected to “approached you.” That's where it should have been placed in the sentence. It would thus have been clear that the reporter was asking whether anyone from the PCs had approached Min. Baird.
2. This points out how easily communications can get fouled up when done in a scrum situation.
3. Minister Baird seems like an amiable fellow, judging from the number of smiles he sent your way.
4. Minister Baird is happy where he is.