Advertisement

Shunned Canadian Liberal leader resigns

Leader of the Liberal opposition Michael Ignatieff speaks to supporters at a town hall meeting in a swing riding on a 2011 Federal Election Campaign stop in North Vancouver, British Columbia, April 17, 2011. UPI/Heinz Ruckemann
1 of 3 | Leader of the Liberal opposition Michael Ignatieff speaks to supporters at a town hall meeting in a swing riding on a 2011 Federal Election Campaign stop in North Vancouver, British Columbia, April 17, 2011. UPI/Heinz Ruckemann | License Photo

TORONTO, May 3 (UPI) -- The leader of Canada's Liberal party who lost his parliamentary seat in Monday's federal election, Michael Ignatieff, announced his resignation Tuesday.

Speaking in his native Toronto, the 64-year-old former history professor who lived in England and the United States told a news conference an interim party leader would be named Wednesday, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported.

Advertisement

Apart from losing his seat to a Conservative, Ignatieff's party made its worst showing in history, losing 43 seats in Ottawa. The Liberals now have 34 seats after logging less than 19 percent of the popular vote, results showed.

The Conservatives, under Prime Minister Stephen Harper, ended five years of minority rule with a majority of 167 seats in the 308-seat Parliament. Ignatieff said the Conservatives' "unscrupulous campaign of personal attacks" in the past two years had swayed voters.

"Of course they attacked me, of course they vilified me," he said. "But look, the only thing Canadians like less than a loser is a sore loser, and I go out of politics with my head held high.

The Liberals are likely to hold a leadership convention by the fall, the CBC said.

Advertisement

There was no immediate indication when the separatist Bloc Quebecois would vote to replace its leader, Gilles Duceppe. He lost his Montreal-area seat to a socialist New Democratic Party candidate and announced his resignation Monday night.

Elections Canada said 60 percent of voters turned out to give the Conservatives 167 of the 308-seat Parliament. The NDP under Jack Layton became the official opposition for its first time with 102 seats. Liberals fell to 34 seats, the Bloc Quebecois won four and the Green Party made its parliamentary debut with one seat in British Columbia.

Latest Headlines