RED BUS TOUR BLOG

Today's agenda was great. We first drove off to Edson, but I underestimated the time it would take to get there and we were about 30 minutes late! Fortunately, all of the local Liberals waited for us, drinking their good ol' Tim Hortons coffee. Most of them were impressed! And they took a delegate intention form to stand as a delegate for Martha.

Then we went off to Hinton to meet with some local Liberals. I think Martha had her first uninterrupted full meal that day, so Winnie and I were quite pleased.

After our lunch in Hinton, we went through Highway 93 from Jasper to Banff. It was a gorgeous drive. Well, actually, Martha drove, and she seemed to enjoy her time away from her Treo and the laptop. Here are some of the pictures we took along the way...

Along the highway, we saw a huge (huuuge!) deer or elk or moose or...

Martha and Winnie with some beautiful views of the Rockies.

Martha and I standing at a marker indicating where the Columbia Icefield was in 1935.

Our final event for the Alberta tour was at Betsy's home. Betsy is Martha's sister. She has a beautiful home along the Bow River in Banff. When Betsy's assistant Debbie told me that the entire town of Banff was invited, I thought she was kidding.... Guess not! Martha was engaged in some hot-topic discussions surrounding the gun registry and healthcare with hordes of Banff residents. Some purchased memberships and made the decision to run as delegates for Martha.

After spending almost two weeks with Martha (non-stop!), I have gotten to know Martha as a truly genuine individual with so much to offer Canada, and the world. Thank you, Martha.

Martha tried to wake Winnie and I up in the morning. Neither of us heard her. We were just too tired! Our first event was at Donna's home. She has a beautiful home and I always tell her that she looks like Glenn Close. :-) The event was very well-attended, and everyone was clearly impressed. It wasn't supposed to be a fundraiser, but we raised quite a few dollars! Thank you, Red Deer.

After a lengthy six- or seven-hour drive, we arrived in Sexsmith, Alberta - Peace River country!! This was Martha's second visit. The response after her first visit was absolutely amazing - Neil Peacock, a former provincial candidate and director of the Peace Country Tender Beef Co-Op, has been very vocal of his support for Martha and organized a fundraiser for us. The response from tonight's event? Even more astounding - everyone took a delegate intention form to stand as a delegate for Martha.

Sunday, August 27

Finally, a day of sleep at home! Our first event in Edmonton was a meeting with representatives from the Seniors Commission and the local Womens' Policy Association. Martha then went out to Sherwood Park to meet with a handful of Liberals, including Ron Symic - past candidate for Edmonton-Sherwood Park - who is endorsing Martha.

The biggest event of the tour took place in the evening. Over eighty local Liberals came out to hear Martha speak at the Palace Conference Centre. Weslyn Mather, the MLA for Edmonton-Mill Woods, came out to personally support Martha's leadership bid, which appeared in Global TV and the local papers. Both Martha and Weslyn were given standing ovations, in recognition of their public service. Bridget Pastoor (MLA for Lethbridge East) also joined us as one of our guest speakers. Picture below.

Next destination: Lethbridge! We all met at Dianne King's house. Dianne is a wonderful lady and the President of the local riding association. Chris Spearman, one of our supporters in Lethbridge, gave an impressive introduction to Martha. There were some other notables there - Bridget Pastoor, MLA for Lethbridge-East, and Senator Joyce Fairbairn, who came to visit for the second time (we were in Lethbridge during our first tour).

Final destination of the day: Calgary. Rob, Janice Kinch, and Beverly Anderson did an awesome job of putting together our first fundraiser for the tour. It was held at Ed's, a cute little restaurant in the heart of downtown Calgary (across from the Stampede grounds!). More than 50 people came out to hear what Martha had to say. Martha released her agriculture policy today - you will be able to see it on our website shortly!

After what seemed to be a very long day, we made our drive up to Red Deer to stay at Donna Herron's home for the night.

Thursday, August 24

Today was a big day for Martha. The morning consisted of a meeting hosted by Ralph Goodale, followed by a closed-door session between the Liberal caucus and all the Liberal leadership candidates. I came across Judy Sgro again! She told me that Martha did fabulously.

We also made a trip out to Vancouver Island, home to our BC Provincial Coordinator Paul McKivett. MP Keith Martin hosted an evening reception with Bill Graham who had some glowing words for Martha and her red bus campaign. The ferry ride was fabulous with some gorgeous views. She also had a good discussion with former Minister of the Environment David Anderson.

Jung Suk, Alberta Campaign Coordinator

Wednesday, August 23

Another early morning...beautiful weather! I couldn't believe how active the city was in the morning. Winnie and I both shared a scone and had some coffee before joining up with Martha and escorting her to the convention centre. After realizing how underdressed I was in comparison with some of the other "politicos" at the convention, I wore a nice suit with some black dress shoes that killed my feet. After quickly deciding to host a meet and greet reception at the hotel, we walked down Robson Street to find a printer to print off some invitations. We delivered some around the convention hall, and I made the effort to pass one off to Keith Boag of CBC fame.

At 3:30, we held a very well-attended reception. It was packed with Liberals who came to hear Martha's ideas. We were also quite suprised that Keith Boag dropped by and listened to Martha for close to two hours. I could see that he was very intrigued...and very impressed!

Later in the evening, we quickly went off to the main convention hall where hundreds (maybe even thousands) of Liberals rallied together to hear Bill Graham and the leadership candidates. Martha delivered a powerful speech (and a powerful whistle...that's another story) and was surrounded by Liberals who wanted to congratulate her on an awesome campaign. MP Judy Sgro also joined in the praises and gave me a nice hug. (We met the day before a couple of times...)

The Young Liberals of BC hosted an event later that evening at the Caprice Night Club. It was some good...LOUD ... times.

Jung Suk, Alberta Campaign Coordinator

After the morning discussion, Martha, Winnie, and I walked with two of the other candidates - Ken Dryden and Hedy Fry - to a bottle depot that was created as part of an effort to assist homeless individuals - United We Can. Ken Lyotier, the founder and manager of the depot, gave us a tour of the facility.

The tour took a bit longer than we thought and Martha was a bit late to her first National Caucus meeting. Winnie and I got a brief break, so we decided to walk through downtown for a bit and catch a bite to eat at a local sushi bar. Having observed Martha in action in the past, I always recognize the need to get her food! We chipped in and got Martha a bento box, which Martha ate with delight. We were so happy!

Martha, Winnie and I sat outside the convention centre...not to discuss politics, or the campaign, but surprisingly, the Women's Caucus Debate...which was to take place in 30 minutes. We quickly brainstormed a couple of pointers before it was time for Martha to get inside, wait, and walk onto the stage! Martha, as usual, did fabulously.

After the debate, Martha attracted a bit of media attention. James McNaulty from The Province wanted to chat and write a profile on her. They had quite a long chat, so we left them and walked through downtown again. The things to see are endless!

Jung Suk, Alberta Campaign Coordinator

Jung Suk, Alberta Campaign Coordinator

Martha and the Big Red Bus made its way to Peterborough and Trent University this past weekend to celebrate the OYL’s 5th Annual Summer Fling. It was another well-attended and successful OYL weekend filled with exciting guest speakers, fun events and Leadership candidates.

We arrived Friday evening for the opening ceremonies and social event where the tunes were hot, the political chatter was heavy and the dancing wild. Judging from the young, weary-looking faces on Saturday morning the party must have gone late Friday night/Saturday morning. Crazy kids these days.

Presentations from Don Guy, Hon. Leona Dombrowsky, and Justin Trudeau throughout Saturday showcased how successful the OYL has been at recruiting high-profile guests to come in and speak to Ontario’s Liberal Youth. Martha was in attendance for the majority of all three presentations and found them all very interesting.

Saturday evening’s social event in downtown Peterborough was also a great time. A few lucky Young Liberals got a ride in the Big Red Bus from the Peterborough Golf & Country Club to the bar. The excitement they showed while riding the bus simply re-affirmed the fact that The Bus has become the most recognizable and talked about aspect of the Leadership campaign thus far. And it’s only July!

Congratulations to all of the winners from the weekend, as well as to Andrew T, Bardish Chagger and the entire OYL Executive for putting together a very solid Summer Fling. See you next year!

Be sure to keep your heads up in early August – the Bus will be in a town near you. Don’t you dare miss it!

Elliot

P.S. Hot New Campaign Tunes: Tropicalia: A Brazilian Revolution in Sound

What a night!!! Martha and guests kicked up their heels last night at an extremely successful fundraiser at a bar in downtown Toronto. The temperature was hot, the ‘Martha-tini’s’ were cool and the Environment was front and centre. For a few hours we all relaxed and chatted about the Liberal Leadership race and how wonderful Martha has been doing. The Toronto Star article was still on the tip of everyone’s tongue – people are responding like crazy to it.

Highlights from Martha’s remarks regarding the Environment included the need for more funding and development of public transit, the benefits of solar power and a gentle reminder that air pollution isn’t something we can forget as the focus shifts more and more towards global warming. It was clear from the crowd’s applause that Martha isn’t alone in thinking that the environment is one of the most pressing issues in this Leadership race.

All in all the evening was a roaring success and we’re looking forward to the more events like this.

Joyeux 14 juillet

Elliot
 

June 6th, 2006

I've never driven across Canada before. Our trip out East was just the beginning. To be able to visit Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, PEI (we're coming out to Newfoundland and Labrador to see you guys next) was incredible. We then headed West, deep into Ontario, across the Prairies, through the Rockies before finally arriving in Vancouver, visiting The Island. And like that, we turn around, head back, make our way home.

Once you hit the coast you take stock of what you've been fortunate enough to see. And as we make our way back through the Rockies, into Alberta (here we come!!!) you think to yourself how lucky you are to live in such a beautiful, diverse and massive country. It's one of the things that makes this whole trip so great (along with meeting terribly interesting people along the way). It's what makes this country great.

L - R - Everett, Martha & Elliot - looking relaxed

This entire campaign, the purpose of the Tour Bus, is about listening to all of you. We've been doing that from the day we left Toronto. Now, we want to hear your stories. We want to hear what you think makes this country great. We are here to listen. We are a captive audience. So send those stories in. Be heard.

Elliot

After Martha’s run - and Elliot and my sitting - we went to our first event in Langley BC. It was a meeting with Al Peterson, the riding association president, and the Langley riding association at the oldest hotel in BC, built in the 1880’s. It’s a beautiful bed and breakfast with most of the original construction still there. We would love to come back, but by the sounds of things, getting a room can be tough.

For our last event of the day, we met with a number of Vancouver Young Liberals at the LPCBC office. It was in an office building downtown, and the air-conditioning gets turned off at 5:30, so it was pretty warm. But the meeting was really great nonetheless. It was a good opportunity to hear what the key issues are for some of the BC youth and, to find out what they are passionate about.

We’re heading to our campsite just outside Vancouver, to get some sleep for the long drive to Alberta tomorrow listening to some Greyboy Allstars.

This morning seemed to come a little earlier than most after a really great birthday celebration last night. After an amazing dinner at Tapastree, a couple of friends from Vancouver showed us around town. Thanks to everyone for such a fun time!

Mohammed, or “Mo”, one of our tireless volunteers on the campaign met up with us today. He’s out here on business and took a bit of time to get a taste of life on the Bus. It was great to have Mo around, and he seemed to like the Bus Tour.

Mo met us at our first event at the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club with a number of the Vancouver Quadra riding association members. The RVYC is absolutely beautiful. Hopefully Martha made a good impression and they might invite us back for a sail :-)

At the end of the day we had a conference call with the campaign team to prepare for the first national debate in Winnipeg on June 10th. There’s nothing like a little debate prep to get the campaign fired up. We’re really looking forward to the first opportunity for some head to head discussions with the other candidates.

Everett

Elliot and I finally made it into Vancouver this evening. The drive through the mountains was gorgeous. We drove through every type of weather imaginable. I was a little worried about all the steep hills through the Rockies but the Bus was able to handle it pretty well.

A big thanks to my aunt Betsy for letting us crash at her place last night. It looks like we’re going to be seeing her again soon. We have to pick up the last load of laundry that we left in the dryer this morning. At least we have a good excuse to stop in Banff again!






We just finished dinner at a funky sushi place called The Eatery with Blain, an old friend of Elliot’s. We are leaving the city now on our way to the campground. We’re staying right near the ferry so we can make the first ride to Victoria in the morning and meet up with Martha again.


Everett

Mother Nature’s prowess was on full-display as we drove from beautiful Brandon, MB to regal Regina, SK. For over a hundred kilometers we could see huge black storm clouds looming ahead of us, daring us to continue. When we finally reached the ominous clouds the wind was so strong that it was blowing us all over the highway. Suddenly, at the drop of a hat, as we continued through the storm, the torrential rain turned to hail. Immediately Everett had to slow the Bus down; the hail was so heavy and the pellets so big we were worried the windshield was going to crack. There was so much hail that the highway looked as if there had been a fresh snowfall just minutes ago. But as quickly as the storm hit us, the sun began to creep from behind the clouds and finally started shinning through, restoring our faith in the Good Weather Gods. By the time we pulled into downtown Regina it was another beautiful day.

One of the reasons we were in Regina, other than the fact that it’s one of the most welcoming cities in Canada, was to attend a dinner for the Liberal Leader of Regina. The event was held at the beautiful Radisson Plaza in downtown Regina and it was meant to start at six thirty, which was exactly when we arrived. But what we failed to remember was that we were still on Manitoba time - all three of us had completely forgotten the hour difference. Typical Toronto, we were old. Needless to say, it was a tad embarrassing.

But when the dinner did finally start right away we knew it was going to be a great night! David Karwacki delivered a great speech outlining why Liberal values and policies are what’s needed to secure a strong and prosperous future for Saskatchewan. David is in the middle of a bi-election and we wish him the best of luck! For all of you Saskatchewan Liberals out there, E-Day is June 19th so get out there, volunteer some time and let’s get David elected!!!

Strangely enough, we were not the only Liberal Leadership campaign to be in attendance. It was great catching up with some of the other Leadership Candidates to exchange some tales from the trail. We were all having such a good time that we probably stayed out much later than any of us were planning. I’m leaving for Ottawa very early tomorrow morning for a few campaign related matters. So it appears as if it’s going to be another four hour sleep in the Chapters parking lot tonight.

After Ottawa, I’ll be attending the Red Bras Rock event in Saskatoon on June 2nd. It’s wonderful event for a an even better cause. Come out if you can ladies! The boys are driving the Tour Bus to Victoria, BC. They’ll be continuing the updates from the bus as they go. I’ll be meeting up with them on June 3rd in Victoria just in time for Everett’s 23rd birthday!


Martha

It was another early morning as we made our way west for the 2hr drive to Portage La Prairie, in the riding of Portage – Lisgar. It’s a quaint little town right on Crescent Lake. We enjoyed a wholesome lunch at the Canad Inns with Riding President Vince Ready and a number of other local Liberals. After lunch we had a couple of interviews with some local media including one with Angela Brown from the Daily Graphic & Herald-Leader. They both went much smoother than yesterday’s interview ;-).

Back to Winnipeg for a meeting at Molgate Place with the Manitoba Senior Liberal Commission. The meeting ran longer than initially planned – it was too interesting to leave without properly finishing up the conversation. This tour is about listening to Canadians and Liberals alike so it’s always worth pushing it when in such good company.

From that point on in the evening the three of us split up. Elliot and Everett grabbed a bite to eat with an old friend of Elliot’s from McGill named Andy, while Senator Zimmer took me to a Manitoba Moose game to meet with the Winnipeg Mayor, who happens to be the owner of the team. What an exciting game, capped off by a grand slam leading the home team to a big win!

To end the evening off right a big group of us met up at Earl’s for some dinner before heading to Saffron’s for some pops before hitting the hay. We need to get some sleep before waking up at six to get to a breakfast in Selkirk but it’s just as important to have a little fun every once in a while as well, right?



Martha



Today’s Album of Choice:

Bruce Springsteen “We Shall Overcome - The Seeger Sessions”
 

The eternal search for easy-to-access internet continues. We've had quite a difficult time this morning finding a place we could gain access to our email. The beauty of life on the road!

After a number of failed attempts we ended up setting-up shop in the lobby of the Prince Arthur Hotel in downtown Thunder Bay, for which we are grateful. So thank you Prince Arthur! Adding to our frustrations is that cell phone reception is a tad dodgy to say the least. But we're learning to love it and deal with it. It certainly makes things interesting!



But our luck was about to change as the Bus Tour arrived in Dryden, ON just in time for a big event. Saturday happened to be the day in which the 4th Annual Dryden Zirka Dancers Ukranian Festival was being held. It's an absolutely amazing event with traditional Ukranian dances being performed by teams, young and old, from all over Northern Ontario. Some of the dance moves being pulled were unbelievable. And where do I begin with the food - perogies, cabbage rolls, sausages, borsht, and some deep fried pastries to top it all off. After all of that eating I was considering getting up on that stage myself for some exercise.


In between the food and dancing Roger Valley, MP for Kenora, was kind enough to show us around the festival. It is quite clear how much respect people have for Roger and how much they appreciate the time he spends in the riding - it was like walking around with a rock star, everybody knew him on a first name basis. Roger was then kind enough to have organized a meeting with key members of the riding association. The topic of conversation ranged from Northern agricultural issues to foreign policy to day-care programs and funding. It was yet another example of a constructive, educational and fascinating discussion, something we seem to be doing with Liberals right across Canada on a day-to-day basis.



As we made our way further west we stopped in the picturesque town of Kenora for wholesome dinner with Joel McGrath and a large number of Kenora Liberals. We were fortunate enough to be joined by a number of prominent city councillors as well. We all very much enjoyed the delicious Italian food cooked up by Restaurante Italiano Pizzeria. The talk around the table focused for the most part on aboriginal issues and their impact on the area. Truly enlightening. There is nothing quite like first-hand, on-the-ground knowledge to truly give someone a proper understanding of what's actually happening.

We're just crossing the Ontario/Manitoba border, making our way to a campground in Winnipeg. The driving today has been made that much more exciting by the wildlife we've spotted. Here's the tally thus: 6 deer, 3 moose, and one baby black bear. The country side we drive by everyday is simply beautiful - yet another reason why the Bus Tour has been such a success!

 

We kicked off this next part of the Tour with a really nice meeting with Dave Hudson and over a dozen members of the Parry Sound - Muskoka riding association at the Inn at the Falls in Bracebridge. We then headed up to Parry Sound for some great sangria with a group of very inspiring female entrepreneurs, business women and artists at the Whistle Stop. Aptly named, conversation had to be put on hold a few times as the train passed by right outside. Among a number of highlights from the evening for me was a woman who said that she was so disenchanted with politicians and politics that she didn’t even want to vote in the past election, but was now re-inspired.

I would quickly like to thank Maddie, one of our campaign volunteers, for her help. Maddie joined us on the Tour yesterday, and is heading home tomorrow on the (commercial) bus. We hope she had a good time, and will join us again soon.

Before parking down by the water, we caught the last period of the Edmonton – Anaheim game at Don Cherry’s. What a game!

Martha
 

Our first day of campaigning! Martha and Elliot spent the day meeting with various people including a number of MPs and former PM Paul Martin. Everett spent most of the day driving around Ottawa trying to find a place to park this beast, but ended up having to settle on right in front of the parliament buildings for most of the day. He eventually was asked very politely by an officer to leave. Driving around downtown is a little different than the highway. We clipped a few curbs and brushed a few trees, but we’re getting the hang of it.

The team had a really nice meet and greet at the Old Dubliner right in the Ottawa market. It was a perfect afternoon to be out on the patio. We finished the night off with a dinner at a place called eighteen then back to the campground.