Man of Integrity Quits the Grits

David Kilgour, MP Edmonton Mill Woods - Beaumont

Ottawa Citizen, April 19, 2005

News, A14

In 1904, a young, thrusting parliamentarian in Great Britain broke with his party over its support for protectionism. Elected a Conservative, he became a Liberal. His critics called him "a bounder" and "an opportunist," but he called himself a free trader.

It was the first time that Winston Churchill would switch parties in his long, luminous career in politics. Before returning to the Conservatives years later, he would sit as an Independent and run (and lose) as "independent anti-socialist." Whatever his affiliation, he was never afraid to challenge the orthodoxy. When his party could not accommodate him, he left it altogether; sometimes he simply sat outside it, as he did in "the wilderness years" of the 1930s when, as a backbencher, he repeatedly warned the government of the dangers of Nazi Germany.

Some saw this as calculation and careerism, and to a degree, it was. But as much as his serial loyalties reflected personal ambition, they reflected intellectual honesty. In the end, Mr. Churchill's unflinching resolve would make him the great man of the 20th century.

That kind of confident independence is unusual in politics today. In fact, challenging authority is seen less as a virtue than a vice.

So when MP David Kilgour left the Liberals last week to sit as an Independent, and later said he would quit politics altogether, the response was largely critical. From the Liberals there was anger (one fellow MP told him to "f--- off), from the Tories there was contempt, and from the public, indifference. Apart from his loyalists at home, he was seen as flaky, capricious, vain and self-seeking.

He deserves better. Mr. Kilgour has sat in the House of Commons since 1979, which makes him among its most senior members. He is one of only two Liberals from Alberta (since Confederation, only two Alberta MPs have served longer). He has been a parliamentary secretary, a deputy speaker and a junior minister.

There is more. Mr. Kilgour is a lawyer, who was a former Crown attorney and constitutional adviser before entering politics. He has written three books. He is thoughtful, articulate and bilingual.

In other words, Mr. Kilgour brings intelligence and experience to public life, which may be the reason his constituents in Edmonton have re-elected him seven times. Why, then, is his departure from politics receiving little attention and causing little regret?

Probably because Mr. Kilgour is a maverick. He makes noise. He doubts convention. He asks questions. On human rights, western alienation, taxation, same-sex marriage and a host of other issues, he's outspoken. In Canada, where deference to authority is an article of faith, that's dangerous.

In 1987, Brian Mulroney fired Mr. Kilgour as parliamentary secretary for attacking the ethics of the Conservative government and its treatment of western Canadians. In 1990, the Tories expelled him from caucus after voting against the GST.

He sat as an Independent Conservative before joining the Liberals in 1991, and has been elected from Edmonton under their banner four times. That's extraordinary in a province which distrusts Grits. His constituents apparently appreciated his independence.

It wasn't that he was a senior minister. Indeed, in his career as a member of the party in power, Mr. Kilgour held only junior portfolios. The Conservatives gave him nothing; Jean Chretien, who had one other Albertan in caucus, made him Secretary of State for Latin America and Africa, then Secretary of State for Asia.

When Paul Martin arrived, Mr. Kilgour thought he was going to be Minister of Agriculture. Instead, Mr. Martin dropped him. Some blamed his infelicitous comments on gay marriage, others the tension between him and fellow Albertan Anne McClellan, the deputy prime minister, who thought he wasn't a team player.

He was free to speak his mind, and so he did. In Parliament, Mr. Kilgour is one of the foremost advocates of human rights -- in Burma, Rwanda, Vietnam, Ukraine, and Sudan, where he has recently rebuked his government for not doing enough. He has strong views on Canada's foreign policy, international development, and Taiwan, which he supports fervently. He has broken with his government on same-sex marriage, as have other Liberals. Now he has delivered a stinging rebuke on the sponsorship scandal.

His views, let it be said, are not always judicious, progressive or generous, which explains why he never went further in either party. A more prudent politician, his eye on the prize, would have said nothing, and there were times Mr. Kilgour should have taken that opportunity.

Still, David Kilgour has been a voice of artless integrity for 26 years in that conclave of conformity known as party politics in Canada. He will be missed.

Andrew Cohen is a professor of journalism and international affairs at Carleton University.

E-mail: andrew_cohen@carleton.ca