With a highly touted merger all but complete, the Conservatives are looking for a politician to challenge Paul Martin in the next federal election.

Mario Canseco

Today, two separate events appear to have solidified the union between the Progressive Conservatives (PC) and the Canadian Alliance (CA) to create an assimilated right-wing party for the next federal election in Canada. First, CA members voted overwhelmingly in favour of the proposed merger. Then, the only legal action undertaken by Tory politicians to block the deal was dismissed.

CA leader Stephen Harper gleefully announced the final results of his party's mail-in ballot in Ottawa. More than 95 per cent of participant members supported the fusion. Tomorrow's PC "virtual convention" is expected to provide a similar outcome, although some Tories have been more vocal in their opposition to the proposed pact.

Last May, Peter MacKay became leader of the PC only after a deal with fellow hopeful David Orchard, a staunch opponent of any amalgamation with the CA. A backroom agreement between both men—where the possibility of a merger was abolished—secured Orchard's support for MacKay, clearing the path for a victory on the fourth ballot.

With the written document in hand, Orchard filed a lawsuit in an effort to block the merger. Superior Court justice Russell Juriansz brought and end to the controversy after deeming the action "without merit."

Lawmakers on both sides have strived to create the new Conservative Party of Canada as quickly as possible, given the fact that the next federal election could come in April or May 2004. The idea of a joined front generated early excitement. An October JMCK Communications poll placed the prospective new party at 31.2 per cent, just 4.8 per cent shy of the Liberals. The numbers were promising, as the ruling party has been in power since 1993 winning three straight majority governments under Jean Chrétien.

Later surveys have been less buoyant for right-wing supporters. This month's voting intention poll by Ipsos-Reid released by CTV and the Globe and Mail placed the Liberals with 43 per cent, well above all other rivals.

The surprise of the latest questionnaire was the sudden re-emergence of the New Democratic Party (NDP). Federal leader Jack Layton has successfully positioned his political organization—which has never fared better than third in any federal vote—as a true alternative, by aligning new Liberal leader Paul Martin more to the right than the left.

Just after being officially appointed—and with the benefit of no government responsibilities—Martin has traveled across the country, as some of Chrétien's cabinet members begin to exit the stage. Natural resources minister Herb Dhaliwal, and deputy prime minister and finance minister John Manley—who dropped out of the leadership race after Martin's lead became unbearable—will leave federal politics.

The question for the following weeks is who will take charge of the new "united right" coalition. The names of former Ontario premier Mike Harris and Reform party founder Preston Manning were mentioned early and often. Reports made public before the CA ballots were counted and released made it clear that Harper wants to be Martin's main challenger when the next federal election is called. 60 per cent of respondents to a SON/Radio Canada survey wanted the current CA leader to be in charge of the new political organization.

Even as the Liberals enjoy the support of more than 40 per cent of Canadians, the past 20 years provide two examples of how inheriting the top job in the nation is not enough to ensure a mandate. Liberal John Turner served for just 79 days after substituting Pierre Trudeau in 1984. Tory Kim Campbell supplanted Brian Mulroney in 1993, and was at 24 Sussex for just over four months.

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