Campaign strategists' careers on the line
Last Updated: Monday, January 9, 2006 | 10:49 AM ET
CBC News
Steve MacKinnon, national director of the Liberal party, cut his political teeth in New Brunswick Premier Frank McKenna's back room during the late 1980s and 1990s.
In 1989, MacKinnon landed a job as a junior assistant in McKenna's office. He spent nine years working with McKenna and then had a stint in the private sector.
In 2004, he was offered a job with the federal Liberals and is now the brains behind Paul Martin's campaign.
In the current campaign, MacKinnon says he's using the skills Frank McKenna taught him.
"I learned about integrity, I learned about what it means to be honest with people, to make a commitment and keep it, to stick to your guns and stick to your discipline," MacKinnon said. "He taught me a lot about that hard work is really one of the greatest qualities anyone can have."
But with just two weeks left in the campaign, the Liberals are fighting to keep their heads above water.
Don Desserud, a political science professor at the University of New Brunswick, says MacKinnon's team will have to do everything it can to ensure Martin triumphs in the debates. Some pollsters say Monday night's debate is critical for the Liberal leader, saying he has everything to lose while Tory Leader Stephen Harper has everything to gain.
Desserud couldn't agree more with that assessment. "Now it's the desperation hour, so they're going to be doing everything they possibly can to try and find some way out of this tailspin."
He says if the Liberals lose on Jan. 23, the party will purge its top-level staff. But he also says political expertise is in high demand and no matter what happens in this campaign, MacKinnon will likely be able to maintain his career in Canada's political backrooms.
