Sheila Copps to run for the presidency of the federal Liberal party

Former cabinet minister Sheila Copps has announced she will run for the presidency of the federal Liberals and fight any plans to have the party merge with the NDP.

Copps said she disagrees with former prime minister Jean Chretien’s comment that it is only a matter of time before the Liberals and the NDP become one entity.

She believes the party should instead unite internally so it can return to being a strong centrist option.

“I think we need to do some internal merging….so I don’t agree with my colleague and friend Mr. Chretien that the only solution is merging the Liberals and the NDP,” Copps told The Canadian Press on Wednesday.

Copps, 58, said it is important that the Liberals resurrect themselves to help counter Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservatives.

“If he (Harper) wants to get rid of the Liberal party, it is not to help the NDP,” Copps said.

“He wants to get rid of the Liberal party because he feels if there is a vacated centre and the country goes into two polar opposites, there’s a good chance he could stay in power in perpetuity.”

As for why she wants to become Liberal party president, Copps said: “I’ve got the seven-year itch and it needs scratching.”

And the former deputy prime minister appears to be under no illusions about the challenges she would face, saying she would like to bring in “money, memberships and morale — and not necessarily in that order.”

Copps said she wants to modernize the party, make it more accessible and have one million voters cast ballots in the leadership race.

“I’m hoping there are enough people across the country who have been out who believe in Liberal values and keeping the country’s values at the centre.”

One-time diplomat Ron Hartling and recently defeated MP Alexandra Mendes have already declared their intentions to run for the presidency as well.

The party’s next president will be decided at a convention in Ottawa in January.

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