Opinion | History reminds Ontario’s languishing Liberals that they need to make their own luck

A better question: Who or what replaces a tired premier?

Four decades ago last week, David Peterson’s Liberals toppled a Tory dynasty that had endured for 42 years. A little-known provincial politician, Peterson wasn’t merely lucky.

In politics as in life, luck is where opportunity meets preparation.

Peterson’s Liberals weren’t just waiting in the wings. They were ready to take flight by offering an alternative for voters — even if it didn’t always go according to plan.

The opposition Liberals had spent years preparing for power, cobbling together a platform of progressive ideas and a cast of worthy candidates. All these years later, it’s easy to forget the dramatic rise and fall of Peterson’s Liberals — and the impact on the province for years to come:

The Peterson government banned extra-billing by doctors, who thought they could charge patients more than OHIP permitted and went on strike to get their way — only to lose their way.

His Liberals introduced pay equity, premised on equal pay for work of equal value, back when a legislating a fair deal for women was considered a big deal.

The new government made the environment a priority, reducing acid rain and boosting recycling. And the Liberals pushed for open government, blowing off the cobwebs at Queen’s Park with a public swearing-in of cabinet while reining in patronage abuses and fostering freedom of information laws.

For better or for worse, Peterson — now 81 and chair of Torstar, parent of the Toronto Star — also made national unity a priority, later paying a price for supporting the Meech Lake constitutional reforms sought by Quebec and pushed by then-prime minister Brian Mulroney.

Many of his former cabinet ministers and staff have been working hard to keep that legacy alive. This month, they held an anniversary celebration where Peterson held forth, preceded by current Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie, talking about how it happened then — and how to make it happen again.

The lessons of history are not easily repeated. But they may well be worth relearning, especially for Liberals now languishing in opposition.

What would it take to defeat a Tory dynasty again? Liberals impatient for change — and changing leaders — may want to take stock before seeking a quick fix.

Times change, and what worked 40 years ago cannot be counted on to work again in an online world of short attention spans. He won election at a time of more focused media coverage of provincial politics, where local newspapers sent reporters to Queen’s Park and opposition parties were able to break through.

Peterson first won power thanks to a historic minority government accord, propped up by Bob Rae’s New Democrats for two years. They consolidated power with a 1987 election victory that delivered a strong majority, only to lose power in the snap election of 1990 after Peterson — riding high in the polls — suddenly fell out of favour.

Speaking at the Liberal event this month, Peterson acknowledged sticking his neck out on Meech Lake, not least by diluting Ontario’s representation in a reformed Senate and endorsing Quebec’s distinct society. But he made no apologies for his stance, arguing passionately that nothing could be more important than national unity — then and now.

Peterson also stressed the importance of cabinet government, relying on a talented team of ministerial heavyweights who were given the authority to govern without unelected gatekeepers in the premier’s office second-guessing every move. His cabinets included the likes of Ian Scott, Greg Sorbara, Robert Nixon, Sean Conway, Elinor Caplan and Jim Bradley.

But it wasn’t just about substance. His style also captured the public’s imagination, as Peterson donned red ties with the knots loosened just so on his open-collar shirts, suit jackets slung purposefully over his shoulder, sleeves rolled up — long before Dalton McGuinty and Justin Trudeau embraced the look.

Peterson also dragged the Liberals away from their roots in rural parochialism to rebrand the party as an urban, progressive vehicle. Ironically, the big cities of Toronto and Ottawa are now Liberal strongholds, while the party is having a hard time reclaiming support in places like Peterson’s native London, vote-rich suburbs and regional swaths of southwestern, eastern and northern Ontario.

For today’s Ontario Liberals, many of whom were in the room as Peterson reminisced about his highs and lows, it served as a reminder that politics can be a combination of substance and style, platforms and people. But it is also about making your own luck — not just counting on good luck — by seizing every opportunity and doing all the preparation.