John Manley politician: Encyclopedia II - John Manley politician - Post-political career

John Manley politician - Post-political career

Martin decided to offer Manley a role as Ambassador to the United States, a prestigious posting Manley said he would seriously consider. Several days after Prime Minister Martin was sworn in, Manley declined the ambassadorial appointment, mostly because it would take him out of the country and "out of the loop" for fundraising and other political activities with a long-term view towards his own eventual bid for the Liberal leadership someday. Shortly thereafter, Dalton McGuinty, Premier of Ontario and close friend of Manley, appointed him to chair a royal commission on the energy system of Ontario in the wake of the eastern North American blackout of 2003.

On May 26, 2004, Manley was named to the Nortel Networks board of directors. On January 27, 2005, he was nominated as a member of the CIBC Board of Directors. He is also chair of the Independent Task Force on the Future of North America, a project of the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations. In March 2005, the Task Force released a report that advocated deep integration or assimilation between Canada, Mexico and the United States. [3]

In an interview with La Presse published on January 24, 2005, he openly declared his ongoing interest in the Liberal leadership. In what was seen by political followers as an unusually frank admission, Manley said he would be a candidate to replace Paul Martin if he steps down in the next three to four years and is maintaining a cross-country organizational network for this purpose. Although he denied the existence of a formal pact with former cabinet-mate Martin Cauchon, he indicated that in a later leadership race he would probably throw his support to the younger man.

These leadership aspirations currently face some significant challenges. Manley is a supporter of closer U.S.-Canada relations at a time when perceived public sentiment supports more distance. His loyalty to Chrétien is seen by some as representing an 'old guard' of the Liberal Party. Finally, tenuous allegations from a witness at the Gomery Inquiry have linked Manley to the sponsorship scandal. In his denial of Chuck Guité's claims, Manley pointed out that as Industry Minister he had set up a separate entity to award advertising contracts, and thus would not have had the power that Guité attributes to him. Justice John Gomery's initial report did not link Manley to the scandal.

On January 25, 2006, Manley sent a letter to supporters indicating that he was not going to contest the Liberal leadership after the resignation of Paul Martin.[4]

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Post-political career", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki