HER POLITICAL POWERS. AND HER ABILITY TO USE THEM.
Jim Coyle
In the Ontario Liberal leadership race, Nate Erskine-Smith, a fresh-faced 39-year-old, recently raised the matter of age in a person’s capacity to take on what might be a long political battle.
Leadership campaigns are auditions for important jobs, he suggested. Due diligence is demanded. Difficult questions are part of the process, age among them.
A more seasoned and experienced chap might not have hurled himself into that particular hole.
Bonnie Crombie, 63, the apparent frontrunner for the party’s top job, and the target of Erskine-Smith’s musings, was quick and quite correct in putting the whipper-snapper in his place.
In the run to succeed leader Stephen Del Duca after the dismal Liberal campaign of 2022, Erskine-Smith said:
“We should be thinking of this as what kind of party do we want to build for the next 15-20 years. I think I have the opportunity to build renewal in a way that Crombie doesn’t.”
To which the Mississauga mayor promptly replied, in an op-ed in the Toronto Star, that she thought, upon hearing of these remarks, of broadcaster Lisa LaFlamme – an alleged victim of ageism in her ouster by CTV - “and her glorious grey hair.” Shrewd reference given the widespread public outrage on LaFlamme’s behalf.
She also thought, Crombie said, of “my mentor Hazel McCallion, who retired at the vibrant age of 93.” Even shrewder, given the public reverence for the woman fondly known as Hurricane Hazel.
Then Crombie brought the hammer down:
“Direct or veiled, any suggestion that a woman’s age has a negative impact on her ability to contribute, to make a difference, or make a long-term commitment to her work, isn’t just plain wrong – it’s harmful.”
Discussions of age are often fraught, seldom more so than when involving women, who have typically entered politics later in life after the heavy lifting of child-rearing years (for which they usually carry the lion’s share of responsibility) have passed.
Erskine-Smith, a Toronto MP, might have better read the room. He lives, after all, in a city in which 66-year-old Olivia Chow was just elected mayor.
Farther afield, King Charles III was crowned this year at 74. U.S. president Joe Biden is 80. His predecessor and possible 2024 Republican rival Donald Trump is 77.
The most famous names in American politics in recent years were Bernie Sanders, 81, Nancy Pelosi, 83, and Mitch McConnell, 81.
Crombie, by comparison, is youthful vigor itself.
There is no shortage of evidence that the trend of the last 60 years has been to push back everything – leaving home, getting married, having children and retirement.
Blame Erskine-Smith’s outmoded view, perhaps, on The Beatles. Their 1967 hit “When I’m Sixty-Four” made that age seem the epitome of decrepitude. Nowadays, it’s when many people – prime careers done, children raised – are looking for new mountains to conquer.
By 65, some are tired, some are raring to go. That’s the thing about stereotypes. We ought not apply one assumption to any group.
A federal discussion paper issued last summer said that while society widely condemns other forms of discrimination such as racism and sexism, “ageism remains accepted and unchallenged in many circumstances.”
Erskine-Smith might have consulted the fairly recent history of his own party for some guidance in this regard.
In 2012, when interim federal Liberal leader Bob Rae announced he would not seek the permanent job he was asked if his age, then 63, had something to do with it.
“I think that’s bullshit,” Rae retorted in a manner both pithy and appropriate.
Now 74, he is still going strong as Canada’s ambassador to the United Nations and, it could be argued, he has seldom seemed more capable and sure-footed in his work.
The reason for that was nicely put by the late American writer and poet May Sarton, when she said in her book “At Seventy” that she loved being older.
“This is the best time of my life,” she wrote. “I am more myself than I have ever been. I am happier, more balanced and. . .more powerful.
“I am better able to use my powers.”
Erskine-Smith likely found he had poked a tiger in the ribs with a short stick. He managed in a single day’s work to offend both older Ontarians and women.
He also learned of Bonnie Crombie’s political powers.
And her ability to use them.
. . .
Following the release of this opinion piece by Jim Coyle, the below statement was submitted to Air Quotes Media on behalf of Nate Erskine-Smith, MP for Beaches-East York and candidate for the Ontario Liberal leadership:
"There is no place for ageism in our politics. I did not and would not mention Mayor Crombie’s age as part of my case for generational renewal in the Ontario Liberal Party. To be clear, there are many great politicians of all ages who bring serious ideas and inspire people to get involved.
From day one of my campaign, I’ve said that Ontario Liberals now need the same generational renewal we saw in our federal party 10 years ago. It’s an argument I’ve made since I started and before Mayor Crombie joined the race. I left law for politics because of that call for renewal, alongside a commitment to strong local representation.
We deserve better than the Conservative government and I will work relentlessly to rebuild our party to win in 2026. I’ve been hard at work doing just that since October. Of course, the reality is that there's no guarantee we go third to first, and I'm equally committed to serious grassroots rebuilding over the long term. Crombie’s campaign has argued for “Bonnie in One” which suggests a shorter-term focus that I disagree with, particularly if that approach means overlooking the issues that animate and excite our young members, such as Ontario’s housing crisis and our need for a serious climate plan.
I am committed to doing the hard work necessary over the long term of rebuilding absolutely everywhere, and am demonstrating it in my grassroots engagement throughout the province during this leadership race."
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Jim Coyle - Jim Coyle spent 40 years in journalism with The Canadian Press, the Ottawa Citizen and Toronto Star. Over his career, Coyle covered breaking news, wrote columns, features, editorials and sports. He was nominated for National Newspaper Awards in four different categories. He has filed from every province and territory in Canada and has covered papal and royal tours, murder trials and judicial inquiries, the Grey Cup and the Calgary Olympics, and more elections and leadership conventions than he cares to recall. After retiring from the Star in 2018, Coyle taught journalism at Humber College. His proudest accomplishments are getting sober almost 30 years ago and, with his wife Andrea Gordon, also a former Star reporter, raising four sons.
The views and opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of Air Quotes Media. Read more opinion contributions via QUOTES from Air Quotes Media.