Yes, I'm referring to our neighbors to the North in Canuckistan; land of hockey, poutine, smoked meat, Tim Horton's, and Molson. I lived there for a few months and thought that this might be interesting. The actual selection process will take place on December 2nd (Saturday). So here's a guide to it all.
What is the Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party is historically dominant political party in Canada, and its ideology generally falls in the center/center left of the Canadian political spectrum; here they'd be somewhere in between the center and the left wing of the Democratic Party.
Background
In the wake of ther January 2006 defeat to the Conservatives (here they'd be moderate GOPers) and Stephen Harper, in the January 2006 federal election, Prime Minister/Liberal Leader Paul Martin resigned, paving the way for a new leader of the centre-left Liberal Party of Canada. The Liberals lost primarily because of a)scandal and corruption, and b)they had been in power since 1993 and voters wanted a change. That's why there is a Liberal Leadership Convention this weekend.
A total of 11 candidates stepped forward to run, of which three (Hedy Fry, Carolyn Parrish, and Maurizio Bevilacqua) eventually dropped out. That left 8 candidates: Michael Ignatieff, Bob Rae, Gerard Kennedy, Stephane Dion, Ken Dryden, Scott Brison, Martha Hall Findlay, and Joe Volpe. A few weeks ago, the delegate selection process took place, which effectively narrowed the field to four: Ignatieff, Rae, Kennedy, and Dion. The other four each have roughly 5% or less of the delegates, so they're all effectively out of contention. Currently, Ignatieff leads in the total number of delegates with around 27%, Rae behind him at 18%, and Kennedy and Dion around 15-16% each.
There's a lot more background that can be found here (Wikipedia) and here (Official Liberal Party).
The Big Four
Michael Ignatieff (Ontario): Current MP for Etobicoke-Lakeshore (Greater Toronto Area), former Harvard professor.
Comparitive US politician: John Kerry, somehwhat of a brahmin
Michael Ignatieff is a relative newcomer viewed by many as a rising star within the Liberal Party. He follows somewhat in the traditions of Pierre Eliot Trudeau as a sort of 'philosopher king', and his background is in academia. He won his seat in Parliament when he was summoned back from Harvard and parachuted into a safe Toronto riding. His chief appeal is that he's a really smart guy who could outfox Harper and the Conservatives, and the fact that he's thought to have appeal in Quebec, a big battleground in Canadian federal elections.
He has baggage from his academic writings; notably the fact that he supported our invasion of Iraq. He has also been a supporter of Canada's troop commitment to Afghanistan. He's also somewhat of a political novice, and it showed when he made a gaffe; he called Israel's attack of Qana a "war crime" which lost him signifigant support from the Jewish community and Israel supporters. So, the big knock against Ignatieff is his inexperience.
Bob Rae (Ontario): Former NDP Premier (analagous to a Governor) of Ontario. Rae is a newcomer to the Liberal Party, having served as an NDP Premier, MP, and MPP. The NDP (New Democratic Party) sits to the ideological left of the Liberal Party, and is considered to be a socialist party.
Comparitive US politician: hard to describe, but I'll describe him as Howard Dean in that he's probably the most left-wing, and is an ex-Governor/Premier, but his tenure was not nearly as successful as Dean's
Rae has a lot of baggage in the form of his stint as Ontario Premier. The NDP's 1990 election victory came as a surprise, even to the NDP. This resulted in a sub-par management team which wasn't up to the task of running Ontario. Many Ontarians view his Premiership as a fairly unmitigated disaster, as he ran up massive debts, alienated the unions, and failed to lead Ontario out of its worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. That said, he was a superb opposition leader for the NDP, and he is the only MP in the race with actual leadership experience.
It is widely thought that if he was elected leader, the Liberals fortunes would suffer in Ontario, the electoral importance of which cannot be overstated (its roughly the equivalent of Pennsylvania, Michigan, Illinois, and California rolled into one). A weak Liberal Ontario performance would be a death sentence in a general election.
Gerard Kennedy (Ontario): Former Ontario Minister of Education and MPP for Parkdale-High Park (he resigned his seat to run for the Liberal Leadership), ran two food banks in Edmonton and Toronto.
Comparitive US politician: like John Edwards, young and energetic
Kennedy is seen as the fresh, young face in the leadership race. Its thought that Kennedy could successfully appeal to a lot of voters who lean NDP but might be persuaded to vote Liberal. His outsider credentials give him the chance to distance himself from the Liberal Party's past scandals. He won praise for his handling of the education file in the current McGuinty government, and also ran two food banks in Edmonton and Toronto very successfully. He has the deepest ties to Western Canada and could help Liberals win seats in places like Edmonton and Winnipeg as well as picking up NDP held seats in Ontario. The big knocks on Kennedy are that he doesn't have enough experience and his lack of appeal in Quebec, where he did dismally in delegate selection. To get at least a minority government, the Liberals probably need to pick up at least a few seats in the Montreal area.
Stephane Dion (Quebec): Current MP for St. Laurent-Cartierville (West Island of Montreal), former Intergovernmental Affairs Minister under Jean Chretien and Environment Minister under Paul Martin, former professor at the Universite de Montreal.
Comparitive US politician: a more wonkish version of Richard Gephardt or Joe Biden, heavy in governmental experience
Dion is another academic who served at high levels of both the Chretian and Martin leadership teams (rare because the two camps hated each other's guts). He was Chretien's guy in Quebec and was brought back by Martin because his guy, Jean Lapierre, was incompetent. He saved the Liberals bacon in Quebec in the '04 election and won a lot of friends for his loyalty to the party. Dion has the most federal government experience of any of the delegates and is best known for his role as the author of the Clarity Act (an anti Quebec separatist piece of legislation aimed at making it more difficult for Quebec to declare independence from Canada). That and his tough stance against Quebec separatism have earned him a lot of respect in Quebec. All that said, his experience bites against him, as he could be tied to the past scandals of the Liberal Party. While his English is pretty good, his accent is pretty funny sounding and some of his sentence constructions are awkward.
How It Might Play Out On The Floor
Currently, Ignatieff leads in the total number of delegates with around 27%, Rae behind him at 18%, and Kennedy and Dion around 15-16% each. While that would make you think that Ignatieff would be the frontrunner. However, there is a lot of thought that while Ignatieff is currently in front in the delegate selection process, he has little growth potential beyond what he already has. Dion, who currently sits in fourth, is the second choice for a lot of people and is viewed as having the most growth potential after the 1st ballot. Kennedy has growth potential too, but not nearly as much as Kennedy Rae suffers from the fact that he's an ex-NDPer and from the view that he's politically radioactive from his time as Premier of Ontario.
A widely accepted line of thinking is that whichever of Dion or Kennedy survives into the Top 3 has the inside run into the leadership because Ignatieff isn't ready for prime time and Rae is an electoral disaster waiting to happen. There are rumors that there is an alliance between Kennedy and Dion. Another scenario has Ignatieff picking off enough delegates from other candidates as they drop off the ballot to get to 50%.