Mr. Dion's green agenda and Gerard Kennedy's pitch for generational change combined to form a potent alliance at the party's topsy-turvy leadership convention, which ended up rejecting the favourites of the party establishment, Michael Ignatieff and Bob Rae.

"Not big machines. Big hearts, working hard. New generation," said the new leader at his news conference yesterday when asked how he would fight the next election. "This race has been a lot of success for the bottom-up philosophy, and we'll make sure that we will win the election the same way."

He also signalled immediately that he intends to place the environmental-sustainability theme that dominated his leadership campaign at the centre of the Liberals' platform. It was a message that also played a major part in rivals' campaigns and promises to redefine the party.

But Mr. Dion denied suggestions that it is a one-theme platform that could turn off some voters, insisting he intends to marry it with traditional Liberal "pillars" of "economic prosperity and social justice." Source...