This week, Liberal MPs and insiders are holding meetings in Winnipeg to discuss their strategy for the next election.

Unfortunately for Liberal leader Stéphane Dion, one of the first orders of businesses for many Liberals will be to demand that Mr. Dion abandon parts of his ill-conceived carbon tax.

In a time when Canadians are looking for strong, stable leadership during global economic uncertainty, Liberal MPs are becoming nervous that Canadians will see through Mr. Dion’s proposed permanent new tax on everything and that it will hurt their chances of getting re-elected.

And, with each passing day, more Liberals are speaking out about it.

Bob Rae said “What we need to look at is, are there ways the plan can be changed and improved. Nothing is written in stone in terms of the details.�? (St. John’s Telegram, August 12, 2008)

David McGuinty confessed the Dion Carbon Tax is “a work in progress.�? (National Post, July 5, 2008)

Dominic LeBlanc acknowledged the Dion Carbon Tax needed to be “enhanced.�? (Dominic Leblanc, New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal, August 7, 2008)

Robert Thibault admitted the Dion Carbon Tax is “a statement of principle, not a recipe.�? (Toronto Star, August 29, 2008)

and

Wayne Easter demanded that “changes have to be made�? to the Dion Carbon Tax (Toronto Star, August 29, 2008) and that Liberals themselves “know there are problems with this.�? (Western Producer, August 7, 2008)

…to name just a few.

Every day it seems a different Liberal is speaking out against Stéphane Dion and his carbon tax plan. It is clear that even Liberals worried about re-election are concluding that Stéphane Dion is not a leader and not worth the risk.