Dion finished as party leader: Grit insiders

Even before the final results were tallied in the 2008 election, the consensus among Liberal insiders was that Stephane Dion's bumpy tenure as party leader was finished.

Grit insiders told CTV's Beverly Thomson Tuesday night that leadership rival Michael Ignatieff was already preparing a run at the party's top job.

Those insiders also told Thomson that Ignatieff's team was getting ready for a May leadership convention in Vancouver.

"This is an epic disaster," one party insider told The Canadian Press as dismal figures poured in from across the country.

By 11 p.m. Tuesday, it was clear that the Conservatives, the NDP and the Bloc Quebecois had increased their seat count.

Even the Green party enjoyed an increase in popular support.

But the Liberals were down across the country.

"Everybody's up except us. They're just picking at our bones," said the insider, referring to election night projections that put the party's total seat tally at near-historic lows.

Before the election, political analysts predicted that Dion would need to guide the party to 85 or 80 seats to stay on as leader.

But after a bumpy campaign where his Green Shift was met with confusion and antipathy from many voters, the Liberals were handed a drubbing that could result in the second worst showing ever for the Grits.

Worse yet for Dion, Liberal brass told CTV News on Tuesday night that a May leadership convention in Vancouver was already in the works.

During the campaign, Dion pledged that he would "never quit" and would "stay for my country."

But with projections leaving the Liberals with an 18-seat loss, it appeared Dion's leadership was doomed.

While private whispers about Dion's leadership turned into a dull roar Tuesday, publicly, high-profile Liberals continued to stand behind Dion on a hard-fought campaign.

"We've kept Mr. Harper to a minority, which is quite an accomplishment," said Bob Rae, who ran for the Grit leadership in 2006.

Ignatieff echoed Rae's public support.

"I don't know why we're talking about a Liberal leadership race," said Ignatieff, who won his seat in Etobicoke.

"Tonight's not the night to talk about leadership.

"I think it's indecent, after a man has fought heart and soul, from coast to coast to coast for the sake of a party to start calling him toast or anything like that," he said.

"I owe him respect," said Ignatieff.

Arguably, Dion's troubles started long before the 2008 election campaign kicked off six weeks ago.

Privately, many Liberals have said that Dion was nobody's first choice and was instead a compromise between the polarizing choices of Rae and Ignatieff.

In fact, only 17.8 per cent of the party picked Dion as their first choice.

Equally troubling for Dion was that many veteran Grits, fearing an embarrassing loss, decided to sit out the 2008 election campaign altogether.

Still, Dion - often described as stubborn and determined - wasn't conceding complete defeat on election night.

"I love my country more than ever," he told supporters.

"Canadians asked me to be the opposition leader and I accept this responsibility with honour."

Others, however, were less optimistic about Dion's future.

"It's absolutely clear to me that Stephane Dion is finished as Liberal leader," said CTV's Chief Parliamentary Correspondent Craig Oliver.

Oliver compared Dion's current situation to that of former Liberal leader John Turner who was ousted as party head after winning only 80 seats in the 1980s.

"He just cannot survive the kind of result that he's going to get at the end of the night," said Oliver.

"If he tries to stay, he'll tear the Liberal party to pieces," he said.

Meanwhile, former Liberal cabinet minister Brian Tobin told CTV News that the party's huge debts may impede a leadership race.

"Everybody's going to chill for at least 18 months, or 24 months, before any of this talk manufactures anything of substance in my view," said Tobin.

However, he made those comments before the final seat tally came in.

While Rae and Ignatieff could be considered front-runners in any possible leadership vote, both men are in their early sixties.

Both men would also have to contend with strong new voices in the party.

Those include newly-elected MP Justin Trudeau, whose father Pierre Trudeau remains one of Canada's most enduring political icons, and New Brunswick MP Dominic LeBlanc.

Meanwhile, Gerard Kennedy - whose delegates crossed over to Dion and crowned him leader during the 2006 convention - secured a seat Tuesday and could mount a strong challenge.