Not a Uniter

I'm not sure how many progressive Libs are still holding out hope that Michael Ignatieff will ever reflect their views. But Ignatieff himself is making it clear that left-of-centre Canadians aren't going to be a priority for his party:

As for where he can draw voter support in the Conservative stronghold of Saskatchewan, Ignatieff said he's not a "unite the left guy," but he does want to pull votes from both sides.

"The Liberal party is a party of the centre. Part of my difficulty with a coalition is that I felt it would take my party off the centre," said Ignatieff.

Of course, it's far from clear why forming a coalition government would necessarily affect the Libs' internal ideological dynamics. Which would tend to signal that the latter comment is just another bad excuse for Ignatieff's choice to keep propping up the Cons.

But the more important message is that Ignatieff has now made it a matter of public record that he'd rather lead a Con-lite party than a united left out of fear of what the DFHs might do under his tent. And anybody looking to advance progressive causes in Canada who hasn't taken Ignatieff's earlier hints should see this as the strongest signal yet that it's time to move on from the Libs.