Michael G. Ignatieff, former professor at the Kennedy School of Government and director of the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, assumed leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada yesterday.

Ignatieff, who had served as a member of the Canadian parliament, replaces Stéphane Dion as party leader after Bob Rae, the only remaining candidate in the leadership race and close friend of Ignatieff, dropped out of the contest on Tuesday.

“Mr. Ignatieff is honored to have the confidence of his caucus and party in leading the opposition,” said Jill A. Fairbrother, Ignatieff’s spokesperson. “People have come together behind Michael under unique circumstances.”

Ignatieff left the Carr Center in 2005 for a visiting professor position at the University of Toronto before running for political office. He finished as the runner-up to Dion in his 2006 bid for party leader.

“I think he’s just become more familiar. I mean, before he got elected in 2006 [to Parliament], he was only in Canada to get a cup of coffee,” said Nelson Wiseman, an associate professor of political science at the University of Toronto.

“Canada has a long and proud history of intellectual leaders, and Ignatieff is no exception,” said Xiaodi Wu ’09, the so-called prime minister of the Harvard Canadian Club. “It’s a good step forward for Canadian politics. But I think it is too soon to tell what kind of impact he will have.”

The Canadian parliament shut down abruptly on Dec. 4 when the embattled Prime Minister Stephen J. Harper of the Conservative Party convinced Governor-General Michaëlle Jean to prorogue, or suspend, the body until January. Harper’s move came ahead of a planned no-confidence vote that had been scheduled for Dec. 8.

The vote was expected to pass easily in the House of Commons where the opposition holds a 163 of the 308 seats.

The opposition, composed of three parties including the Liberals, pledged to form a coalition government with Dion as the leader and replace the current Harper-led minority government.

“He is prepared to lead the coalition if necessary, but the coalition is not the focus,” said Fairbrother. “Michael wants to get the parliament to work for the Canadian people again. His priority is the economy. People are losing their jobs, seniors losing their savings, people are losing their investments.”

“It will be interesting to see what he will do since his expertise isn’t in economics,” said Wiseman.

Wiseman was also critical of Ignatieff’s academic work. “His main contribution isn’t original research, but simply conveying messages in a more popular vehicle,” Wiseman said.

Fairbrother said that Igantieff’s time in Cambridge played a role in his development.

“All his experience comes together, and I’m sure his human rights work at Harvard and the Carr Centre is a very important part of that,” Fairbrother said.

The future of an Ignatieff-led coalition is uncertain. “The ball is in Mr. Harper’s court,” said Fairbrother. “But he needs to earn back the trust of the government and deliver a budget that responds to the concerns of the Canadian people.”

“Every liberal leader except two have become Prime Minister,” said Wiseman. “But I wouldn’t count my chickens before they hatch.”