Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, pictured on the Hill on budget day, April 7, 2022. The Hill Times photograph by Sam Garcia
Russia-Ukraine ‘war-supply shock’ could erode Canada’s positive financial situation, warns former PBO
With many Liberal election promises excluded from the budget, Canada’s declining debt-to-GDP ratio could erode if they’re added later, says Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux.
Finnish ambassador talks Russian invasion, need to keep communications line open
Finnish Ambassador Roy Eriksson says Russia's invasion of Ukraine has changed the mood for Finns, as they don't want to be alone in the world and possible face a Russian attack. After the Freedom Convoy, politicians are reimagining Wellington Street
The City of Ottawa is in discussions with officials from the federal department of Public Services and Procurement Canada to 'turn over' Wellington Street and officially make it part of the Parliamentary Precinct. Long-term funding for infrastructure projects crucial for Indigenous self-governance, says expert
Budget 2022 has mixed reviews on how well it addresses previous failures to fund long-term maintenance for water treatment plants and other infrastructure on First Nations reserves.Need for austerity is ‘fundamentally disproven’ by 2022 budget: economists
In the wake of three years of epic government spending, three economists weigh in on the government’s revenue strategy.Ukrainian Hill staffers find solace, community as they help compatriots and each other
'Just knowing that there are other staffers on the Hill who are going through the same thing as you are, while also being in politics, I think it does offer … another outlet,' says Titarenko. ‘No time to lose’: Indo-Pacific strategy highly anticipated after absence from budget
With the focus on confronting Russia's invasion of Ukraine, little opportunity was left to spotlight Indo-Pacific priorities in the budget. ‘Centrist’ Grit MPs support Liberal-NDP agreement ‘at this time,’ but ‘very concerned’ about financial aspect of deal, says nine-term Liberal MP Sgro
The Liberal-NDP deal is a confirmation of the Liberal party’s move to the left that first took place in the 2015 election, says pollster Nik Nanos.Bay du Nord project puts Canada on path to stay a global ‘outlier’ in climate change fight, warn critics
Green Party critic Imre Szeman says Canadians still see themselves as ‘good guys’ on the world stage, but the Liberal government is 'timid about making the hard decisions around the oil and gas sector.'‘More than crowd counts,’ Charest campaign says it’s focused on membership sales, while Poilievre’s campaign attracts big crowds
The Jean Charest campaign will hit the fundraising milestone of $300,000 in the coming days which is the required amount to officially enter the leadership election, says Michelle Coates Mather.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, pictured on the Hill on budget day, April 7, 2022. The Hill Times photograph by Sam Garcia
Russia-Ukraine ‘war-supply shock’ could erode Canada’s positive financial situation, warns former PBO
With many Liberal election promises excluded from the budget, Canada’s declining debt-to-GDP ratio could erode if they’re added later, says Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux.
Size doesn’t always matter, unless you know what to do with it
If I have learned anything about Conservative leadership races over the years, it’s that what we are asked to focus on in the public arena is much less important than what we don’t see. Waking up to the threat of disinformation
The fear-raising about ‘global financial elites’ secretly plotting world domination relates back to unremitting racist, mainly anti-Semitic, conspiracy threads from earlier times.Liberals’ budget doesn’t crack through favoured performative veneer
Ultimately, this is not a ‘prudent’ budget, it’s a pre-austerity one and the Liberals have already proposed a strategic review for the federal bureaucracy in the middle of an ongoing pandemic.
Momentum builds in Senate for bill to seize and repurpose frozen assets
Some Senators are highlighting the 'urgency' to pass Bill S-217 amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, to seize and repurpose assets that have been frozen from Russian officials and oligarchs. Mixed reviews for Liberal solution to protect Quebec seats
While NDP MP Daniel Blaikie calls Bill C-14 a ‘good start,’ the Bloc Québécois has criticized the proposed legislation for failing to protect Quebec’s overall proportion of seats in the House. Supreme Court hearing on Indigenous child welfare law will have broad significance, minister, experts agree
ITK President Natan Obed says he hopes 'we can all agree that this is a cumbersome and adversarial way to uphold Indigenous rights in this country.'
Dairy, agriculture hurdles need to be addressed for CETA to reach full potential, says new Spanish envoy
In a wide-ranging interview, Spanish Ambassador Alfredo Martínez Serrano talks trade, his first impressions of Canada, and NATO's response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Joly rightly called Canada a convener, and it’s time to put her words into action
Foreign policy is not about transactional politics, but about advancing interests by maneuvering through the maze of international pushes and pulls. That maze has become increasingly complex.Time to explore new routes to give peace another chance
With the development of a United Nations Emergency Peace Service—effectively a ‘911 first-responder for complex emergencies—the UN would finally have capacity to address some of its tougher assigned tasks.
Top 100 Lobbyists 2022: Hybrid model is new norm for lobbyists tired of virtual meetings
After years of mostly virtual meetings, lobbyists are ready to embrace a hybrid model balancing remote communications with in-person events.Revised lobbyists’ code: solutions in search of problems
The existing Lobbyists' Code of Conduct has served Canada well by ensuring clear and logical rules that bolster one of the most ethical and transparent lobbying regimes in the world.Diving back into Broadcasting Act reform could mean big controversy
Legislation intended to reform the Broadcasting Act should be 'more clear' to avoid the confusion and controversy caused by Bill C-10 in the previous Parliament, says NDP MP Peter Julian.
Two policy directors for Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough
Lucio Durante is director of parliamentary affairs to the employment minister, while Dilys Fernandes is operations director and Jane Deeks is communications director.
Wilson-Raybould says new book will be ‘a roadmap’ for ‘true reconciliation’
Plus, former Liberal and NDP MPs land new gigs as government relations consultants, and the Liberal Party announces its return to in-person conventions next year in Ottawa.
Meet Environment Minister Guilbeault’s new team
Bruce Cheadle is now director of media relations and strategic outreach in the environment minister’s office, where there are a number of new hands on deck.
New book delves into political and diplomatic backstory of 1972 Summit Series
Katharine Heus returns to lead Minister Hajdu’s office
Hill Climbers takes a fuller look at Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu’s new team, which includes Gordon Petruic as director of regional affairs.Métropolitain buzzes on budget night, but it’s not like the old days
Making climate change an issue of self-interest
Individual self-interest is relevant to climate change because the decisions and changes people are willing to make will reflect how they can best achieve their vision of a ‘good life.’
Next defence policy review unlikely to alter dated Strong, Secure, Engaged approach: Q&A with Kim Richard Nossal
The budget’s $8-billion over five years represents a ‘fairly small increase in the defence budget,’ says the Queen’s University procurement expert.
Hawks fuelled fears to open the defence treasure chest
As they say in the world of grifters, they sold the public on the ‘sizzle’ of an insecure world before it became obvious that the ‘steak’ was not forthcoming.
Multi-level government approach needed to tackle supply chain crisis, say stakeholders
It can be difficult to identify weakness in the supply chain because some of those 'pain points' are not apparent until after a crisis has occurred, says Supply Chain Canada head Christian Buhagiar.Federal infrastructure funding needs to live up to the times
With the growing number of climate events happening in communities, the federal government must be a more active partner in funding local infrastructure that can protect people and the economy now.
The definitive history of Canada’s role on the United Nations Security Council
The first definitive history of Canada's time on the UN Security Council is a must read for anyone interested in Canadian foreign policy.
Harold Johnson’s book Peace and Good Order is among five shortlisted books for this year's Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing. 
'I kind of just go ahead and do what I feel I should do, and get myself into situations where I’m thinking, "Oh, everybody here knows more than I do. But anyway, here goes." It served me very well,' says former Supreme Court chief justice Beverley McLachlin.
Patterns of interference, intimidation, and harassment of individual Canadians by the Chinese Communist Party ‘demand a response’ from the Canadian government, says veteran journalist Jonathan Manthorpe in his 2019 book. 
COVID-19: economic impacts and prospects
There are some potential game changers for outcomes—a vaccine; and a resurgence in international leadership and cooperation. Closer to home, we need a Canadian economic recovery plan that will boost confidence in the future with strategic and measured investments in long-term challenges and adjustment support for Canadians and businesses left behind by the coronavirus.
In what was supposed to be a period in which backbenchers and the opposition could wield more influence over the political debate, power and influence is arguably even more concentrated among a narrow cast of mostly familiar figures.
If we want to really honour Shannen Koostachin and the many children like her—we need to speak up, keep talking until government takes immediate action to end the inequality. If they don’t—vote them out because kids like Shannen are worth the money. The time for patience is over.
Liberal-NDP deal can help public health care emerge from this crisis, says Canadian Health Coalition
- Cabinet's communications and chiefs of staff list, 2022
- The 50 MPs in ridings where 142 former residential schools are located
- All the federal leaders' stops during the 2021 campaign
- The 24 ridings AFN says First Nations voters can decide the election outcome
- The former MPs who are running again in 2021
- How Trudeau's cabinet ministers did in the last election
- The 95 MPs who won by 10% or less in 2019
- The 14 rural ridings that Liberals won in 2015 but lost in 2019
With budget 2022, Liberals hold the centre
With budget 2022, the Liberals prove they are becoming ever-more adept at catering to both sides of the political aisle. But the centre cannot hold forever. 
Let’s bring some nuance to discussing the federal budget
Budget week is upon us, so get your budget bingo cards ready. Political posturing over the budget can oversimplify the issue, though. 
Trudeau and Singh find rare co-operation in federal politics
For Canada to move away from toxic hyper-partisanship and towards collaboration and co-operation is a good thing, if the two parties can pull it off. Annual Features
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Politics This Morning: Good news for fish, and a new COVID drug
Plus: On this day in Hansard history looks back at 2005.
For governments to declare victory too soon, there could be a 'massive political price that they'll pay depending on what happens,' says pollster Nik Nanos, as the country stares down yet another wave of COVID-19. 
Living in a rich country doesn’t give us more of a right to life, health, and the benefits of scientific progress than people who happen to be born and live in poorer nations. 
Short of bringing in the military as aid to the civil power, Ontario's state of emergency and other enhanced legal enforcement measures are the last hope to deal with what increasingly looks like an insurrection.
There’s no doubt that purveyors of populist fantasy have struggled in the face of COVID, and the unforgiving virus could yet pull the rug from under their political aspirations. TOP 100 LOBBYISTS IN 2022
Top 100 People to Watch in 2022
The Hill Times All Politics Poll
The Hot Room Podcast
Re-arming the military, with Kim Richard Nossal
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After peaking at more than $4.6-billion in 2008, Canadian newspaper revenues fell to below $1.5-billion in 2020. 
Canada must reject these short-sighted, war-profiteering demands of the oil and gas lobby. We should have ended, not expanded, public financing for fossil fuels in the April 7 federal budget. Bai du Nord? Bad news.
International assistance can avoid untold costs ahead from economic crisis, disease, and climate change. 
Métis and Non-Status Indigenous people remain some of the most disenfranchised in Canada. The recently released federal budget offered little for off-reserve and Non-Status Indigenous people.
Despite having one of the most expensive health-care systems in the world, Canada lags its international counterparts in terms of access to quality end-of-life care.
Between April 2019 and March 2020, 138 infants and children were held in immigration detention, according to a recent report by human rights groups. Some interesting reads about Canadian politics in 2021
Here’s a sample published by three of Canada’s largest academic publishers: University of British Columbia Press, University of Toronto Press, and McGill-Queen’s University Press.Michael Wernick on governing, political journalism, and his Machiavellian inspiration
'I was pissed off, and I thought it needed to be called out:' the former top civil servant talks to Peter Mazereeuw about his explosive committee testimony following the Yellow Vest protest on Parliament Hill, and a whole lot more.Numerous new hands at work in Joly’s foreign affairs office
The current team includes five holdovers from the office under former minister Garneau and 12 new additions, many of whom followed Joly to her new post. Who’s who on the Liberal, NDP House leader and whip teams
Plus, former PMO policy head Marci Surkes has joined Compass Rose and former Liberal research bureau managing director Melissa Cotton is now at CN Rail. Wilson-Raybould’s memoir, two Michaels’ saga land on Shaughnessy Cohen shortlist
Plus, Braeden Caley continues the exodus of national party spokespeople with his departure from the federal Liberals, and Catherine McKenna lands a new, international environmental gig.Lisa Raitt tells ‘the full story’ of her husband’s journey with Alzheimer’s
And former NDP MP Megan Leslie says the spirit of co-operation between the Liberals and the NDP is the first thing that's made her miss being an MP.Trudeau announces major shakeup in senior ranks of public service, also appoints new deputy clerk of the Privy Council Office before Sunday’s election call
Former deputy clerk of the Privy Council Christyne Tremblay will remain in the PCO as a senior official.Federal cybersecurity workers heading for strike votes following bargaining impasse
With the two sides having been at the bargaining table for almost two years following the expiry of the most recent collective agreement, strike votes are scheduled to run from Feb. 11 to 24.
Getting out of ‘groundhog mode’: Party Central’s back with an unmasked party at the Met
Attendees at the March 23 evening soiree unanimously expressed gratitude for the return to some semblance of normality on the Hill.No more Hill parties, after coronavirus pandemic forces Parliament Hill to shut down
'Politics and the Pen is probably the exact opposite of social distancing. We cram so many people into the ballroom that you can barely keep one to two inches away,' says Jim Armour. Latvia wants ‘more Canada’ in face of renewed Russian invasion, says departing envoy
Latvian Ambassador Kārlis Eihenbaums says Canada's NATO deployment has led to a flourishing of Ottawa-Riga ties. Rink links: A new form of outdoor diplomacy has emerged in Ottawa
With COVID-19 restrictions in place, the outdoor rink has allowed for diplomacy to keep a personal touch, says U.K. High Commissioner Susannah Goshko.
Defence Chief Eyre takes the stage for mayor’s breakfast on April 14
Chief of Defence Staff General Wayne Eyre will be the special guest at the Mayor's Breakfast on Thursday, April 14. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Mayor Jim Watson arrives with Chief of Defence Staff General Wayne Eyre at Ottawa City Hall on April 14, 2022. Speaking at the Mayor's Breakfast event, Eyre told the audience that more housing is needed on Canadian Armed Forces bases.
Former finance minister John Manley kicks off his bid for the Liberal Party leadership with his children at an event in Ottawa on April 10, 2003. After campaigning that spring, Manley chose to withdraw from the leadership contest in July 2003, citing a lack of support from party membership that instead favoured Paul Martin as Jean Chrétien's replacement. 
