Conservative Party of Canada Leader Andrew Scheer, pictured speaking with reporters after a marathon caucus meeting in West Block on Nov. 6, 2019. The party did not do a good job of convincing Canadians that they were the best alternative to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Liberals in the October election, says Conservative MP Stephanie Kusie, and now Mr. Scheer has to 'figure out why that is and what we have to do to address that.' The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
‘If we’re going to sit there and be slinging mud, it’s going to be a long three years,’ says Conservative MP Kusie
Conservative MPs and strategists agree that appointing former Harper cabinet minister John Baird to lead the election post-mortem is the right call. 'He does not hold any punches,' says Conservative MP Stephanie Kusie.
Taxes, environment, Indigenous rights: what could shape Liberals’ new legislative agenda
The Liberals promised to bring in legal changes on a range of subjects during the election campaign, and will get their first opportunity in the House of Commons during a short window next month. Wexit ‘absolutely a real thing’ and reaching ‘boiling point’; Parliamentarians need to ‘look for bold and innovative solutions,’ say Conservative MPs
Wexit was one of the ‘top of mind’ issues at the Alberta Conservative caucus’ special meeting on Parliament Hill on Nov. 6.Politics This Morning
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Senate groups scramble for members ahead of committee selection, ex-member calls out ISG ‘groupthink’
The Senate leaders will negotiate how to split committee seats and chairs between four Senate groups in the new Parliament, and numbers will matter.Updated: Progressive Senate Group folds, but leader hopes to claw back to official status
'Trudeau made it clear that he wanted our group gone from the Senate'—ex-Liberal Senator Percy Downe.‘Ordered populists’ concentrated among Conservative Party supporters, says pollster Graves
An authoritarian reflex has yet to make itself felt in Canada as it has south of the border and in Europe. May calls on Trudeau to attend Madrid climate summit, increase targets
The Greens' Elizabeth May says her three-member caucus isn’t prepared to back any confidence motions unless Canada adjusts its climate targets. Election 2019: where parties posted their worst 25 results
The Conservatives and NDP had their poorest returns in Quebec, the Liberals had biggest losses in Alberta, and the Green Party shared their lowest count between Alberta, Quebec, and Saskatchewan.
NDP ready ‘any time’ for election if party goals not met, Singh says
'We know that the government is going to need our support at some level if they want to pass bills,' he said. 'That’s not going to come for free.'Updated: Senator Diane Bellemare joins Independent Senators Group after leaving role on government team in Red Chamber
Conservative Party of Canada Leader Andrew Scheer, pictured speaking with reporters after a marathon caucus meeting in West Block on Nov. 6, 2019. The party did not do a good job of convincing Canadians that they were the best alternative to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Liberals in the October election, says Conservative MP Stephanie Kusie, and now Mr. Scheer has to 'figure out why that is and what we have to do to address that.' The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
‘If we’re going to sit there and be slinging mud, it’s going to be a long three years,’ says Conservative MP Kusie
Conservative MPs and strategists agree that appointing former Harper cabinet minister John Baird to lead the election post-mortem is the right call. 'He does not hold any punches,' says Conservative MP Stephanie Kusie.
Time for Scheer to get another job
From now until April, Andrew Scheer’s entire focus is on saving his job when it comes up for review at the party’s convention in Toronto. His public comments are aimed only to Conservatives, especially angry ones. And he seems to think the way to win their favour is to double down on Trudeau.She stepped down as party leader, but May’s revved up to lead the Greens in the House
Elizabeth May will push as hard with three seats in the Commons as she would have with 30—until the new leader comes along to take over.Pondering a counterfactual Conservative leader
Conservatives are playing in a rough neighbourhood and they must be assertive, they must play offence, they must know how to sell their message.
Liberals passing the buck on weapons ban
If the Liberal government truly believes that the legal availability of assault weapons puts the public at risk, then why not enact measures that are available to them right now, while they are still in power?Trudeau’s legislative record unlikely to motivate voters in the fall, with a few exceptions: pollsters
Many achievements and blunders enshrined in legislation are ancient history in the minds of voters, who cast their ballots based on the next thing you can do for them, say politicos and pollsters.Will the Senate respect democracy and First Nations rights?
Three important pieces of legislation sit in the Senate today, subject to the whim of a small group of Senators, which is a gross undermining of the democratic process.
Is Don Cherry a right-wing extremist?
At the end of the day Don Cherry is probably just an old racist. That he has stooped to ridiculing others is a sad state of affairs for someone many of us once liked to listen to. He should have known better. Implementation of new NAFTA will be ‘important priority’ for Liberal government as U.S. negotiations progress
The U.S. chair of the House Agricultural Committee says he thinks the USMCA will be brought to the floor for a vote by the end of year. Lessons not learned: Canadian troops should get out of Iraq, now
It would seem that we have learned nothing from our 12-year fiasco in Afghanistan. We should get the hell out of Iraq now, because Canada had no stake in this conflict in the first place.
CIJA, Dairy Farmers lead last lobbyist push before election call
Lobbyists filed 772 reports last month, down from 972 in July, and from the 1,478 reports filed in June.
Despite majority support for a Canadian handgun ban, the politics of doing so may remain insurmountable
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals promised in 2015 to take handguns and assault weapons ‘off our streets,’ but have made only limited progress in the face of strong opposition.Tale as old as time: Liberal ethics breach proves politics still about comforting the comfortable
The SNC-Lavalin affair is about a political system that is rife for abuse, and those responsible for the recent abuses are seeking re-election on a platform of open and transparent government. 
From a climate change guide to a case for Indigenous justice: five new books to keep your eye on
Plus, Maher's band Lowertown Riffraff dazzles crowd at South Block Whiskey Bar on Sparks Street, and former Hill scribe Dan Dugas to retire from public service.
Riding off into the sunset: two Tory Senators retire
Plus, MPs counter Don Cherry's 'you people' comments, and the PM's national security and intelligence adviser, Greta Bossenmaier, retires from public service.
‘This is different’: diplomats warned of divided Canada during parliamentary crash course
Given Canadians' self-professed preference for a minority government, 'I think we all are on probation,' Liberal MP Greg Fergus told diplomats.
Continuity key to speakership in minority Parliament, say politicos, contenders
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has a relatively 'comfortable' minority Parliament, and could survive with one fewer vote if the new Speaker is a Liberal, says Samara's Paul Thomas. The Hill remembers: in 43rd Parliament, 19 MPs and Senators have served in the military
Plus, Maryam Monsef and Matt DeCourcey get engaged, and Andrew Coyne joins The Globe and Mail. Remembrance Day happens on Monday, Nov. 11
Four years in, ISED gets mixed reviews
'It's important because of the regulatory side, but politically, it's becoming more important because it can be used as a tool for political gain,' said Jake Enwright.
Better innovation policy means investing in the public administration
With a wider recognition that a more permeable public administration is a tangible way to get better innovation policies and programs to Canadians, a public service that can be a true partner for innovators.
Real innovation required
We need a whole new direction. Let’s wind up all the innovation corporate welfare programs and return their budget allocations to deficit reduction or basic research funding.
Innovation policy: the adaptation challenge
We are not suggesting grand strategizing—rather we first encourage governments to recognize and embrace disruption as an emergent-phenomena and make adaptation an important part of the conversation.There are steps Canadians can take to ensure we put our best foot forward
If we take these steps together, we will not only prosper, we will continue to be respected as a place that is smart, responsible, and forward-looking.Annual Features
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Politics This Morning: Progressive Senate Group folds
The PM is keeping a low profile and hunkering down for private meetings ahead of tomorrow's swearing-in ceremony for the new crop of cabinet ministers.
The reality is that the world is on a path to falling oil demand and there’s not much Canada can do about it.
The House should create a new tier of private members’ bills, those sponsored by MPs of two or more parties. This new tier would have its own designated time and measures to make a certain number of them votable. 
The time to work with farmers on climate action is now. Our jobs depend on it.
Canada has a high responsibility because of our geography on three oceans and the environmental burden of shipping that will keep increasing as more vessels transit our waters. 
The Liberal minority government will need to delicately dial back some cherished progressive policy thrusts to help ease deepening regional pressures on Canada’s unity and prosperity if it hopes to remain in power.
The catalogue of Canadian historical documents is now held, accessed, and controlled in the U.S. Two consequences emerged almost immediately.
Lessons not learned: Canadian troops should get out of Iraq, now
It would seem that we have learned nothing from our 12-year fiasco in Afghanistan. We should get the hell out of Iraq now, because Canada had no stake in this conflict in the first place.Vancouver Granville race a ‘toss-up,’ as Wilson-Raybould’s rivals urge voters not to pick someone ‘on the outside’
In Vancouver Granville, the race is heating up between Independent incumbent Jody Wilson-Raybould and her Liberal challenger, who's raising the spectre of a Conservative government to draw votes.
Politics This Morning
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PMO Ontario desk among handful of recent staff exits from top office
Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Minister Ahmed Hussen has also seen a couple of staffers from his policy unit exit.Ex-staffers to ministers Hajdu, Carr hit the campaign trail
For one, Jeff Kovalik-Plouffe recently left International Trade Diversification Minister Jim Carr’s Ottawa office to take over as the MP’s 2019 campaign manager.CPAC’s Andrew Thomson is a two-day Jeopardy champion, will try to continue streak Nov. 18
Plus, Don Martin has announced that he will host his last edition of CTV's Power Play on Dec. 20, after almost a decade at the show's helm.U.S. lawmaker Richard Neal to travel to Ottawa to talk new NAFTA with Trudeau, Freeland
Plus, Hillites cheer Tom Michalak's career behind the camera, and CPAC'S Thomson victorious on Jeopardy. Public servants, feds inch closer to contracts with tentative agreements before election
The Public Service Alliance of Canada remains at an impasse with the federal government however, with national president Chris Aylward saying they won’t take an ‘inferior’ deal just to get it done before the election. SAP Canada pitches NextGen plan to standardize human resources processes
When processes are 'standardized, the collective input into a payroll system becomes a lot simpler,' says Robert Conlin, SAP Canada's vice-president of the public sector.U.S. Embassy brings bayou to Bytown for Fourth of July
Though U.S. Ambassador Kelly Craft was in Calgary, the U.S. Embassy's Fourth of July party was still filled with food and fun. Hill media descend on 24 Sussex for annual garden party
The prime minister opened up his backyard for one last shindig before politicians and journalists gear up for what's going to be a busy summer. President’s trip the ‘crown’ of Croatian envoy’s four-year post
Marica Matkovic is returning to Croatia to help the country prepare for its first-ever Council of the EU presidency.Education, ‘food diplomacy,’ ICAO council seat among early priorities for Malaysian envoy
The 'timing is good' for more high level visits after Canada's fall federal election, says Nor'aini Binti Abd Hamid.Trudeau to unveil his minority government cabinet Nov. 20 in Ottawa
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, pictured on Nov. 11, 2019, at the Remembrance Day ceremony at the National War Memorial in Ottawa.
The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Prime Minister JustinTrudeau welcomed Jordan's King Abdullah II to Ottawa on Monday, praising him for being a 'tremendous strong voice' on human rights, refugees, and economic growth.
