The Hill Times dives into the issues that have taken a spotlight for Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, and Green Party Leader Elizabeth May so far this campaign. The Hill Times photographs by Andrew Meade
What’s your issue? Taxes, climate change, health care top leaders’ campaign pitches this election
The Liberals, Conservatives, NDP, and Greens collectively spotlighted tax offers on 17 of 31 days of the campaign, climate change on 15 days, and health care on 11.
Singh’s strong campaign an internal win, whatever the outcome, New Democrats say
Jagmeet Singh’s impressive campaign has ‘rescued’ and ‘refocused’ the NDP after the failed 2015 effort, Ed Broadbent says. The astrophysicist whose polling aggregator is projecting the election
The mastermind behind 338Canada, poll aggregator Philippe Fournier, is aiming to correctly call 90 per cent of the seats in the Oct. 21 race.Politics This Morning
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Transition teams must be prepared for ‘unpredictable outcomes’ in minority situation, say former senior bureaucrats
The 'essence of clerkness' is continuity of government, says former PCO clerk Mel Cappe, who says he's 'strongly advised' current PCO clerk Ian Shugart to reach out to Andrew Scheer's team.Preliminary data shows nearly 3 million tuned in to French debate, more than double 2015’s ratings
The viewership for the Leaders' Debates Commission's French debate was more than double the viewership for the TVA debate, preliminary data shows, and higher than the 2015 French consortium event.‘It’s definitely in the top quadrant’: election campaign one of dirtiest in recent history, say political insiders
This campaign is not defined by any overarching issue, and has become ‘personal’ and ‘ugly’ between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer, says pollster and Ipsos president Darrell Bricker.‘They’re really riled up here’: Conservatives circling Goodale’s lone Liberal seat in Saskatchewan
‘The numbers are holding very closely to what they were last time. It all depends on turnout,’ says the 31-year MP Ralph Goodale. Candidates scramble to outperform their competitors in the critical ground game ahead of next week’s election
Liberal MP Ken Hardie says his team has set up get-out-the-vote ground operations in the riding to get all his supporters to the polling booths on election day.Debt, deficit ‘not ballot booth issues’ for most Canadians: pollsters
Unlike in the last election, none of the major party leaders has promised to try and balance the budget within a four year mandate during this campaign. If it’s a minority government, Liberals can stay in power even if Conservatives win more seats on Oct. 21, but could prompt public backlash
'Does that create a legitimacy question, for Trudeau to combine with Singh, or not? There’s no legal impediment to it,' says former CBC Parliament Hill bureau chief Elly Alboim.The Hill Times dives into the issues that have taken a spotlight for Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, and Green Party Leader Elizabeth May so far this campaign. The Hill Times photographs by Andrew Meade
What’s your issue? Taxes, climate change, health care top leaders’ campaign pitches this election
The Liberals, Conservatives, NDP, and Greens collectively spotlighted tax offers on 17 of 31 days of the campaign, climate change on 15 days, and health care on 11.
The ballot as the ballot question
With elections being messed with in ways democracies are just beginning to fight, maybe protecting the process itself should be the ballot question.Buckle up, it’s going to get nastier
The campaign will ultimately come down to which is more formidable, Conservative cash or Justin Trudeau’s cachet.Good thing this isn’t the integrity election
Whatever dirt he has on Justin Trudeau, the CPC leader can thank his lucky stars that the current dog-and-pony show hasn’t become the Integrity Election.
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.
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.Hopeless in Iraq
The country still depends on oil for its income, but it is no longer ‘oil-rich’. There is little prospect for a radical improvement in the lives of those angry young men in the streets of Baghdad.Little difference between Liberal, Conservative policies on defence
Regardless of which party gets into power on Oct. 21, expect that we will continue to support the forward deployment in Latvia, the training mission in Ukraine, and the two separate contingents we have in Iraq.
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. Last chance to lobby MPs sees June numbers shrink, with influencers eyeing the campaign season
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business led in groups lobbying MPs as June’s 1,446 reported communications halved the total reported in May.
A presidential endorsement: Raptors boss Masai Ujiri backs Trudeau
Plus, CBC sues the Tories for copyright infringement, and Jaden Lake helps father Mike in his quest to win re-election.
Tassi, O’Regan exit their campaigns to tend to ill family members, Tassi’s mother dies on Oct. 12
Plus, a political ad on the frontpage of the National Post, and Justin Ling debunks conspiracy theory, Warren Kinsella loses his mind.
Hanging up the whip: NDP staffer Rob Sutherland retires after 30 years on the Hill
Plus, Ottawa NDP candidate wants free OC Transpo fares on election day, and Jagmeet Singh gets new fans in Drake, Rihanna.
New Canadian envoy arrives in China, has yet to present letter of credence
Plus, Trudeau talks fight for political life with U.S. foreign policy analyst Ian Bremmer, and CP's Teresa Wright to stay in Ottawa full-time. New book explores legacy of the first female Supreme Court chief justice
Plus, Spud farmer Lawrence MacAulay calls former prime minister Stephen Harper's policies a dud in the latest Liberal ad, and Pat Sorbara is releasing a memoir on her life as a political staffer.New Chinese envoy arrives in Ottawa
Plus, the themes of the Leaders' Debates will be announced on Sept. 30, and Lisa Raitt canvassers attacked by dogs. 
Is the federal government still running a deficit? It depends
Opponents are technically right in accusing the Liberals of failing to live up to their 2015 fiscal platform promises. But the Liberals can truthfully say that they kept those promises.
The Arctic is being overlooked in this election
Climate change is just one issue important to Inuit that's not on the electoral radar, but which should be. A partial list also includes health, contaminants, reconciliation, and Arctic sovereignty and shipping.
Betting on technological and financial innovation to fight climate change
Numerous solutions based on technological innovation are already being developed, most, however, need complementary financial innovations to scale-up and have a significant impact.
Mental health policy could be political winner in this election, but it’s not being talked about
A robust mental health policy promise could help sway millennial and female voters, polls show. Only one national strategy can address today’s mental health crisis: putting the patient first
Those engaged on a public policy level must rethink their approach, clear away the backlog of long-term planning cycles and dedicate resources to building a supportive framework based on a single fundamental question.
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Politics This Morning: Three party leaders to shore up base in Quebec
Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer is planning to stump for Sylvie Fréchette in Saint-Jérôme before he heads to Ontario for a swing through a sports complex in Essex, Ont., and a visit to Pub Fiction in Ancaster with the party's local candidates.
What strategic voting will result in is a U.S.-style, two-party system, where the Liberals and Conservatives benefit from gaslighting Canadians into voting for them.
We now have mixed generations of leaders and political activists who are masters in political marketing, audience segmentation, and voter targeting. Many are feeling we are lesser for it.
In spite of the media focus on the leaders’ campaigns, we do not have a presidential system in this country. We elect a cabinet, not a king.
We must also consider the possibility that the whole thing has been a charade, masterminded by the Russians, to get the Americans out of Syria and restore Syrian government control over all of eastern Syria. 
The Airport Capital Improvement Program is in need of a refresh. The funding envelope has not increased since its inception.
It would make for better elections if we could focus on a small set of consistent national goals, and achieve those goals. 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.Liberal campaign spinning its wheels: media bus gives the Grits more trouble
Plus, Munk's foreign policy debate has been cancelled due to Trudeau's no-show, and Ken Rubin wins his court case. Campaign signs across Canada are being defaced with hateful graffiti
Plus, Deb Schulte finishes final round of chemo, and a Tory riding association falsely claims Rick Mercer endorsement. 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. 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.Pakistani envoy urges Canada, world to be ‘more forceful’ with India on ‘humanitarian disaster’ in Kashmir
Pakistan has ‘regularly’ raised the issue with Canadian counterparts, says Raza Bashir Tarar, but the ‘festering’ situation in the ‘highly charged’ region is only getting worse.
Nation’s voters head to the polls to select the next government on Monday, Oct. 21
The selection of the next 338 people to sit in the House of Commons is in the hands of the Canadian public, when polls open across the country on Monday, Oct. 21 for the federal general election.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh shakes hands with a toddler during a protest staged by striking hotel workers in Vancouver on Oct. 14, Thanksgiving Day. 
Comedian Rick Mercer and then-Reform Party MP Deb Grey, pictured in the late 1990s on Parliament Hill doing a shoot for CBC's This Hour Has 22 Minutes, which Mr. Mercer hosted at the time. The Hill Times photograph by Terry McDonald 
