What three words of encouragement would you give to boost Ottawa’s self-esteem?

People (typically those not from here) love to tease Ottawa, and sometimes, the city makes it very easy to be made fun of—to the point where it inspired a spin-off from the ‘Toronto VS. Everybody’ expression: ‘Ottawa VS. Itself,’ from local designer Dominic Coballe.Despite taking flak for being a boring, buttoned-up government town nestled between trendy TO and charming Montreal, Ottawa really is a happening place for those who take the time to explore beyond the parliamentary precinct.We asked some notable Ottawans—those who call it ‘home’ both full-time, part-time, present, and past—what kind of ‘letter-to- your-thirteen-year-old-self-style’ words of encouragement they would offer to help Canada’s Capital brush its shoulders off.

New Liberal Party president says Grits have to fundraise hard to secure win in 2019

HALIFAX—New Liberal Party president Suzanne Cowan says her party will have to step up its fundraising game at the local level in order to return the Liberals to a second majority government, as the Conservatives…

‘Crystal clear’ feds have jurisdiction on $7.4-billion Trans Mountain pipeline: here’s how they could ‘reinforce’ it

There’s no doubt that the federal government has authority to approve the Trans Mountain pipeline, says a pair of constitutional lawyers, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s promised legislation to “reinforce” that right could sweep aside…

Liberals don’t need to change fundraising strategy, focus on ridings, says fundraising director at Halifax convention

HALIFAX—The federals Liberals are currently behind the Conservatives in fundraising, but Liberal Party fundraising director Christina Topp says the party’s fundraising game plan hasn’t changed as the 2019 federal election inches closer. “The strategy has…

Liberals could revert to third-party status if MPs ignore constituents’ concerns, warns rookie Grit MP

Liberals jumped from the third-party status to win a majority government in the 2015 general election, but they could easily revert to their pre-election status if Grit MPs don't reach out regularly to constituents before…

Sunny Trudeau convention speech turns into attack on Scheer

HALIFAX—In a convention speech meant to fire up his party faithful before the 2019 federal election, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau today touted the Liberals' progressive record and a sunnier political vision, before blasting Conservative leader…

Senators still split on bringing outsiders onto new expense-audit committee, as Rules Committee study gets underway

Three years after Auditor General Michael Ferguson’s explosive investigation into Senate expenses, Senators still haven’t agreed on whether to include outsiders on a new committee to audit Senate spending. The Senate Rules Committee set to…

Grits’ ‘self-inflicted wounds’ serious concern for rank and file delegates, MPs, former senior Liberals at Halifax convention

HALIFAX—It's a three-day happy gathering of about 3,000 Liberal Party faithful, but one serious concern still being talked about in the hallways and backrooms is the propensity for self-inflicted wounds by top strategists and Prime…

Federal spending up two per cent, hits $276.6-billion in main estimates for 2018-19

Federal spending is up by roughly two per cent this fiscal year, reaching an estimated $276.6-billion for 2018-19, with funding for the House of Commons and the Senate up by 6.5 per cent and five…

‘Challenging’ for Liberals to win all 32 Atlantic seats again in 2019, says N.S. MP Samson, party’s revving for a fight

HALIFAX—As nearly 3,000 Liberals descended on this city yesterday to attend the party’s last policy convention before the 2019 election, some Atlantic Liberal Parliamentarians said it would be tough to win all 32 seats in…