Stories by Gerry Nicholls
The desire for change is changing politics
OAKVILLE, ONT.—The trendiest word in the political lexicon these days is “change.” Everywhere you look, political parties are inserting this term into their electoral messaging. “It’s Time for a Change," “Change you can count on,"…
It’s simple: if the leftists in Trudeau’s camp become too disillusioned, they could migrate to the NDP or to the Greens, or most likely, they could stay home on election day.
Jagmeet Singh’s 'proposal' photo-op gimmick, generated more positive coverage for him than anything else he’s done since becoming NDP leader. Hence, don’t be surprised if the NDP continues to promote Singh as a celebrity and don’t be surprised if we see more Justin Trudeau town hall meetings.
OAKVILLE, ONT.—NDP leader Jagmeet Singh recently invited reporters to witness and record his wedding proposal to Gurkiran Kaur. Sounds like a cute—even romantic—little media stunt, right? Well, don’t say that to CBC journalist Aaron Wherry,…
OAKVILLE, ONT.—“They came at us, in the same old style," is how the Duke of Wellington famously described the French tactics at the Battle of Waterloo. And that tactic reminds me a bit of Canada’s…
OAKVILLE, ONT.—If I were asked to give quick advice on how to create an effective political message, I’d say make it concise, make it direct and make it easy to understand. Of course, the problem…OAKVILLE, ONT.—According to my calculations, Canada’s next federal election will take place in approximately 650 days. Wow, 650 days—that’s a long time, right? Well, not really. The fact is, time is an often misunderstood resource…
OAKVILLE, ONT.—Tis the season to be jolly, so maybe, tis also the season for jolly political analysis. With that in mind, instead of exposing cynical politics, I’m focusing today on all the joyful blessings of…Author
OAKVILLE, ONT.—Politically speaking, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau enjoys a lot of key advantages: he’s an incumbent, he presides over an economy that’s humming along, and he usually compares favourably to U.S. President Donald Trump. But…
OAKVILLE, ONT.—If you believe the latest in fashionable wisdom, the best of all possible national political leaders would be a reincarnation of Albert Einstein. After all, the current trend in media commentary (especially on the…
OAKVILLE, ONT.—“I hate it.” Those were the exact words I uttered immediately after viewing the latest Conservative Party TV ad, an ad which is supposed to showcase its leader, Andrew Scheer. Simply put, my initial reaction…
OAKVILLE, ONT.—It’s been a relatively long time since Canada’s suffered through a gut-wrenching unity crisis. So yeah, we’re due for one. In fact, the resentment currently simmering in Western Canada—more specifically in Alberta—suggests we’re heading for a…
OAKVILLE, ONT.—At one time or another, every major federal political party in Canada will collide head on with some form of “tribalism." And sometimes that collision will inflict upon a political party significant damage. It…
OAKVILLE, ONT.—Tempestuous, turbulent, and trenchant political warfare is seemingly the new normal in Western democracies these days, with one notable exception—Canada. Our country, relatively speaking, is an island of political tranquility. True, we have our…OAKVILLE, ONT.—Tempestuous, turbulent and trenchant political warfare is seemingly the new normal in Western democracies these days, with one notable exception—Canada. Our country, relatively speaking, is an island of political tranquility. True, we have our…
OAKVILLE, ONT.—A recurring theme in politics is that “behind-the-scenes” guys, a.k.a political party strategists, don’t always remain behind the scenes. Every now and again one of their number flashily pops into the media’s consciousness, sometimes…
OAKVILLE, ONT.—One of the most basic rules in politics is that the perception of truth always trumps the actual truth. Ignore that rule when plotting a communication strategy and you’re just asking for trouble. What…
OAKVILLE, ONT.—Although New Democrats and Conservatives are different in so many ways, they both share a common dilemma: how do you beat an opponent like Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, a man who’s abundantly blessed with…
OAKVILLE, ONT. —To paraphrase Mark Twain, the death of politics in Canada has been greatly exaggerated. And, yes, in case you missed its obituary, politics was basically declared dead and buried in this country after…
OAKVILLE, ONT.—Given the emotional and combative nature of politics, partisan jibes will always fly thick and fast, which means it’s important for politicians to learn the art of how to strategically parry insults. So how…
OAKVILLE, ONT.—Any politician seeking electoral success must learn how to harness the power of anger. And, yes, in politics, anger is a potentially powerful weapon. It’s an emotion that, if properly exploited, can mobilize and…
OAKVILLE, ONT.—Political watchers like to joke about the NDP leadership race’s utter boringness. But when you actually think about it, singling out the NDP for a lack of excitement is totally unfair, because, let’s face…
OAKVILLE, ONT.—As Sun Tzu, the famed Chinese military philosopher, once declared, “Invincibility lies in the defence, the possibility of victory in the attack.” Yes, okay, quoting Sun Tzu in a column on political strategy is…
OAKVILLE, ONT.—One of the easiest things to be in the world is a computer-keyboard political strategist. Any columnist or journalist or blogger can tap out a 750- to 900-word opus outlining some sort of brilliant…
OAKVILLE, ONT.—The luckiest thing that ever happened to me in my professional career was I got a chance to work with and to learn from the legendary Arthur Finkelstein. Now, you’re probably saying to yourself,…
OAKVILLE, ONT.—The Conservative Party of Canada really wants to make it clear to Canadians that its new leader, Andrew Scheer, is a father to lots of adorable young children and is a husband to a…
OAKVILLE, ONT.—We hear a lot these days about how we need to prepare for global climate change, but there’s another kind of global change happening right now, and it too requires our attention. Or at…
OAKVILLE, ONT.—According to a quantum physics theory (my understanding of which is based mainly on what I learned from watching Star Trek), there exists an infinite number of alternate Earths and thus an infinite number…
OAKVILLE, ONT.—Given that we’re smack dab in the middle of summer and given that everyone is consequently in a vacation mindset right now, I thought it’d be a good time to avoid usual political commentary…
OAKVILLE, ONT.—Canadian conservative politics is irredeemably dull, unless that is, it becomes embroiled in some sort of conspiracy theory, at which point it can be fun to watch. This is why I read with interest…
OAKVILLE, ONT.—Whenever I’m plagued with self-doubt or afflicted with uncertainty, I turn to that one source guaranteed to provide me with the spiritual peace of mind I seek. It’s called Twitter. Yes, that particular social…
OAKVILLE, ONT.—We hear a lot these days about how we need to prepare for global climate change, but there’s another kind of global change happening right now, and it too requires our attention. Or at…Politics This Morning
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