Whoever leads the Conservative Party needs to display a little bit of swagger and a whole lot of toughness.

Divisive rhetoric that inevitably occurs during hard-fought election campaigns, might sting us, but they won’t destroy us.

Anyway, what’s happened in this election should be a cautionary tale for anyone thinking about making a career in politics. Mistakes you make now in 2019 could hurt you in 2030.

The campaign will ultimately come down to which is more formidable, Conservative cash or Justin Trudeau’s cachet.

It might make perfect political sense for Andrew Scheer to skip the climate change parades; let the Liberals, Greens and NDP split up that part of the voting pie which wants to pay higher carbon taxes.

Sec. 91 has been re-designed to cast a wider net; it’s so wide, in fact, it will now catch individuals who post 'false' news, even if those individuals who posted that news did so in good faith, believing it was true.

Rather than airing TV ads featuring Andrew Scheer talking to the camera for 30 seconds about his plan to cut taxes, the Conservatives should run TV ads attacking Trudeau for his plan to raise taxes.

The bottom line is a smart communication strategy goes with the media flow. So if journalists want politics of politics, oblige them.

When trying to gauge the true power and intent of a political communication strategy, sometimes you need to look past the words which are spoken and focus instead on the message’s subtext.

The Conservative leader needs to show Canadians the big picture of what his party hopes to achieve, and convince them that no one faction of the Conservative base will dominate the party's policies.

It's no surprise people told Forum Research they weren't affected by political advertising, but that doesn't mean it's the truth.

Let's do ourselves a favour, and stay off Twitter during this election campaign.

If the party can prepare the media to look for a better NDP narrative, good things will follow.

Populism and democracy are intrinsically linked, since in any democratic society, you’ll have rich and poor; powerful and weak; haves and have nots, which will always create a fertile ground for social tension.

There exists a sliver of a demographic out there that is persuadable; these are people who do intend to vote and who haven’t yet decided which party to support.

Green Party Leader Elizabeth May has come to understand that she might have to toughen up her act, which would explain why her party recently hired Warren Kinsella, a combative, seasoned political operative.

In politics, time management matters, or as Benjamin Franklin once put it, 'Lost time is never found again.' So the parties better get at it.

How much influence do pollsters have when it comes to helping political parties set their respective courses? Lots.

Andrew Scheer’s enemies will keep hammering away at his plan from now until election day in October, which will put the Conservative leader on the defensive.

Andrew Scheer should heed the words of Harry Truman who once advised, 'Carry the battle to them. Don't let them bring it to you. Put them on the defensive and don't ever apologize for anything.'

The Conservatives will likely use any Justin Trudeau gaffe to bolster their argument that Canada needs more competent leadership. So my point is Trudeau’s needs to get better.

Ever since the world’s cultural, political, and business elites have embraced internationalist policies such as globalization, free trade and more liberal immigration, 'waving the flag' is seen in some circles as gauche.

Justin Trudeau’s recent attacks on Andrew Scheer are not really aimed at winning over wavering undecided voters; their real purpose rather is to mobilize and energize the Liberal base.

The Liberal Party is fighting for its political life, the Conservatives appear to be riding the crest of a 'Blue Wave,' the Green Party is on the rise, and the NDP is still basically irrelevant.