Conservatives have bigger fish to fry than Scheer’s leadership
OTTAWA—Andrew Scheer’s days as leader of the Conservative Party may indeed be numbered. But before the current leader’s head is placed on pitchfork, supporters of the organization would be wise to avoid deluding themselves into believing that getting a new leader is the simple fix the party needs. While it is true Scheer did not […]
‘We’re not 100 per cent sure who’s framing the discussion anymore’: the evolving role of media in election coverage
With social media playing such a significant role in the federal election campaign, it was unclear whether it was political parties or the media who were responsible for framing the elusive “ballot-box question,” media critics say. Carleton journalism professor Paul Adams, who worked for CBC Television, CBC Radio, and in The Globe and Mail’s parliamentary bureau as senior […]
Eight former MPs, five Conservatives, make their return to Parliament in 2019
Eight former MPs who weren’t part of the last Parliament will be making their way back to Ottawa following successful bids in the 2019 election, including five Conservatives, two from the Bloc Québécois, and one from the NDP. Liberal candidates finished second in all eight ridings won by the former MPs across the country. Conservative […]
Liberals about to learn how difficult it is to pursue policy while trying to ensure the trains run on time
OTTAWA—Well that was fun! As the carcass of the 43rd general election continues to be picked over in search of political ammunition or insight, it might be useful to step back and examine what actually happened and what, if anything, it might mean. There is a strong consensus that this election was one of the […]
Harper, Chrétien to share stage; to discuss federalism, populism and Canada’s future in Calgary
Stephen Harper and Jean Chrétien—Canada’s fifth and sixth longest serving former prime ministers—will share the stage in Calgary to discuss Canada’s future in the post-truth age. Mr. Harper and Mr. Chrétien have collectively been prime minister of Canada for the last 19 of 25 years. Mr. Chrétien, led his Liberal government from 1993 to 2003, […]
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times
Highs The vote For the 43rd time in the country’s history, Canadians headed to the polls to decide who to send to the House of Commons. In many countries around the world, citizens don’t have a say in their government. But in Canada, every so often, every MP has to go back to their […]
Lessons learned from a nasty, unpredictable campaign
KAMOURASKA, QUE.—Anyone who has worked in government or international organizations knows the drill: once an event is over or a crisis has passed, there is a call for “lessons learned” in a formal post-mortem exercise, or through memoranda, identifying failures or omissions. Invariably, such undertakings focus on failure, because success means few lessons, even less […]
Public service union heads express relief, optimism over Liberal minority win
The new Liberal minority government is an outcome that the Public Service Alliance of Canada can “certainly live with,” says the union’s national president Chris Aylward, while fellow union leader Debi Daviau says she hopes the government is willing to “reciprocate” the support it received during the campaign. During the campaign, PSAC, the country’s largest […]
An election where the past haunted the present
OAKVILLE, ONT.—If the 2019 federal election has taught us anything (and it probably hasn’t) it’s that political parties need some genius scientist to invent a time machine. After all, such a machine would be mighty useful for all the politicians out there who, if they could, would go back in time to correct the mistakes […]
This is a testing time for leadership
TORONTO—It has been an appalling election campaign where the biggest challenges we face were largely ignored. But once the vote-counting is over, MPs will have little choice but to face up to the looming realities that seriously threaten their easy promises of an affordable and prosperous future. Whoever forms the government will have to get […]
