Liberals dethrone Tories in Lac-Saint-Jean; Conservatives hold Alberta stronghold
The governing Liberal Party surged to victory in a competitive northeastern Quebec riding Monday night, showcasing newfound strength in a rural stretch of the province it had arguably not seen there since the early 1980s. Liberal candidate Richard Hébert beat back a spirited push from the Bloc Québécois and Conservatives to take the riding of […]
Tax cuts and fiscal hypocrisy: how the deficit hawks always change their tune
OTTAWA— U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest internal party feud has broken out in spectacular fashion with prominent Republican Senator Bob Corker. After Trump repeatedly slammed former ally Corker on Twitter, saying he was personally responsible for what the president called the United States’ “horrendous” nuclear deal with Iran and accusing the Senator of lacking “the […]
Death of Energy East direct legacy of Harper’s decade in office
OTTAWA—The death of Energy East is a direct legacy of the Stephen Harper decade in office. Not only did the prime minister systematically refuse to bring premiers together, he had no interest in a new national project. Harper was Canada’s energy superhero, and oil companies didn’t even have to leave Calgary to get support for […]
Where words matter: shaping the national story one comment at a time
OTTAWA—With the House back after the summer, the war of words on Parliament Hill continues. Thousands of pages of transcripts from Commons speeches, committee hearings, and other events attended by MPs and public officials will be compiled as usual. Out across the country, there’s no doubt a lot of people will think it’s all the […]
Liberals maintain double-digit lead despite Khadr payout, proposed tax reforms: poll
PARLIAMENT HILL—The governing Liberals opened the fall session of Parliament with a healthy 12-point lead over the Conservatives, maintaining robust advantages in vote-rich Ontario and Quebec, while flirting with supermajority numbers in Atlantic Canada, a new public opinion poll suggests. The latest survey from Campaign Research, conducted between Sept. 8-11 and released first to The […]
The girls (and boys) are back in town
OTTAWA—On the heels of a cool, wet summer break, things are about to heat up inside the political precinct and, as entertaining as that may be, it will also set the path to Canada’s 43rd general election and, by extension, the makeup of the 43rd Parliament. There will be plenty of legislative protein in the […]
Liberals want input from MPs on nomination challenges, Mendès says most want ‘outright protection’
Liberal MPs say the party brass is seeking input from them on nomination rules for held ridings for the 2019 election, and have asked them to provide concrete proposals by scheduling in-person or teleconference meetings with top Grit officials. At last week’s two-day Liberal caucus retreat in Kelowna, B.C., top party officials, including president Anna […]
Small business tax reform a test of Trudeau’s nerve
GATINEAU, QUE.—Justin Trudeau’s proposal to eliminate loopholes in the small business tax is a modest step in the direction of tax fairness and Finance Minister Bill Morneau is, in many ways, an ideal spear-carrier for reform. These may not be popular claims in medical clinics, upscale salons and most editorial boardrooms, but that doesn’t mean […]
Harper’s hands-off approach to Quebec
Did Stephen Harper’s approach to Quebec accelerate the decline of the sovereignty movement, or was the former prime minister just the accidental beneficiary of a collective desire on the part of Quebecers to move on from the deadlock over the province’s political future? In a text published in the magazine L’actualité on the occasion of […]
Good for Tories, Grits for mature co-operation on NAFTA
They’re allowed to disagree with the government. Heck, that’s a huge part of their job. But when it comes to NAFTA, the official opposition Conservatives have taken a tactful approach so far in not bashing the governing Liberals, and it’s worth continuing under new foreign affairs critic Erin O’Toole, international trade critic Dean Allison, and […]
