Liberals pressing the personality advantage
OAKVILLE, ONT.—If I had to sum up the Liberal government’s communication strategy in just five words, I’d say, “Trudeau, Trudeau and more Trudeau.” My point being, of course, that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is by far the Liberal government’s most valuable public relations asset. In fact, my guess would be that the Liberal Party’s own […]
Scheer, Lemieux, Chong score endorsements as advocacy groups release mock ballots
MP Andrew Scheer won a juicy endorsement from Quebec dairy producers last week, one of several candidates in the Conservative leadership race to gain momentum from third-party advocacy groups proclaiming their picks. Mr. Scheer (Regina-Qu’Appelle, Sask.) got the nod from Quebec’s Les amis de la Gestion de L’offre et des Régions—friends of supply management and […]
Five things we learned from the latest Conservative leadership fundraising data
Former Senate Liberal Pana Merchant, who just retired at the end of March, appears to have made a donation of $199 to Andrew Scheer’s Conservative leadership campaign. The donation was made in the last quarter of 2016, on Dec. 12, returns from Elections Canada show. Ms. Merchant retired on March 31, though her office, which […]
O’Leary exit boosts Bernier, but race still ‘wide open’ as campaigns reach out for down-ballot support
Kevin O’Leary’s exit from the Conservative leadership race has altered its dynamics in favour of Maxime Bernier, but MPs supporting other leadership candidates say the race is still “wide open,” and campaign teams are reaching out to rivals in hopes of securing second-, third-, and subsequent-ballot support. “This is a wide-open race,” said four-term Conservative […]
O’Toole flies into the Danger Zone
Erin O’Toole has got a Top Gun type of thing happening lately with his social media campaign to become Conservative leader. On April 28, he posted a picture on both his Twitter and Facebook feeds of his head on a body of someone wearing air-force gear, standing in front of a fighter jet, with a […]
With O’Leary gone, Conservatives dodged a nuclear missile
OTTAWA—Kevin O’Leary, we hardly knew you! Your political career is over in the blink of an eye. You say it is because you were being selfless and putting the interests of the Conservative Party first. Some cynics, me among them, wonder if you were more concerned about the impact of a lost leadership on the […]
Health minister hires new parliamentary affairs director
Health Minister Jane Philpott recently filled a vacancy among her senior staff ranks, hiring Jordan Miller to serve as her new director of parliamentary affairs. Previously, Peter Cleary was parliamentary affairs director to the minister, but he left the Hill early last month and is now a senior consultant at Toronto-based public affairs, policy, and […]
O’Leary supporters have potential to throw Conservative race wide open
MONTREAL—With the Conservative crown slipping from his grasp, Kevin O’Leary settled on becoming kingmaker last week. But will the decision to throw his support to Maxime Bernier do the trick? On that, the evidence is mixed. There is not a Canadian political junkie who does not remember the high drama that attended Stéphane Dion’s upset […]
Why the Conservative membership total blew away insider projections
The Conservative Party blew past estimates from leadership candidates, pollsters, and party insiders by signing up 259,010 members by the March 28 cutoff to vote in the federal party’s leadership race on May 27. Estimates by those close to the race had ranged from 150,000 to 200,000 over the past few months, far below the number of […]
Notoriety, Shark-boy, isn’t same thing as popularity
TORONTO—Dear Kevin: At least Michael Ignatieff moved back here. You know what I mean, Mr. Disembark Tank. You’re Just Leaving. As expected. As planned. As such, I was going to wish you the best in packing for the return to Boston—but we both know you never really unpacked, did you? Ignatieff may have been “just visiting”—but […]
