Kellie Leitch wants to be lightning rod, Raitt looking to future, says Nik Nanos
The only two women in a current field of 12 Conservative leadership candidates could emerge as the leading options for the Tory rank and file as voting day nears, says Nanos Research pollster Nik Nanos. The choice will likely be clear, Mr. Nanos told The Hill Times on the eve of the contest’s first all-candidates […]
Minister Mihychuk scoops up Minister Monsef’s press secretary
Jean-Bruno Villeneuve started his new job as press secretary to Employment, Workforce Development and Labour Minister MaryAnn Mihychuk earlier this week on Nov. 7, leaving Democratic Institutions Minister Maryam Monsef’s office to take on the role. Mr. Villeneuve announced his move in an email to the press gallery on Nov. 3, noting that Ms. Monsef’s […]
Leitch’s fundraising swells in September during ‘Canadian values’ controversy
Conservative MP Kellie Leitch’s explosive proposal to screen refugees, immigrants, and visitors to Canada for “Canadian values” didn’t hurt her fundraising campaign in September—in fact, contributions boomed that month after having plunged like a stone over the summer, party financial reports to Elections Canada suggest. Though a handful of her opponents in the race to […]
Private fundraising events are a necessary evil
OTTAWA—Odious is how one Globe and Mail columnist characterized the job of private event fundraising. Lawrence Martin actually ascribed the descriptor to me, based on an interview I gave last week to CTV parliamentary bureau chief Bob Fife. Fife asked me what I thought of the current political controversy surrounding the private fundraising activities of […]
Montreal businessman Fournier, who manages $55-billion in assets, considering run at Conservative leadership
PARLIAMENT HILL—Daniel Fournier, a well-known Montreal businessman, Rhodes scholar, former CFL football player, and president of an international real estate investment company with assets worth $55-billion, is considering running for the Conservative Party’s leadership, sources told The Hill Times. Mr. Fournier, 62, chair and chief executive officer of Ivanhoé Cambridge, a real estate subsidiary of Caisse de dépôt et […]
Trudeau’s election was more about personality than policy
TORONTO—Elections are the art of making a mountain out of a molehill. This is true in Canada and in every democratic country. Some are saying that elections are not about policies, but about character. No doubt that character is important, but making mistakes with a smile on your face doesn’t change the damage imposed on people. […]
‘There’s some big cracks coming into Liberal mandate,’ Conservatives’ electoral chances in 2019 have improved in recent months, says O’Leary
Businessman and television personality Kevin O’Leary is still considering a run at the federal Conservative leadership, and says the odds have improved lately of him or whoever becomes leader beating Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the 2019 election, despite the Liberals’ current polling numbers. “There’s some big cracks coming into the Liberal mandate,” he said […]
Trudeau’s experiment in Senate a step-by-step revolution
GATINEAU, QUE.—Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has done what no one thought possible: turned the Senate of Canada into a potentially useful, and suddenly intriguing, institution. And he did it without any heavy lifting, or extravagant drama—only a few judicious tweaks. As of today, 44 of the 105 members of the Upper Chamber are Independents—in name, […]
‘We’re in full leadership swing,’ Scheer campaign getting hand from MP supporters, says Marshall
When Conservative MP Andrew Scheer threw his hat into the increasingly packed Conservative leadership race on Sept. 28, he was flanked by 17 Conservative MPs and three Senators. His campaign manager Hamish Marshall says they’ve been an important source of help and active supporters of campaign efforts ever since. “A lot of the support we’re […]
Ditchburn, Fox debut new Harper book at Mét event
If you have a book launch in Ottawa and it isn’t at the Métropolitain Brasserie, did it really happen? In political Ottawa, the answer to that is no. It’s a tradition as well worn as, say, former prime minister Stephen Harper’s legacy, and so it was fitting a book on just that subject debuted at […]
