Conservatives look to raze Liberal stronghold in Newfoundland and Labrador
The Conservative Party has won just two seats in five elections over Newfoundland and Labrador’s seven ridings since 2008.
Poilievre shakes up senior ranks of Conservative Party
Conservative Party fundraising director Jaime Girard and research director Jim Miller are out while Tony Clement is the new national fundraising coordinator for the Conservative Party.
Poilievre’s Conservatives should dig deep into $300-billion price tag for new Navy warships, not ‘gotcha’ issues of the past
The Government Operations and Estimates Committee is especially well-positioned to set the agenda and investigate critical defence matters as it is chaired by a member of the opposition party.
Is a blue wave headed for the Rock?
OTTAWA—Over the last few weeks, I have been home in Newfoundland and Labrador more frequently. No, it is not because I am plotting some political run myself, but some illness and death in the family meant more time on the Rock. It being home, federal politics is both a fascination and a source of much […]
Seniors Minister Kamal Khera names a new chief of staff
Seniors Minister Kamal Khera has a new chief of staff, Lindsay Hunter, following Jude Welch’s departure from the role at the end of September. Welch had run Khera’s office since she was first sworn into cabinet as minister of seniors after the fall 2021 federal election. He’d been a chief of staff on the Hill […]
Nomination rules for incumbent Conservative MPs will change after completion of riding redistribution process, say senior Conservative sources
If the next federal election happens after the completion of the ongoing riding redistribution process in April 2024, the nomination rules for incumbent Conservative MPs will change, which means they may have to go through a divisive contested nomination election process, say senior Conservative sources. “The rules do not apply to the new ridings,” said […]
Poilievre has potential to turn Tory tides in seat-rich Quebec, say strategists
Recent public opinion polls point to Quebec as an electoral weak spot for the Tories, but while new Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre may have gotten off to a rocky start among Quebecers with the handling of former Quebec lieutenant Alain Rayes’ caucus exit, strategists argue Poilievre’s bilingualism, universal pitch, and decisions since—including naming two Quebecers […]
Critics list casts a shadow over Conservatives’ idle hands
OTTAWA—A month after being elected Conservative leader, Pierre Poilievre appointed his shadow cabinet. Given aspects of my crusty disposition and length of time here in Ottawa, I don’t tend to get fussed over who serves in what critic role. Frankly, if you are reading this column—thank you—and you can name those who have served as […]
Time to clean up our language
CHELSEA, QUE.—Political language has become so degraded that a gross betrayal of supporters, a shameless climbdown from previously embraced imperatives, the sudden disappearance of favourite dog whistles when they are no longer useful, is widely known as a “pivot.” Not a lie, not self-serving evasion, not what non-political people would consider a damning character defect. […]
The longstanding Liberal hegemony in Canada, and the challenges to it
TORONTO—Since the federal election of 1896, when voters in the mostly French-speaking province of Quebec switched their votes, en masse, from the Conservative to the Liberal Party, Canada has been characterized at the federal level by long periods of Liberal government with comparatively brief Conservative interludes. Indeed, the Conservative Party had re-designated itself as the […]
