Jaczek’s 11-member team includes first-time policy director Jessie Pierre
A new addition to cabinet this fall, Helena Jaczek, minister for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, has formed a 11-member staff team, including Jessie Pierre as director of policy. As previously reported, Anne Dawson is chief of staff to Jaczek, while Charles “Chike” Agbasi is director of operations and Frank Tersigni is […]
Will trucker-enabling Conservatives bet the house on a Republican-style, COVID-driven culture war?
OTTAWA—Local police established a very problematic precedent in allowing an angry, rebellious crowd to take control of the nation’s capital for more than a week. For whatever reason, the police initially abdicated responsibility for maintaining order in the capital and subjected its citizens to harassment and bullying by hostile troublemakers on a seemingly endless scale. […]
Conservatives need a leader who can sit at the grown-ups table
OTTAWA—Give credit where credit is due. It is not something that happens much anymore in our political ecosystem, and frankly it should. My preaching aside, I want to acknowledge some wise words offered by Globe and Mail columnist Andrew Coyne on CBC’s At Issue panel last week. While offering his opinion on what has been […]
Tory leadership race should end before July, say Poilievre campaign supporters, unfazed by convoy backing
Supporters of Conservative Party leadership election front-runner—and the sole declared candidate so far—Pierre Poilievre say the contest should be concluded before July to give the winner an opportunity to attend the BBQ circuit across the country during the summer and get the party ready for the next election. “The sooner the better,” said Conservative MP […]
O’Toole’s demise was caused by a schism in the party, and it’s only growing wider
OTTAWA—Seventy-three people were able to vote out a leader who was chosen by 100,000 Conservatives. This is democracy? Conservative leader Erin O’Toole’s departure was as hasty as it was dramatic. And in a touch of irony, the author of the private member’s bill that prompted O’Toole’s demise was one of the few people fighting for […]
Poilievre’s in, and Brown not ruling out running for federal Conservative leadership election
Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown, who also served as a federal MP and Ontario PC leader in the past, is not ruling out running for the federal Conservative Party’s top job that opened up last week after the caucus ousted Erin O’Toole as party leader. “Well, it’s premature for me to speculate at this time,” said […]
Conservative MPs’ endorsement of Ottawa’s ongoing occupation indefensible
At this point, what started out as a convoy and became a protest against all COVID-19 restrictions has again morphed this time into a week-long occupation of downtown Ottawa. It is hurting the very same people the protesters claim to want to help: working-class folks struggling with the impact of COVID-19 restrictions on their lives […]
Big difference between a protest and issuing an ultimatum
HALIFAX—Just two words for the mob holding Ottawa hostage: truck off. Everyone in this country believes in the right to protest. A protest allows free people to display their dissent over public issues. The right to protest is invaluable. It has worked miracles in changing the course of history. The civil rights marches and protests […]
Conservatives need to fix their communications strategy, stat
OAKVILLE, ONT.—Sometimes you learn things too late to do you any good. Such is the case for Erin O’Toole the now-ousted Conservative Party leader, who about a week ago was handed an in-house analysis explaining what went wrong for him during the 2020 federal election. Probably won’t do him much good now. Mind you, it […]
‘Hear the other side’: O’Toole out as Conservative Party leader in Reform Act first
Erin O’Toole has been voted out as leader of the Conservative Party, just 18 months after Tory members finished their last leadership vote. The party met on Feb. 2 to vote, after about one-third of the 119-person caucus signed a notice triggering the review. In the end, 73 MPs voted in favour of replacing O’Toole […]
