Dear Conservatives: smarten up
OTTAWA—An open letter to the Conservative caucus: The vast majority of you are well meaning, decent, and enthusiastic public servants. You always do the best you can for the people you represent. As the official opposition, you work hard to hold the government to account and offer different options to Canadians. So, it is with […]
Astravas at helm of Emergency Preparedness Minister Blair’s new team
Now minister of emergency preparedness and president of the Queen’s Privy Council, Bill Blair has brought over his chief of staff of the last two years and counting, Zita Astravas, to run his new office. Astravas was chief of staff to Blair through his time as public safety minister, starting in December 2019. A former […]
Winter House sitting will be like ‘political hunger games’ between O’Toole and Trudeau, say pollsters
With both the Conservatives and Liberals running neck and neck in public opinion polls and the NDP making significant gains, this winter House session is expected to be a tough one as the two national parties try to regain their lost momentum, say pollsters. “This upcoming Parliament is going to be a political hunger games […]
Alberta: problem child of Confederation
TORONTO—Unlike the founding provinces of Confederation, Alberta was created by the federal government. Although Ottawa granted Alberta control of its natural resources in 1930, no other English Canadian province has whined as much about the federal system. Equalization is the provincial government’s current leading grievance. Alberta’s governments have fought Ottawa for over a century. The […]
O’Toole attack on Guilbeault an appeal to blue collar class, says strategists
Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole’s mid-January video criticizing the Liberal’s climate change policy was derided by some commentators for misquoting Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault and blurring the truth, but strategists note it was a pointed appeal by the Conservatives to “entire classes” of Canadians who depend on the energy economy. It’s an approach that may win […]
Big issues at play as the parliamentary games begin
OTTAWA—Parliament returns on Jan. 31 for what could prove to be an eventful sitting. As we all work to slog through winter, our federal legislative Chamber will be focused on the pandemic, inflation, and, in these early days, potential war in Ukraine. Fascinating subplots will also be in Justin Trudeau’s flourishing “will he or won’t […]
House sitting ‘make or break’ for O’Toole’s leadership, say Conservatives
Conservative MPs, former senior Tories, and political insiders view the upcoming House sitting to be a litmus test for Erin O’Toole’s leadership. If he survives until the summer recess, it will be harder for his opponents to bring him down after that point and he will most likely lead his party in the next election, […]
The problem with the ballot
TORONTO—For decades the NDP, and before it the CCF, claimed that shielding information about election financing allowed corporations to exert undue influence in the making of public policy and awarding of government contracts. The underlying assumption in the law at the time was that elections were fought only by candidates in constituencies, not by political […]
Feminism on the rise in Canada, but experts say more policy action needed to match
Feminism is on the rise in Canada, according to a recent poll commissioned by Independent Senator Donna Dasko, and while gender representation within political parties is improving, concrete policy action still leaves a lot to be desired, experts say. The poll, commissioned by Dasko (Ontario) from the Environics Institute for Survey Research (related to the […]
O’Toole expected to receive 2021 election post-mortem report before Jan. 31, says former Conservative MP Cumming
Conservative Party Leader Erin O’Toole, who is under some pressure for an early leadership review, is expected to receive the much-awaited campaign review next month on why his party lost the last election to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals. “We hope to complete [the report] by the end of next month,” said former Edmonton Conservative […]
