The Conservatives’ post- election inquiry and the future of Canada’s politics
OTTAWA—Had the Conservatives won the election, what would Canadians be expecting now? People who should know say Erin O’Toole is indeed a centrist, and, despite winning the leadership by appealing to the Conservatives’ solidly right and social conservative factions, he was unshakable in his view that the key to winning power was to steer the […]
Suppose they gave an election and nobody won
It would be very easy to simply slide alongside the emerging narrative that the 44th Canadian general election was a waste of time, a waste of money, and an empty exercise where the hopes and dreams of political junkies met their maker. To be fair, the Liberals were indeed hoping for a majority and fell […]
The Seinfeld election: an election about nothing
This election might be called the Seinfeld election, an election about nothing. There was no single issue, as there was in 1988 when free trade turned that election into a referendum. Nor was there a burning desire to vote the bums out, as there was in 1984, 1993, and 2015. Instead, it just was. Sure, […]
‘We have drive’: Indigenous MPs on their election and their future
Another election has come and gone and there was a record number of Indigenous candidates put forward this time, at least 77 people, with the end results showing that the actual count of Indigenous MPs who will sit in the House has also gone up, to 12 from the 10 elected after the 2019 campaign. […]
Elxn#44 will go down as the ‘backlash’ election against Trudeau Liberals, say politicos
The Sept. 20 federal election will be remembered as the “backlash” election, after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took the country to the polls in the midst of the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic but failed to convince Canadians that he needed to do so. Canadians negative reaction to this decision dogged the Liberals throughout […]
Liberals and Conservatives trade barbs in series of attack ads
A series of three attack ads were released by the Liberals on Sept. 4, targeting Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole and suggesting he would “take Canada backward.” That same day, another set of English-language ads came out from the Conservative Party, accusing Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau and his caucus of misleading Canadians using “cynical, American-style attack ads, […]
Liberals quiet on Canada-China relationship, while Tory approach could lead to Beijing retaliation: experts
After more than two years of rocky relations with Beijing, the Liberals have offered little on the campaign trail about how it will handle future relations with China, while the Conservatives have laid out a blueprint that could lead to Chinese government retaliation against Canada. The Canada-China relationship, which has yet to become a focal […]
Unpacking party platform strategies, timing important in a tight two-way race
I spent most of my political career as a ground war operative specializing in byelections, get out the vote efforts, election readiness committees, nomination races, and leadership campaigns. I’ve knocked on doors in too many ridings to count and I’ll admit to sometimes mocking policy teams for overestimating the value of their platforms. As many […]
Harper without a scowl: can O’Toole sell voters a package of Harper retreads?
OTTAWA—When Stephen Harper lost the election to Justin Trudeau and the Liberals on the night of Oct. 19, 2015, he left the stage of his campaign headquarters in Calgary without giving photographers a chance to catch him signalling his goodbye. No photo for the ages of Harper stepping down. But the Reformer who built the […]
Léger poll on eve of first French debate shows O’Toole gaining momentum in Quebec
As party leaders prepare for the Sept. 2 TVA debate—a crucial event for reaching many Quebec voters—a new poll from Léger Marketing suggests the Conservatives are on the rise in the province. “The reason why this poll is this really important is over the past two years, ever since the 2019 election, we’ve never had […]
