Tried and tested team behind Conservative Party’s bid to return to government
Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer and team are gunning to form the next government in October, and the party’s campaign team, led by former party pollster Hamish Marshall, includes many tried and tested strategists and organizers. “Effectively, [running a national campaign] it’s like building a company with a few hundred employees that’s going to spend tens […]
Four axes of polarization in election 2019
OTTAWA—Increased polarization is the trend in democracies the world over and Canada is no exception. Our extremes may not be as stark, or are they? “We are reaping what we sewed,” said Lloyd Axworthy at a recent roundtable in Winnipeg hosted by the Pearson Centre on the topic of polarization. Power around the world has […]
Liberals win when they’re compared to alternatives, but lose when their record is in the news
VANCOUVER—It would be nice if every vote mattered the same, but it isn’t true. There are 150 seats where we already have a pretty good idea of who is going to win. Sixty-five seats are historically strong Conservative seats that recent polls say are very likely to continue to go Conservative. Thirty-two seats are historic […]
Facing the nation: leaders’ tours hint at parties’ vulnerabilities, seats in play
The party leaders’ sprint across the country in the run-up to the election hints at where campaign strategists think their team can make inroads, or—depending on the state of the electoral map and public opinion polls—where they need to play defence, say political observers. It’s no surprise the four major party leaders have been logging […]
It’s not about abortion: if you want a green outcome, don’t be distracted
CHELSEA, QUE.—For many voters, the most important question in the federal election that started last week is this: which party has the best plan to lower greenhouse gas emissions and the most likelihood of following through? There will be a lot of noise between now and Oct. 21—there already is—about abortion, rogue candidates, bus-plane mishaps […]
Greens running biggest federal campaign yet, led by Jonathan Dickie
Much is new when it comes to the federal Green Party’s campaign, including a first-ever rapid response team, a bulked up team of provincial organizers, and national campaign manager Jonathan Dickie says the party is currently “fairly confident” it can win between six and 12 seats on Oct. 21. “That number’s constantly shifting as we […]
Trudeau may be starring in his own peek-a-boo campaign
HALIFAX—I don’t know if Justin Trudeau is going to win this October’s election or not, but his imitation of Baghdad Bob to begin the campaign is a bad omen. You remember Baghdad Bob? He was Saddam Hussein’s information minister during the Iraq War. With the Americans in control of the city’s airport and U.S. swarming […]
Former PQ organizers behind Bloc Québécois’ fall federal campaign
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet has projected his party will at least double its 10-seat incumbent caucus and win more than 20 federal seats this October, with a campaign being run by Carl Pilotte. Mr. Blanchet made his projection in an interview in French with L’actualité in July, saying his party had reorganized and moved […]
Attempts to tap into issues behind populist mood will be front and centre in this election campaign
OTTAWA—By Oct. 21, Canadians will have a better idea how the populist wave that has swept through Western democracies in recent years will play out in Canada. The Conservatives are running an essentially populist campaign against the Liberals’ Justin Trudeau. In keeping with the pattern seen in Europe and the United States, Conservative Leader Andrew […]
Big mistake to bash China in federal election
TORONTO—It is quite possible that the federal election could, when it comes to relations with China, turn into a contest on who can bash China the hardest. That would be a big mistake. China bashing is already standard fare in U.S. elections. But it will be newer to Canada, although the Conservative Party has long […]
