With Canada’s election looming, sense of urgency growing over passage of new NAFTA, say Republican aides
As Canada inches closer to the upcoming federal election, some Republican staffers say there’s a growing impatience with the Democrats over their refusal to bring the new NAFTA to a vote in the House. “In my district, among farmers, there certainly is a sense of urgency,” said Republican staffer Debra Fansler, who works for Representative […]
Canada’s upcoming federal election could expose deepening societal rifts and ‘ordered’ populism, says Graves
Canada’s upcoming federal election could expose deepening societal rifts that will test the country’s immunity from Trumpian-style populism, says one leading pollster, but other politicians and political observers say while there are worrying signs, it has limited appeal. Thanks to economic stagnation, the hyper-concentration of wealth, and a brewing cultural backlash, Canada’s political climate is […]
Generational changes in Sikh vote, in five graphs
NDP hits pause on ads, Grits and Tories suspend TV campaigns as pre-election spending cap, summer doldrums kick in
The NDP says it has temporarily stopped running political ads on Facebook and elsewhere fewer than 100 days before the federal election, leading one conservative-tied digital strategist to suggest the party is in deep trouble, and a former NDP national director to predict the party is saving its ammunition for closer to the election. “The […]
Conservative premiers on campaign trail give Scheer little boost, say pollsters
Campaigning conservative premiers pose little gain for federal Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer and his party in preparation for the October election, pollsters say. A group of five conservative-minded premiers, who met two weeks ago ahead of the Council of the Federation —a biannual meeting of the 13 premiers of Canada’s provinces and territories—to present themselves […]
‘Foreign actors’ less threatening to elections than homegrown
CHELSEA, QUE.—There is a bustling cottage industry in Ottawa intent on preventing “foreign actors” from subverting the Oct. 21 federal election. Security experts issue regular warnings that malign forces are targeting our democracy. They provide anti-hacking advice—“always practise good cyber hygiene”—and point to the growing incidence of cyber-attacks in other democracies. Everything but the ominous […]
Generational changes in the Sikh Canadian vote could spell trouble for Liberals
Sikhs have long been called “power brokers” in Canadian politics for the ability of Sikh political activists to deliver delegates in nomination and party leader races on the local, provincial, and federal level, and for the past 30 years they’ve mostly backed the federal Liberals, but that could change in the next federal election, say […]
Engage Canada won’t run more attack ads before election
Left-leaning political messaging group Engage Canada won’t be running any more ads attacking Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer before the upcoming election, say Unifor national president Jerry Dias and another source close to the organization. “Engage is finished,” said Mr. Dias in a phone interview with The Hill Times last week. Another source close to Engage […]
Too much party control in ‘highly uncompetitive’ candidate selection: Samara study
Over the past five elections, fewer than one-fifth of candidates earned their name on the ballot through a competitive party nomination process, found a new Samara report, a statistic the group says shows candidate selection is “highly uncompetitive, opaque, unpredictable, and centrally controlled” by parties. In effect, party brass—not party members or the Canadian public—have […]
Majority of Canadians may support TMX, but the project remains an electoral risk for Liberals: pollsters
Recent polls may indicate a majority of Canadians support the government’s plowing ahead with the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project, but with further opposition actions expected, experts say the best Liberals can likely hope for is to not lose too many progressive voters. “It’s very unlikely that it’s going to help them win support anywhere […]
