Elections Canada should oversee riding nomination elections
Nomination meetings to select candidates for ridings across the country are one of the key building blocks of democracy in any political system. Prior to every election, all party leaders vow to hold free, fair, and transparent nomination elections. But as soon as the nomination contests start, all major parties make national headlines facing allegations […]
The comeback kids: former MPs seek return to federal political stage in October
For former NDP MP Andrew Cash, giving up after his narrow loss in 2015 to Liberal MP Julie Dzerowicz was never an option. “I never didn’t think I was going to run after the election,” Mr. Cash told The Hill Times. “We ran an amazing campaign in 2015. [I got] as many votes in 2015 […]
Will Scheer win big? Will Greens get party status? Our politics are too wily to see clearly
While enjoying Canada Day 2019 this week I was left to ponder what Canada’s federal political and policy landscape will look like a year from now. Will more things change or will they remain the same? Recent provincial elections have taught us that there is a bit of a disruptive mood in the land that […]
Liberals’ public opinion research spending bump an electoral boost, says strategist
Public opinion research spending climbed to $15.3-million during the 2018-19 fiscal year, according to a report by Public Services and Procurement Canada. This brings an end to the Liberals’ two-year decline in spending since 2016, with spending this year topping 2017-18 costs by $3.4-million. According to Conservative strategist Dennis Matthews, a vice-president of marketing and […]
Progress on reconciliation, debate on climate change could bring out higher Indigenous vote in next election, advocates say
Some Indigenous leaders and advocates say there’s enough momentum towards reconciliation to energize voters in their communities to turn out in significant numbers in October, with climate change, the national inquiry’s calls to address the systemic racism faced by Indigenous women and girls, and pipelines potentially galvanizing the electorate, though it’s an open question whether […]
Time has come to legislate all political advertising 365 days a year
OTTAWA—Twitter received kudos last week for finally announcing the suspension of political advertising during the summer. The social media feed was late to that party, having been publicly scolded by Democratic Reform Minister Karina Gould for its silence on recent government legislation limiting social media advertising. Michele Austin, head of government and public policy for […]
With drop in irregular migrant numbers, experts split on immigration as potent election issue
Immigration has become a hot political wedge issue in Canada over the past few years, but its impact on the upcoming federal election could depend on what happens along the border this summer, say pollsters. The numbers of migrants attempting to cross the Canadian border at unauthorized points of entry has significantly decreased in 2019. […]
Don’t be surprised if Canadians try something different this time around
HALIFAX—And so it begins, that traditional steeple chase towards nothing called a federal election. Some pundits see a horse race developing—two big parties in a virtual tie. But if the polls have it right, the lesson is not that Canadians are in for a competitive spectacle. It is that the Liberals have already lost a […]
I’ve met the leaders of today, and tomorrow, and they’re in Afghanistan looking for support to help bring peace and stability to the nation
OTTAWA—When I was just out of high school in 2013, I had the opportunity to meet and sit down in a hotel conference room in Ottawa with Afghan leader Hanif Atmar. At the time, he had held several positions within the Afghanistan government including education minister, interior minister, and most recently national security adviser. I […]
Trudeau’s legislative record unlikely to motivate voters in the fall, with a few exceptions: pollsters
Four years of lawmaking has left the Liberal government with a lengthy list of accomplishments and black marks, but only a few legal changes made or abandoned by the Trudeau government will likely play a significant role at the ballot box this October, say political observers. “There’s an old saying in politics: ‘Friends come and […]
