Quebec election 2018: boring, for once
KAMOURASKA, QUE.—If there is one word to describe the Oct. 1 election in Quebec, it is: boring. In the wake of the hurly-burly election of Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives in Ontario in June, its neighbour’s contest has all the attraction of watching paint dry. But that is just fine with my cousin Don, a 50ish […]
As 2019 nears, Liberals turn to pork-barrel politics
The Liberals came to power in 2015 repeating lines about “evidence-based decision-making” and pledged to take partisanship out of the appointments and other processes. Under former prime minister Stephen Harper, “Science and evidence have never mattered less; politics and partisanship have never mattered more,” the Liberals opined at the time. But as the next general […]
Drawing from a new well: Tories look to party outsiders to quench voters’ thirst for change
Looking to replicate their success in the recent Chicoutimi-Le Fjord, Que., byelection on a national scale, the Conservatives’ 2019 campaign chief is encouraging party faithful to think outside the box and recruit outside traditional party circles. “Especially in seats we haven’t won for a long time, going back to the same well again and again […]
Liberal riding associations out-fundraised Conservatives three-to-one in 2016 and 2017
Liberal riding associations raised triple the money brought in by their Conservative rivals in 2016 and 2017, data from Elections Canada shows, bucking the trend of the Conservatives outclassing the Grits at fundraising. The Liberal electoral district associations (EDAs) collectively raked in $13.4-million during that time, versus $4.5-million for the Conservatives. Most of that money […]
Jean Chrétien Liberals celebrating 25th anniversary of the ‘landmark’ 1993 election win on Oct. 25
The Jean Chrétien Liberals are holding a reception in Ottawa to celebrate the 1993 landslide election win that brought the Liberals back to power after about nine years in the political wilderness, and reduced the then-governing Progressive Conservatives to only two seats, depriving them even of official party status in the House. “I’m really looking […]
CSIS should also help block foreign meddling in our elections
OTTAWA—Whatever side you take on the investigation by former FBI Director Robert Mueller into whether the Trump campaign team colluded with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential elections—either it is a very serious allegation of wrongdoing by the current president and/or his supporters, or a useless and partisan witch hunt— one thing is beyond debate: […]
Tories target young voters, talk campus recruitment at convention
With a record-number of youth turning out to vote, young Conservative convention delegates gathered in Halifax this weekend say their party can close the gap that saw the Liberals capture their demographic in 2015, if they keep the “big blue tent” in mind on controversial issues and steer clear of “inflammatory rhetoric.” The party has […]
Divisive riding-refund clawback pulled from agenda, as Tories set to talk policy in Halifax
A proposed change to the federal Conservative Party’s constitution aimed at stopping the national body from clawing back money from its riding associations has been pulled from consideration at this week’s convention. The proposal, sponsored by the electoral district association for Carleton, Ont., was part of the association’s campaign to stop the implementation of a 2017 decision […]
Halifax huddle a chance for Scheer to step from Harper’s shadow and shine
OTTAWA—Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer heads into this week’s party convention in reasonable shape despite the best efforts of Maxime Bernier to do whatever it was he was trying to do. As Scheer travels to Halifax, his party’s fundraising numbers remain impressive, the party’s polling numbers are good, and generally his caucus is unified. Any other […]
Liberals could cede some ground on the left, as they contend with Conservatives, says strategist
The 2019 election may be more than a year away, but there are signs that the Trudeau government could lean into a more centrist agenda given the political challenge it faces from the Conservatives, according to some political observers. As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Papineau, Que.) and his cabinet decamp to Nanaimo, B.C., on Tuesday […]
