Putting off byelections until 2019 could help Liberals: strategists
Four federal ridings will soon be vacant, and strategists say putting off the byelections to fill them—including Burnaby South, B.C., where NDP leader Jagmeet Singh will fight for a seat in the Commons—would be to the Liberals’ advantage. “If I were the Liberals I would not hold that byelection [Burnaby South] before Christmas. No rush […]
Is Trudeau about to make Peterson’s mistake?
It’s the right time to call an early election, despite the fact that the government is barely three years into its mandate, said the pundits and some, though not all, Liberal insiders. The trade arrangements with the United States were worrisome and there were plenty of signs that some kind of recession was in the […]
Expect more deputy minister retirements as the pre-2019 transition machine rumbles to life, say insiders
With a little more than a year until the next election, civil service insiders say there will likely be an increase in deputy minister retirements in the coming months before the bureaucracy starts its process of preparing for a potential change in government in 2019. No one wanted to guess who was leaving or how […]
Singh risked irrelevancy staying out of B.C. race, say strategists, now ‘failure is not an option’
With two NDP-held ridings headed for byelections, it would have been a greater risk not to parachute Ontario-based New Democrat leader Jagmeet Singh into the Burnaby South, B.C., seat, NDP strategists say of what will be a must-win contest for the rookie leader. While the party had long played coy with his options, Mr. Singh’s […]
Parties boosting internal security in face of foreign interference fears
Although they won’t get into specifics, the country’s main national political parties all say they’re boosting their internal security to protect against foreign interference in next year’s federal election. But, according to critics and experts, the real burden rests with the Liberal government to do the necessary work to ensure the 2019 election remains free […]
Quebec-related cabinet changes ‘clear signal’ Trudeau’s Liberals want to make gains in province in 2019: strategists
Recent cabinet changes impacting ministers from Quebec indicate how crucial the province and its 78 seats will be in the 2019 federal election, say strategists, with Quebec set to be a top target for all of the major parties. The July 18 cabinet shuffle saw the number of federal ministers from Quebec jump by one, […]
‘Our party took a $20-million hit,’ Conservatives to claw back money from candidates post-election; MPs well on way to stocking 2019 coffers
The Conservative Party will begin clawing back money from its electoral district associations after the next election, to make up for money lost when the former Conservative government eliminated the per-vote subsidy. The Conservative Party will ask the EDAs to hand over half of the money they receive when Elections Canada reimburses candidates for 60 […]
Dead heat in polls shows fragility of federal Liberals’ majority: pollsters
Fourteen months away from the next federal election, polls show the Liberals and Conservatives in a deadlock, and the Liberals have to hold onto their three-pronged coalition to win in 2019, pollsters say. A Nanos poll, released on Aug. 7, shows the Tories and Grits virtually tied, with the Liberals holding 36.9 per cent of […]
Ottawa advocate carrying NDP banner in ‘crucial’ Outremont byelection, hopes to wield local progressive winds to pull off upset
A familiar Ottawa face is running as the NDP candidate in an upcoming byelection in the Montreal-area riding of Outremont, where one pollster said “the Liberals have all the winning conditions and the NDP have all the losing conditions.” But Julia Sanchez, who was president and CEO of the Ottawa-based Canadian Council for International Co-operation […]
Liberals start nomination process for 25 unheld ridings
The federal Liberal Party opened up applications for potential candidates in 25 unheld ridings in late June, the first formal step towards candidacy for Grits in 2019, according to the party’s website. Those who want to run for the party in those opposition-held ridings can now formally ask the Liberal Party to send them […]
