What party would best represent Canada at Paris Climate Summit
MONTREAL, QUE.—To help inform Canadians preparing to choose the government that will ultimately represent us this December at the Paris Climate Summit, Sustainable Canada Dialogues has examined each of the party platforms from the point of view of the 10 key policy orientations we proposed last spring in our consensus paper, Acting on Climate Change: […]
Raising niqab stakes is not a risk-free strategy
MONTREAL—Against the expectations of many—including some of his own strategists—Stephen Harper has thrown the niqab issue back into the mix in the last stretch of the election campaign. With a deal to create a free-trade zone across the Pacific Rim in hand, the assumption was that the Conservatives would want to shift the election conversation […]
Hiring veterans not a priority for O’Toole
OTTAWA—For the first time in eight decades, issues affecting Canada’s military veterans issues are featured prominently in an election. With so much at stake, why would government yet again mess up another issue with veterans: priority hiring into the federal public service? Veterans Affairs Minister Erin O’Toole, in another installment of government hype on the […]
Mulcair strategy, born of necessity, may give us unintended results
That screeching sound is the great, careening, orange juggernaut hitting the brakes on the race to the centre. Instead, in the waning days of the 2015 election campaign, Tom Mulcair has returned to the NDP of yore, opposing a major trade deal, citing union statistics to back his case, conjuring memories of Liberal John Turner’s […]
Canada will approve TPP, can’t afford not to
TORONTO—It seems almost certain that Canada will approve the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. There would be enough Conservative and Liberal votes in Parliament to implement the deal, even with either a Conservative or Liberal minority government. The main argument for participating in the TPP, as its proponents acknowledge, is a negative one—that we cannot afford […]
The TPP: Less than meets the eye
GATINEAU, QUE.—The Muslim-baiting, the new attack ads, the mounting list of disgraced candidates—all the delightful aspects of this interminable federal election campaign—were interrupted briefly last week by news that Canada has signed what Prime Minister Stephen Harper described as an “historic,” game-changing trade accord with 11 other countries. The Trans-Pacific Partnership would, Harper proclaimed, open […]
Politics of fear dominant theme in this election
OTTAWA—The politics of fear has become the dominant theme of this election. For Prime Minister Stephen Harper, that path was chosen when he hired Australian strategist Lynton Crosby to reignite his flagging campaign. Crosby is known as the Wizard of Oz because of his magic touch in reversing the fortunes of leaders in trouble […]
Election campaigning should end with a bang
OAKVILLE, ONT.—At long last, we’ve reached the final week of this interminable federal election. But even though this campaign has been hobbling along with a whimper, I can pretty much guarantee it will end with a bang. Why a bang? Simple. During these finals days before voters cast their ballots, the dynamics of an election […]
Three-way race in London West, closely mirrors electoral fight raging nationally
TORONTO—On its surface, the suburban Ontario constituency of London West is like so many ridings in the province. Dotted with sprawling established neighbourhoods, the community’s residents personify Protestant Ontario: reserved, small-c conservative, and hardworking. It’s a classic bellwether riding the Conservatives have reliably won since 2008, and one the Liberals handily captured before that throughout […]
What has your party leader accomplished so far in federal politics?
Cory Hann Conservative strategist “Prime Minister Stephen Harper has accomplished what no other leader is offering in this election—lowering taxes while balancing the budget in a time of global economic uncertainty. “Our low-tax, balanced budget plan guided us through the global economic crisis. It helped create 1.3 million net new jobs, it lowered the federal […]
