Legion of volunteers ‘essential’ to all political campaigns
After doggedly building up campaign war chests in the lead up to 2015, political parties are relying on volunteers, who make up the majority of campaign teams, to avoid blowing it all on compensation for campaign staff, say sources. “Volunteers are the backbone of elections,” said Robin MacLachlan, vice-president of Summa Strategies and a former […]
Party leaders’ campaign promises don’t align with Canada’s biggest challenges
TORONTO—In many respects, our election is like Christmas. Each political party is handing out ‘presents’—a tax cut, low-cost day care, bigger tax savings for education, and so forth. Apparently we are supposed to vote for the party that hands out the biggest and best ‘presents’ by the end of the campaign. But there is nothing […]
12 things you should know about MP privileges during the election
As of Aug. 2, 2015, the 41st Parliament dissolved, and until after the Oct. 19, 2015 election, Canada doesn’t technically have any sitting Members of Parliament, as all the seats in the House are up for grabs, but when it comes to getting paid, and claiming certain privileges, the House still recognizes MPs as MPs, […]
Forsey says ‘outrageous’ Senate is tool of PMO, it’s the real scandal
Today’s embattled Senate has lost its independence and has been largely taken over by a “warped political culture of competition and domination,” says activist writer Helen Forsey, daughter of the late and leading constitutional expert Senator Eugene Forsey. But Ms. Forsey, author of A People’s Senate For Canada: Not a Pipe Dream!, says the Senate […]
Party positions on biotechnology: a primer
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May pledged last week that the Greens would immediately stop all federal funding to government departments that research genetically modified organisms. The promise, included in the party’s fully-costed platform, would result in $101-million in funding pulled every year from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Natural Resources Canada, The […]
Harper’s got a refugee problem
In 1945, a top immigration official was asked how many Jews would be granted asylum in Canada in the wake of the Holocaust. His response, “None is too many,” has since been burned into our national consciousness as a moment of great collective shame. For decades, Canada was a leading light in its treatment of asylum […]
Problems inside Harper’s campaign real, deep
The problems inside Stephen Harper’s campaign are real and they are deep. They stem as much from the team around him in 2015 as the ghosts of architects of victories past who are no longer there for the Conservative leader. Whether campaign manager Jenni Byrne was yanked off Harper’s bus is in dispute but may […]
Election campaign offers chance to address party positions on warrantless access
OTTAWA—Canada’s controversial anti-terrorism bill, Bill C-51, has emerged as a key talking point in the current election campaign. Pointing to its big implications for privacy and surveillance, the NDP sees political opportunity by emphasizing its opposition to the bill, while the Liberals have been forced to defend their decision to support it (but call for […]
Is there something in the water in Campaign 2015?
TORONTO—Campaign 2015 has been noteworthy for plenty of things. There’s been the fact that all three of our main political parties—the Conservatives, the Liberals but also the New Democrats—have a shot at forming a government. That’s something that hasn’t really happened before. The length of the thing is a first, too. It hasn’t been one […]
Multiculturalism in Canada: what the data says
How well is Canada’s model of multiculturalism and citizenship working and how well are Canadians, whatever their ethnic or religious origin, doing? Will Canada’s relative success compared to other countries continues or are there emerging fault lines in Canadian society? My recent book, Multiculturalism in Canada: Evidence and Anecdote, aims to answer these question through […]
