Wanted: a transformative election, a new Canada
There’s more to elections than economic wedge and leadership personality issues that are designed to appeal to the “middle class.” What’s more highly desirable is a campaign that is truly transformative and puts our own sense of community and advancement on a forward path in our eyes and the world’s eyes. Parties need to have […]
Fragmented electorate gives edge to parties who take more extreme positions
Is this election a good time to talk about issues? Not if you’re a Liberal. In Innovative’s online survey of 2,833 Canadians, we looked at issues three ways: What issues matter the most to voters? Which parties do they perceive as best on which issues? Are people who care more about an issue different from […]
It’s election time: be careful out there
POWELL RIVER, B.C.—One way of looking at the current election is to see it as a massive civic literacy test, not just for those who actually intend to vote but for those who mistake cynicism for sophistication and stay glued to their iPads instead. As David Akin of the Toronto Sun once said, “Bad governments […]
Canada’s net neutrality shortfall: peeking behind the curtain of consumer complaints
Canada’s net neutrality rules, which require internet providers to disclose how they manage their networks and to treat content in an equal manner, were established in 2009. The policy is administered by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), which releases quarterly reports on the number of complaints they receive and whether any have been […]
Parties shed little light on how to revive and recharge the economy
TORONTO—The first election 2015 TV leaders’ debate must have been a huge disappointment to Canadians who hoped it would shed fresh light on how each of the political parties would revive and recharge Canada’s faltering economy. The Conservative position is best known—the Harper government has, after all, produced a budget. The problem is that it’s […]
MacDonald’s death marks ‘the end of an era’
Some 20 years ago, Flora MacDonald had been invited to be one of the speakers at the annual “How Ottawa Spends” seminar of Carleton University’s School of Public Administration. The seminar launches the annual journal, which analyses several federal priorities each year. She was asked to address foreign affairs and she did so with her […]
Harper won the debate
TORONTO—The first debate has come and gone, and was seen by all the hacks in the land. Every politico was glued to their armchairs, watching Stephen, Thomas, Justin, and Elizabeth duke it out—and, occasionally, switching channels to take in some of the Republican presidential freak show. But real folks? Joe and Jane Frontporch, as we […]
Campaigning ain’t all it’s cracked up to be
OTTAWA—Are we having fun yet? One of the keys to being successful in anything is loving what you do. I have always felt that career pursuit should not be based on money, but rather on passion. If you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life. And a key part […]
Harper throws a curve ball designed to upset momentum
OAKVILLE, ONT.—Warren Spahn, a baseball Hall of Famer, once famously said, “Hitting is timing. Pitching is upsetting timing.” And although I can almost guarantee you that Prime Minister Stephen Harper has never heard of Warren Spahn, (Harper’s a hockey guy after all), he seems to have adapted this pitching maxim to the sport of politics. […]
It’s Canada’s first billion-dollar election
The 2015 election will be Canada’s first billion-dollar election. The average election is five weeks and is usually estimated to cost taxpayers $400-million to $475-million, but this election is the longest since 1872 at 11 weeks and could see expenditures go over a billion dollars. Make no mistake about it; it will cost the taxpayers, […]
