TV leaders’ debates key to campaigns, but debate exists over how best to run them, say sources
Closed-door discussions started last week between parties and the media consortium that runs the federal election debate, with some old debates over the power of the “faceless cabal” calling the shots resurfacing. Given the importance of debates in federal campaigns—the moments where “you can solidify your position or you can kill yourself,” according to Earnscliffe […]
AG Ferguson sends out final audit reports to Senators
Auditor General Michael Ferguson started to send out the potentially politically explosive final audit reports of Senators’ expenses to Senators and, following procedure, the AG has also asked Senators to respond to his findings which will be incorporated in the report to be tabled in the Upper Chamber in late May or early June, Conservative […]
Candidates campaigning in full election mode for months, some years, ahead of Oct. 19 election
The next federal election is still six months away, but several nominated candidates from all the political parties are in a full campaign mode and some say they’ve been full-on campaigning for four years. “It was almost four years ago when the last election [took place] and I haven’t stopped,” said Liberal candidate Karen McCrimmon […]
Political parties have sights on Vancouver, B.C.’s Lower Mainland in next federal election
Vancouver and British Columbia’s Lower Mainland is “a hotbed of three-way races” in the upcoming federal election, says Conservative Party president John Walsh, whose sentiment was echoed by his counterparts in the other three national parties. “We look at those regions and work hard to spend time ensuring the people, like in the Lower Mainland, […]
Mulcair’s approval ratings go up but NDP still in third place behind Conservatives and Liberals: poll
PARLIAMENT HILL—Public approval ratings for NDP Leader Tom Mulcair spiked over the past two months as he led the Commons charge against the government’s contentious anti-terrorism legislation and its decision to join a U.S.-led bombing mission against Islamic State militants in Iraq and now Syria, a Forum Research survey found. But despite Mr. Mulcair’s (Outremont, […]
Next election ‘very likely’ most expensive in Canadian history, say political insiders
The Oct. 19 federal election is expected to be the most expensive in Canada’s political history because, for the first time, the election date is known and pre-election spending will be big, say MPs, party strategists, and third-party organizations. The House of Commons is scheduled to start its summer recess on June 23 and won’t […]
Harper will continue to win majorities if NDP, Liberals don’t join forces, says former NDP MP
Prime Minister Stephen Harper will win a second majority government in a general election this year unless Justin Trudeau and his Liberal Party warm up to hints of an NDP willingness to join forces before the election, says a former B.C. NDP MP elected to five terms in the House of Commons before Jean Chretien […]
GreenPAC wants to change the game on the environment in Ottawa
TORONTO—Experts and activists often point to the devastating consequences of government failures to enact policies that protect our environment. And, understandably, this is what public and media attention is drawn to when a mining disaster destroys a salmon fishery, when floods, storms, and droughts are exacerbated by unpredictable changes in our climate, or when we […]
Quebec wild card in 2015 election
OTTAWA—The results of the 2011 federal election demonstrated that, when it comes to Quebec, assumptions can prove completely wrong. In 2015, Quebec is showing that it is impossible to assume anything at all. Nowhere else in Canada is the electoral math more difficult to calculate than in Quebec, where most polls show no party garnering […]
Who’s got the trailer home vote? Data dive yields insights into political strategy
PARLIAMENT HILL—While he was the MP for Fort McMurray-Athabasca, Brian Jean would grumble that for all the wealth his riding was bringing to Canada from oilsands production, not enough of that wealth was flowing back into the riding in the form of new infrastructure to keep up with the rapidly-growing population. But some data released […]
