Political leaders pursuing crucial Ontario seats must spell out ideas now
TORONTO—It is hard to visualize a change in government in the upcoming federal election without a major change in Ontario. The Tories currently dominate Ontario, holding 70 of its 106 seats, compared to 19 NDP, 13 Liberal, one Green and three vacant. In this year’s election campaign, Ontario will add 15 seats, bringing its total […]
Ottawa police officer Abdi seeks Conservative nomination in Ottawa West-Nepean
An Ottawa police officer, who in the past served with the RCMP’s National Security Community Outreach Program, is running for the Conservative Party’s nomination in the highly-coveted riding of Ottawa West-Nepean vacated recently by former foreign affairs minister John Baird. Abdul Abdi, currently on leave of absence from the Ottawa Police to seek the nomination, […]
Polls may force issue of progressive alliance
OTTAWA—How deep is the mistrust and hostility between Tom Mulcair and Justin Trudeau? It’s not just an idle thought plucked from the annals of the Canadian political soap opera. It could determine this country’s government this autumn. Voters may find it madness to be discussing a potential coalition government seven months before an expected election, […]
Mayrand talks robocalls, election spending, Tory fight
Canada’s Chief Electoral Officer Marc Mayrand says he still has concerns about some of the changes to Canada’s electoral law, but as his agency prepares for another trip to the polls he considers the treatment he received from the Conservative government last year “water under the bridge.” In an interview with The Hill Times, Mr. […]
Anti-abortion group launches anti-Trudeau campaign
PARLIAMENT HILL—The youth wing of one of Canada’s largest anti-abortion lobbies with Conservative ties has launched a two-month cross-country campaign attacking Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau in an effort to sway votes in the upcoming federal election. The Campaign Life Coalition Youth, in partnership with another more senior anti-abortion lobby, the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform, […]
If 2015 election ballot question on economy, security, Tories have good chance of winning: Manning
If the upcoming election is run on the economy and national security, the Conservative Party will have a good chance at winning, says Preston Manning. “All the polling that we do and others too, indicate the economy, the economy, the economy as the big worry. People express it differently. For some people it’s jobs, some […]
Liberal Party holds contested nominations with three or more candidates in 37 ridings, Tories hold 11
PARLIAMENT HILL—The Liberal Party under leader Justin Trudeau has generated a wave of competition for its election candidate nominations from coast to coast, outdistancing both the Conservatives and the NDP in terms of the number and proportion of contested ridings in cities that have become bellwethers for the 2015 general election. The Liberals had elected […]
Trudeau’s inevitability slipped 15 points, and that’s a lot
TORONTO—You’re the incumbent, you’re smart, you’ve got plenty of experience, but you can’t get ahead in the polls. So what do you do? You call for a series of leaders’ debates, that’s what you do. Stephen Harper, however much he disdains the mainstream media, knows one media truism to be irrefutable: politicians are rarely felled […]
Election 2015 shaping up to be a two-party race
OTTAWA—Multiple mid-winter polls place the ruling Conservatives and the third place Liberals in a dead heat. Most of the analysis has been focused on putative frontrunners. But the slow slide of the New Democratic Party in the same polls is also very relevant. After all, their first stint as the official opposition was supposed to […]
Who will win the next federal election: Tough Guy, Fun Guy or Compassion Guy?
OAKVILLE, ONT.—The art of political communication (and it is an art not a science) can be summed up thusly: make the complex seem simple. Or, to put it another way, any idea or concept you’re promoting as a politician, no matter how complicated it may be in theory, must in practice be boiled down to […]
