Hill staffers working out in the field on campaign 2006: ‘If you’re a political junkie then it’s sort of like Christmas time’ working on election campaign: staffer
Meanwhile, James Dykstra takes over the position of director of policy in CIDA Minister Aileen Carroll’s office from Desiree McGraw who started her maternity leave last week. Political Hill staffers working for free on the 56-day election campaign and outside of regular work hours do so because it’s good for their parties and it’s good […]
Political leaders to go negative after Christmas, expect carpet bombing in second leg of campaign
The more the federal Conservatives talk about policy issues instead of the sponsorship scandal, the better it is for the federal Liberals, a top pollster said last week. “The Conservatives changed the channel on what people are focusing on,” said Nik Nanos, president and CEO of the polling firm SES Research. “Anytime Gomery is on […]
Fisher says Paul Martin at ‘the bottom of the heap’ of Prime Ministers
The House is dwindling in its importance and Cabinet ministers are no longer as important as they used to be because federal politics is dominated by top strategists of the Prime Minister, says Doug Fisher, the dean of the Parliamentary Press Gallery. “Everything builds around the Prime Minister and, of course, the Prime Minister has […]
Corrections and clarifications
In last week’s photograph on page 6, The Hill Times (Dec. 5) incorrectly identified Jim Judd as the former DM of Public Works in 2003. Mr. Judd, who is currently the director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, was the secretary of the Treasury Board in 2003. ******* In NDP incumbent Peter Julian’s column in […]
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
A Liberal national media? The evening the government fell, Prime Minister Paul Martin gave a speech to his caucus. Usually the caucus room just has Liberal MPs and a few staffers inside. That night, of course, it was a staged media event, and the room was filled with reporters. As he was getting started, he […]
Martin’s entourage should better understand what makes Quebec tick half as well as Duceppe’s palace guard
If there is another Quebec referendum anytime soon, Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe will be the man to beat. He may turn out to be as tough a proposition for bewildered federalists as the charismatic Lucien Bouchard. Many Canadians were surprised by Duceppe’s strong performance in the 2004 televised leaders’ debates. The fact that the […]
‘We’re mere mortals this time’: Grit Mahoney: Now that the NDP’s ‘Saint Ed’ Broadbent is out of the race, the Liberals think they can win Ottawa Centre
Now that the enigma that was Saint Ed, as in Ed Broadbent, is gone from Ottawa Centre, there’s new blood vying to represent the riding. Although many are putting the odds on the Liberals to regain the seat from the NDP. The Liberals held the riding under Mac Harb from 1988 to 2003 before he […]
Third parties poised to spend, target issues and candidates in campaign 2005-2006
According to Elections Canada, third parties can spend $3,441 per riding or $168,900 nationally in total in this election campaign. It’s not just war room strategists who are facing the challenge of trying to capture the attention of voters during the hectic pre-holiday season. So are third parties. During the June 2004 election, 62 third-party […]
Rolling, rolling, rolling, keep those campaigns rolling, fly high
Prime Minister Paul Martin spent the first 11 days of the campaign in Eastern Canada, nine of which were spent in Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto. As of Dec. 9, Mr. Martin had yet to set foot west of Ontario. And they’re off. Madly in all directions. Prime Minister Paul Martin spent the first 11 days […]
Bloc wooing ethnic vote in Quebec at Grits’ expense
In Quebec it’s the same story. The difference is that the alternative now is the ‘sovereigntist’ movement; not that the ‘ethnics’ now want Quebec to separate, but they are not afraid of the ‘sovereigntists’ and do not trust the Liberal ‘federalists.’ TORONTO – It has always been taken for granted that the so-called “ethnic” vote […]
