Parliament not well-served in the last session say experts
The government rushed 13 bills through in one day before last week’s dramatic defeat of the Liberal minority government. Critics say the move was undemocratic. Parliament, as an institution, was not well-served in the last session and it highlighted the perception that it is no longer at the centre of Canadian democracy, say experts on […]
Swing Ridings
Swing ridings: where the winning candidate won with a very slim margin of victory.The ridings are heavily targeted by the runners-up. Winning party is shown in the parentheses. Up to 30 are shown, with a maximum margin of victory of 15%. * Indicates incumbent not running again Liberal Targeted Swing Ridings: 1. Simcoe-Grey, Ont. (Cons.) […]
Lights out on 38th House
It may have sounded absurd, but just before the three opposition parties brought down the government last Monday night in an historic straight non-confidence vote, House Speaker Peter Milliken invited every MP to a reception – mind you following the defeat of the government – in the Speaker’s Room 216- N Centre Block “to permit […]
They’re off and running… but are women stalled? [Federal election candidates]
At the launch of the election, women make up just shy of 22% of the candidates nominated. The NDP leads the parties in nominating women with 35%.The Liberals and Bloc stand at 27% and 25% respectively, while only 11% of Conservative candidates are women. While there are still many candidates to be identified, current numbers […]
Rogue riding executive stirring up trouble for Ignatieff: MP
Outgoing Liberal MP Jean Augustine defends her successor and denies she was pushed out. Despite rumours that she was pushed out by senior Liberal strategists, former MP Jean Augustine is rushing to defend the party’s new star recruit who is getting off to a rough start in his bid to replace her as Member of […]
A brief primer on the war rooms in Ottawa and Montreal
Liberal Party War Room Address: 81 Metcalfe Street, Ottawa Chief: Cyrus Reporter Staffers: Some of the senior staffers in the Liberal Party war room include: David Herle, Karl Littler, Brian Guest, Derek Ferguson,Taras Zalusky, Howard Millard, Maxime Poulin and Susan Murray. TV Spin: Susan Murray, Scott Reid, Michael Robinson. Campaign Slogan: None Strategy: To adequately […]
Harper bets voters will look past talking heads to embrace a popular GST reduction
Stephen Harper obviously feels that chipping away at the most hated piece of the Mulroney legacy will do more for the Conservative Party in this election than tearing the Liberal record to shreds. The two-point cut to the GST he promised last week is the biggest item in the Conservative election platform. It was rushed […]
Prime Minister Paul Martin has failed federal leadership test at Natural Resources Canada: federal Conservatives
The PM recently appointed John McCallum, who is also the Revenue Minister, as the acting NRCan Minister ‘in order not to disappoint ambitious Liberal backbenchers.’ In other words, Liberal caucus politics takes priority over the leadership needs of NRCan. Abundant natural resources are a rich source of economic activity in Canada which generate over 12.5 […]
Polls, Lewinsky aside, are the sex and cigars of politics: Polls to skulking backroomers like us are beautiful, shiny things: lavish attention and love
Kinsella: I just returned from a CBC Radio taping, and the question was: “Do polls really matter?” My answer: “Do they matter? To political hacks like us? They matter only in the way that heroin matters to heroin addicts!” Clumsy attempt at humour, sure, but it’s the truth, just the same: polls – to skulking […]
Bloc Quebecois plays defence in first week on campaign trail
With a comfortable lead in opinion polls, the Bloc Quebecois is hinting it can play a front-runner’s campaign of reacting to threats instead of leading the debate in the 2006 election. “We’ll adapt to whatever happens,” said Bloc spokesperson Catherine Bourgault- Poulin,who is accompanying journalists following leader Gilles Duceppe’s campaign. But while the Bloc is […]
