86 ridings in 40 days: Trudeau’s cross-country sprint may have given party an edge
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was the most likely of the three leaders to keep or convert ridings he visited on the 40-day campaign, with the leader scoring a 53 per cent conversion rate, but politicos say the leaders’ tours aren’t necessarily the decisive factor in winning those seats. That’s based on the Liberal leader’s marathon […]
The 60 seats that flipped in 2019
Conservative candidates switched the most seats across the country, at 27, stealing mainly from the Liberals in the Western provinces and often winning by the widest margins. The Bloc Québécois was next, grabbing 22 seats from the other parties, mostly at the NDP’s expense, taking 10 of the 14 seats the NDP lost in the province. […]
As Conservatives squabble, governing Liberals trying to lay low for maximum political advantage, say Liberals
While the Conservatives fight over losing last month’s federal election, the Liberals are trying to keep a low profile and don’t want to interrupt the Conservative bloodletting. “That’s the whole point,” said one top Liberal with a laugh, in a not for attribution-based interview with The Hill Times in order to be candid. “The longer it […]
Singh’s not-so-great expectations
OAKVILLE, ONT.—English poet Alexander Pope once said, “Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed.” If that’s the case, then Canada’s federal New Democrats must certainly be feeling blessed these days. After all, given the consistent inability of their leader, Jagmeet Singh, to gain any traction with voters, New Democrats were […]
Post-election, Conservatives need to let the truth be spoken, and heard
OTTAWA—A lot has been made of the fact that former cabinet minister and Conservative heavy weight Peter MacKay has offered his opinion publicly on what happened to the Conservative Party during the recent election, and on the way forward. It is unfairly assumed, and simple de facto Canadian political logic, that whatever MacKay says must […]
In the family: two new MPs follow parents’ path to politics
When Lindsay Mathyssen won decisively in London-Fanshawe, Ont., on Oct. 21, she not only kept the seat in the New Democrat fold, but in her family as well for the fifth-straight Parliament, making history in the process. The longtime parliamentary aide said she has “big shoes to fill” following in her mother Irene Mathyssen’s footsteps, […]
The last Dipper standing: Boulerice on the job he faces and the NDP’s plans to rebuild, ‘it’s going to be a challenge’
As the lone New Democrat MP left in Quebec after last month’s election, Alexandre Boulerice says he feels a bit like the last village of resistance against the Romans, invoking the popular French comic Asterix le Gaulois which satirizes the fight of a few against an invader’s onslaught. He’s joking, but from his perch as the […]
Opposition critics, House committees to be key lobbying targets in minority Parliament, say lobbyists
Hill lobbyists are bracing for a cultural shift in the new minority Parliament, anticipating a in period in which committees and opposition critics will take on a more influential role. “The government agenda is no longer made in the axis of the PMO, or the line-department minister,” said Yaroslav Baran, principal at Earnscliffe Strategy Group […]
Bleak future could see Liberals shut out completely in Alberta for a decade, says pollster Lyle
With a long-term rebuild for the Liberals needed after the party’s shutout in Alberta and Saskatchewan, the party could fail to pick up any seats in at least one Western province for a decade, one pollster says. Speaking to The Hill Times, Greg Lyle of Innovative Research Group said the picture for the governing Liberals […]
Elizabeth May resigns as party leader, as Greens prepare to hold 2020 convention
PARLIAMENT HILL—Green Party Leader Elizabeth May ended an era on Monday when she announced she’s resigning after more than 13 years at the helm, giving the party a chance to fill her post in time for the next federal election. In a presser on Parliament Hill, where she was flanked by her husband, John Kidder, […]
