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, […]
The Conservative dilemma
OTTAWA—When a party loses an election it had expected to win, those agitating for a change in leadership are sure to find a receptive audience, not only in the party but also in the country at large. However, the current rumblings about dumping Andrew Scheer as leader mask a deeper and more painful choice for […]
Scheer has time on his side, a short time
OTTAWA—Andrew Scheer has time on his side. Short time that is. The Conservative Party is scheduled to review his leadership in less than six months. When Joe Clark was under attack for his leadership, he personally set the bar very high. The youngest prime minister ever elected promised to step down if at least two-thirds […]
