Transition teams must be prepared for ‘unpredictable outcomes’ in minority situation, say former senior bureaucrats
Former senior bureaucrats say they hope Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer’s transition team is “already plugged into the Privy Council Office,” and that both the Liberal and Conservative transition teams should be “prepared for unpredictable outcomes” at this point in the campaign. According to CBC’s poll tracker, updated on Oct. 14, the Conservatives were in the […]
What’s your issue? Taxes, climate change, health care top leaders’ campaign pitches this election
With less than a week to go until Oct. 21, there’s been plenty of lamenting over the issues that aren’t being talked about this campaign. So, what have the leaders spent their time spotlighting? And what issues have media definitively brought to the fore? The Hill Times took a look at the issues raised by or with […]
If you can’t decide between the leaders in this election, vote for your local candidate
OTTAWA—When I went to university in the 1970s, we relied on one key textbook for our fundamental political wisdom: The Canadian Political System, by Carleton professors Michael Whittington and Richard Van Loon. In its pages, one could find an enduring truth of the way Canadians made their choices in federal elections: 40 per cent voted […]
It’s almost over—for now
As the election campaign winds down, Canadians are likely breathing a sigh of relief to have it all be done with. And that sigh isn’t just relief at the conclusion of a 40-day sprint, but also one loaded with exhaustion over the tone and tenor of the whole affair. As Abbas Rana reported in the […]
Mechanistic politics, on display this election, are wearing people down
OTTAWA—So, we have come through the Thanksgiving weekend. Has the Canadian political landscape changed as a consequence of all those conversations people were predicting were going to happen during the holiday? First of all, I find it kind of comical to afford such influence to something as traditional and Euro-centric as the Thanksgiving dinner. Don’t […]
A presidential endorsement: Raptors boss Masai Ujiri backs Trudeau
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has the support of the man who led the Toronto Raptors to the first-ever NBA championship win by a team from north of the border. “I continue to support Prime Minister Trudeau now and when he is prime minister again,” Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri said during an Oct. 13 Thanksgiving […]
Pass on the gaslighting, and ignore parties’ petty strategic vote scare tactics
OTTAWA—In true Canadian fashion, with just days left in the election, the political calculations of strategic voting are being trotted out. The problem is, strategic voting is as effective as autocorrect: in clutch moments, the prescribed option can become the wrong one. The Liberals are taking out gaslighting insurance by warning us of the dangers […]
The astrophysicist whose polling aggregator is projecting the election
Mired in a growing frustration with how political polls were being reported on, a Quebec astrophysicist tried his hand at aggregating polls and projecting the 2018 Quebec election. Three provincial elections later, Philippe Fournier is hoping to correctly predict 90 per cent of the winning candidates of the Oct. 21 vote. From coast-to-coast-to-coast—from Nunavut to […]
Preliminary data shows nearly 3 million tuned in to French debate, more than double 2015’s ratings
Nearly three million Canadians tuned in to watch the federal party leaders debate in French on Oct. 10 on all platforms, including television, radio, and streaming services, according to Jill Clark, senior communications adviser for the Leaders’ Debate Commission. The numbers are drawn from preliminary data, and are “subject to change and analysis,” Ms. Clark […]
This campaign has been getting odder by the day
OTTAWA—When a party starts public rumination about a new leader, it usually means it knows something the rest of us don’t. The Globe and Mail’s front-page story last week about Peter MacKay’s potential move to replace Andrew Scheer could not have come at a worse time. Canadians were chowing down on turkey and politics on the weekend, […]
