Critics question O’Regan pick for Indigenous Services, say ‘lame-duck’ posting could harm momentum
Dealing with a new Indigenous services minister feels like starting over, say many affected groups who fear momentum will be lost by bringing in a “lame-duck minister” who may not be able to make good on the government’s promise to enact child welfare legislation. Seamus O’Regan is earning mixed reviews in his new role, panned […]
Will the populist bandwagon roll on in Canada?
OTTAWA—Populism in its various modern forms has been altering the global political picture for several decades. Its presence has grown rapidly in the last 20 years and has recently been the modus operandi of powerful office holders in about two dozen countries, according to a study by the Institute for Global Change. Once a phenomenon […]
Conservatives lead in nominated candidates, a dozen former MPs among hopefuls
Ten months out from the next federal election, the Conservatives are leading in nominated candidates, with 186 named, including current MPs and a dozen former MPs. The Liberals are close behind with more than 160—the vast majority current MPs—while the NDP has 21 of 338 confirmed candidates, though it says its process is “following its […]
Liberal promises on Indigenous relationship ring hollow to activists, experts as protests continue
Protest actions, like the ones that spread across the country and internationally in support of the Unist’ot’en camp in northern British Columbia this month, may not sway the hearts and minds of the general electorate about the government’s record on Indigenous issues come election day, says a pollster. But according to experts and First Nations […]
Ford should do the right thing, show people he cares
OTTAWA—Ontario Premier Doug Ford should do the right thing and show people he cares. He should reconsider cuts to French-language services affecting Ontario’s 600,000 francophones, including the cancellation of plans to create Ontario’s first French-language university in Toronto (a promise he renewed during his recent election campaign) and the rescinding of a $3-million grant to Ottawa’s French theatre company, “La Nouvelle Scene.” […]
Scheer, Singh yet to dent Trudeau’s big Liberal lead in Quebec, polls show
The federal Liberals still hold a commanding lead among potential voters in Quebec, polls show, despite Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer’s courting of the province and its strategic importance for the federal NDP. A four week rolling poll by Nanos Research published on Jan. 4 showed the Liberals had 47.7 per cent support in Quebec, a […]
Is Justin Trudeau defeating himself?
TORONTO—Governments defeat themselves, as everyone knows. So is Justin Trudeau defeating himself? His opponents certainly shouldn’t keep him up at night. Most Canadians couldn’t pick Andrew Scheer out of a police lineup. He’s remarkably unremarkable. And his social media—the main way in which political parties communicate with voters these days—looks like it was put together by […]
Polls show tight race between Grits and Tories in Ontario to start 2019, with 905 set for another election showdown
The Liberals and Conservatives start 2019 in a “horse race” in Ontario, pollsters say, as some end-of-2018 polling showed the Tories slightly ahead of the Grits and possibly headed towards an electoral showdown in key suburban ridings outside of Toronto come October. Weekly Nanos Research polling throughout December 2018 found Conservative support had swung ahead […]
Let’s remember: climate change is not ideological, it’s fact
As 2018 came to a close, I spent part of December in Katowice, Poland. As president of Inuit Circumpolar Council (Canada) I was there to bring the Inuit voice to the annual United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) meeting. The Conference of the Parties (COP) has been held annually since 1995, when the […]
Political winners and losers in 2018
TORONTO—The year-end political winners and losers column is as clichéd, hackneyed and overdone as it gets. But no one ever accused this writer of being, you know, original. So, heretofore and herewith, 2018’s political winners and losers, all jumbled together. Some are found in both categories, so pay attention, Virginia. Justin Trudeau: winner and loser. Canadians still […]
