Poilievre’s Canada Day celebrations could blow up in his face
OTTAWA—Pierre Poilievre’s Canada Day celebrations may blow up in his face. If he doesn’t connect with the truckers who are promising weeks of disruption, he runs the risk of being outed as a non-supporter. If he does stand with the truckers, he runs the counter-risk of facing the ire of citizens in the Ottawa region, […]
Win or lose, Poilievre may already represent ‘heart and soul’ of Conservative caucus
Conservative leadership candidate Pierre Poilievre officially secured the support of more than 50 per cent of the party’s caucus last week after Conservative MP Ziad Aboulataif announced his endorsement on June 22, but in a campaign as divisive as this one, endorsements give more insight into the future shape of the party than they do […]
Conservative membership verification process to make high-stakes leadership race even more divisive, say top political players
The already tense Conservative leadership race will become even more divisive in the coming days once the candidates receive the preliminary membership list and start to challenge the legitimacy of each other’s supporters’ membership. “The stakes are high, they [Conservatives] have a real chance of winning in the next election,” said Innovative Research president Greg […]
Playing the game of politics
OAKVILLE, ONT.—A successful political consultant once told me the thing he loved most about his job was “playing the game.” In other words, he enjoyed surmounting all the challenges associated with running a political campaign: plotting a winning communication strategy, finding trends to exploit, matching wits with a skilled opponent, etc. Of course, it also […]
Charest’s route to Conservative leader ‘very similar to the party’s path to victory,’ says Kheiriddin
As the Conservative Party leadership campaign shifts from membership sales to persuasion and mobilizing the vote, Jean Charest’s campaign says it will focus on following a path to victory that is “very similar” to the one the party must follow in a general election. With the campaign of Pierre Poilievre (Carleton, Ont.) declaring more than […]
Conservative party leadership: who supports who
Pierre Poilievre MP Adam Chambers (Simcoe North, Ont.) MP Andrew Scheer (Regina-Qu’Appelle, Sask.) MP Anna Roberts (King-Vaughan, Ont.) MP Blake Richards (Banff-Airdrie, Alta.) MP Bob Zimmer (Prince George-Peace River-Northern Rockies, B.C.) MP Brad Redekopp (Saskatoon West, Sask.) MP Brad Vis (Mission-Matsqui-Fraser Canyon, B.C.) MP Cheryl Gallant (Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke, Ont.) MP Chris Lewis (Essex, Ont.) MP Chris […]
On, then off, then on once again: Conservative leadership contenders set to debate in Calgary
Mark your calendars, it’s now official. The Western Standard is set to host a debate between (most) of the candidates vying for the Conservative Party’s top job on July 8, the first Friday of the all-important Conservative campaign trail destination: the Calgary Stampede. Originally scheduled for July 9, the Alberta-based independent media outlet decided to […]
Membership processing for Conservative leadership vote two to three weeks behind; Brown campaign calls Poilievre’s latest attack a ‘setup’
Amidst accusations that some of the Conservative leadership candidates broke the rules when signing up new members, the party is now two to three weeks behind processing the hundreds of thousands of new memberships. The Conservative Party will still stick to the stated deadlines and provide the preliminary membership list to all candidates by July […]
Poilievre should stop pissing inside the tent
HALIFAX—One wonders if the Conservative Party of Canada will ever hold a leadership race without turning it into a master class of mud-wrestling, hanky-panky, and mutual denunciation. They are usually so busy slagging each other, any notion of policy is at best an after-thought. Sorry guys, but squealing “freedom” at the top of your lungs while tying up a city is […]
Liberals should define Poilievre juggernaut now, or risk losing next election, say top political strategists
With the presumed Conservative leadership front-runner Pierre Poilievre widely expected to become party leader on Sept. 10, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals should start to define their future opponent now before he gets a chance to define himself, say top political players. “In our day and age, the velocity of politics is much faster than […]
