‘If we’re going to sit there and be slinging mud, it’s going to be a long three years,’ says Conservative MP Kusie
With his leadership intact following a marathon caucus meeting earlier this month, Conservative MPs and strategists say Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer must clearly show he’s willing to listen to the party membership, learn from failures on the campaign trail, and take tangible steps between now and the party’s convention in April to address concerns resulting […]
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 […]
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 […]
Knives out to dump Conservative leader, but Scheer’s team should reach out to supporters urgently to survive April leadership review, say Conservatives
With the knives out for Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer for failing to win the federal election, it’s unclear whether he will survive another election amid the onslaught of calls last week for his resignation. To head off a potential ouster, some say Mr. Scheer needs to urgently reach out to his supporters to ensure they […]
The problem with Scheer’s passive conservatism
OAKVILLE, ONT.—Ever since he came up short in the 2019 federal election, Conservative Party Leader Andrew Scheer has been taking an awful lot of heat, which is too bad because, after all, he’s really such a nice guy. But then again, it’s his amiability which likely cost the Conservatives a victory. Indeed, I’d argue his […]
Lessons learned from a nasty, unpredictable campaign
KAMOURASKA, QUE.—Anyone who has worked in government or international organizations knows the drill: once an event is over or a crisis has passed, there is a call for “lessons learned” in a formal post-mortem exercise, or through memoranda, identifying failures or omissions. Invariably, such undertakings focus on failure, because success means few lessons, even less […]
An election where the past haunted the present
OAKVILLE, ONT.—If the 2019 federal election has taught us anything (and it probably hasn’t) it’s that political parties need some genius scientist to invent a time machine. After all, such a machine would be mighty useful for all the politicians out there who, if they could, would go back in time to correct the mistakes […]
Scheer left Quebecers with distinct impression he was evasive on Canada’s abortion laws
OTTAWA—Conservative Party Leader Andrew Scheer continues to promise he will not revisit Canadian abortion laws. He says he will follow the example of predecessor Stephen Harper. Some example. When Harper was prime minister, he would only fund International Planned Parenthood in countries that criminalized abortions except in cases where the mother’s life was at risk. […]
When it comes to climate change, Scheer should ignore the media
OAKVILLE, ONT.—One fun thing about elections is how they suddenly turn journalists and columnists into masters of political strategy. Indeed, if you scan social media, or read newspaper opinion pages, or watch public affairs shows on TV, you’ll find legions of media pundits offering up their strategic advice to political party leaders as to how […]
Not a fan of Scheer, worried about environment
I’m retired and extremely worried about what is happening in Canada, especially with the election of Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Alberta Premier Jason Kenny. Now there is Conservative Party Leader Andrew Scheer. We don’t want Canada to be Americanized and I don’t want health care to be privatized like in the U.S. It scares me […]
