The nasty primal subtext of Liberal attacks
OAKVILLE, ONT.—When trying to gauge the true power and intent of a political communication strategy, sometimes you need to look past the words which are spoken and focus instead on the message’s subtext. Consider, for instance, the recent spate of Liberal attacks on Conservative Party Leader Andrew Scheer, attacks in which Scheer is painted as […]
The audacity of the inclusivity trope
OTTAWA—A week after the Liberals were caught with their proverbial hands in the cookie jar of yet another ethics violation, they dropped a new mixtape, Antebellum Andy. Apparently, somewhere in the recesses of 2005, Andrew Scheer, stood up in Parliament and debated LGBTQ2+ rights, rife with some sort of bizarre comparison of gay people to […]
Calgary Forest Lawn Conservatives elect Jasraj Hallan to succeed late MP Deepak Obhrai for the upcoming federal election
With the election call only days away, the federal Conservatives elected Jasraj Hallan as their candidate in the coveted riding of Calgary Forest Lawn, which opened up unexpectedly last month after the death of Deepak Obhrai, the party’s nominated candidate to run for what would have been his eighth successive term as an MP. The […]
Fearing the Seinfeld election campaign
OTTAWA—Maybe it is the result of being a little bit older or having been in the political arena for a while, but there doesn’t seem to be much excitement in the air heading into the 2019 election. While you now do see lawn signs about and political ads popping up, the energy that usually comes […]
Deepak Obhrai’s son among deep field of expected candidates for Conservative nomination in Calgary Forest Lawn
A crowded field of candidates is emerging in the Conservative nomination contest for the safe and coveted riding of Calgary Forest Lawn, which became vacant earlier this month after the death of seven-term MP Deepak Obhrai, the party’s nominated candidate there for the upcoming election. Obhrai’s son, Aman Obhrai, is among as many as 10 […]
Despite majority support for a Canadian handgun ban, the politics of doing so may remain insurmountable
OTTAWA—There’s nothing like the gun lobby. Imagine if car manufacturers objected to the registration of automobiles because it was an infringement on the liberties of people with cars. Canadians are rightly reassured, however, that the obsession with these weapons here is nothing like in the U.S., where possessing guns is constitutionally guaranteed, and ownership of […]
Parties competing over values, not substance, in foreign policy platforms
In the 2015 federal election, Justin Trudeau campaigned on a foreign policy vision that differed radically from that of Stephen Harper, arguing that a decade of Conservative rule meant that Canada had drifted away from upholding the values that underpinned its actions as a global actor. However, in power, the differences between the two are […]
Targeting the undecideds
OAKVILLE, ONT.—We’re now entering August, the last month of relative tranquility before the craziness of federal election politics descends upon the country with hurricane force. After Labour Day, our political parties will begin bombarding Canadians with partisan campaign ads, inundating them with political literature and subjecting them to many other forms of heavy-handed persuasion. Yet, […]
Green Party engaging in politics of bygone era with new war room hire
OTTAWA—What is Elizabeth May thinking? Bob Fife tweeted that Warren Kinsella, former Liberal surrogate, will be joining the war room of the Green Party for the 2019 election. Kinsella made a name for himself as part of Jean Chrétien’s campaign team more than two decades ago. Somehow it does not seem to bother the Green […]
Federal parties are racing against time and losing
OAKVILLE, ONT.—Canada’s three main federal political parties have all managed to squander one of their most valuable resources—time. And yes, time is a resource, one that’s just as valuable as other political resources—money, organizational support, good candidates— if not more so. After all, it takes time to raise money, it takes time to raise awareness […]
