Tories outpace Grit fundraising, but Liberals tighten the gap
The Conservative Party outpaced the Liberals again in second-quarter donations even as Tory fundraising fell by $1.2-million, while the governing Grits tried to tighten the gap. Amid the tail end of their leadership race, the Tories raised $4,073,664 between April to June compared to $3,023,955 raised by Justin Trudeau’s Liberals, who fared slightly better this […]
At least five ex-Tory leadership candidates still paying off campaign debt
At least five of 16 former Conservative leadership candidates still have outstanding campaign debts, two months after the contest wrapped with a dramatic victory for Andrew Scheer. Mr. Scheer (Regina-Qu’Appelle, Sask.) came away without any campaign debt, according to his former campaign manager, but his closest rivals in the contest were among those saddled with debts […]
Trudeau, Canada’s Sun King?
OAKVILLE, ONT.—Given that we’re smack dab in the middle of summer and given that everyone is consequently in a vacation mindset right now, I thought it’d be a good time to avoid usual political commentary so that I could instead draw a comparison between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and a 17th century French monarch. Okay, […]
What Singh is really saying about Old Age Security
New Democratic Party federal leadership candidate Jagmeet Singh is unorthodox in more ways than one. So far, the newest entrant in the four-person race to replace Tom Mulcair has been deemed noteworthy for his style (natty) and his religion (Sikh). His supporters—and Singh himself—argue that the 38-year-old Brampton politician is best-positioned to persuade younger voters, […]
Niki Ashton’s youthful NDP leadership team comes from across Canada
With less than two months until NDP members begin voting to elect their new federal leader, Niki Ashton’s leadership campaign is “picking up momentum,” according to campaign manager Jenn Prosser. “This month I think we’re going to double what we raised in June…we’re picking up momentum every month and we’re either doubling or tripling what we’ve […]
Jagmeet Singh positions himself as ‘growth candidate,’ makes gains in vote-rich B.C., as rivals attack
While Jagmeet Singh’s opponents portray him as a flash in the pan and commentators are pointing to his potential weakness in Quebec, the NDP leadership candidate is picking up endorsements in vote-rich British Columbia and his team is positioning him as a strong fundraiser and the party’s “growth candidate”—someone who brings new socially progressive Canadians […]
Quebec ‘crucial’ for NDP, an ‘enormous opportunity for growth’ in 2019 election, says NDP MP Angus
NDP leadership candidate Charlie Angus says his party can win back all 59 Quebec seats it won in the 2011 election, after losing a crushing 43 seats in the 2015 run, and says it’s both “crucial” and an “enormous opportunity for growth” for the party in the next election. “Quebec is crucial for us,” said […]
NDP leadership battle emerging between Singh, Angus
OTTAWA—The NDP leadership race is providing political junkies with a bit of a fix this summer. The contest, which concludes in the early fall, shows some fault lines opening between long-time well-liked Member of Parliament Charlie Angus and the new kid on the federal block, Ontario provincial NDP representative Jagmeet Singh. Truth be told, I […]
Conservatives play cheap politics on federal government’s payment to Omar Khadr
The Conservatives are saying Omar Khadr “murdered” U.S. Army medic Christopher Speer with a grenade in 2002. It’s all in their latest ad on the party’s website, headlined, “Meet Canada’s newest multi-millionaire—Omar Khadr.” There’s a big black and white photo of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau outlined in red and photoshopped over another even bigger image […]
Conservative MPs divided on how protected they should be from nomination challenges
Conservative MPs are divided on how much protection they should get from nomination challenges in the run-up to the 2019 election. In May of last year, Dustin van Vugt, executive director of the Conservative Party, informed caucus at a weekly meeting about proposed nomination rules. MPs were told that, under the proposal, they could avoid […]
