Conservative race dull, but new leader could capitalize—if they’re smart
TORONTO—Boring. Drab, dull, flat, insipid, uninspiring, monotonous, prosaic, tedious, interminable. The leadership race of the Conservative Party of Canada has been all these things, and so many more. If you consult your nearest thesaurus for things that are synonymous with “boring,” like I did, you will find no shortage of words that fit. You might even […]
New Conservative leader has their work cut out for them
It’s been a long year for those watching the Conservative leadership race unfold. After more than a decade of Stephen Harper working pragmatically to hold the party’s various factions together, the race laid bare the divisions: social conservatives, fiscal conservatives, Red Tories, libertarians, candidates who like to think of themselves as big-tent Conservatives, and others fond of […]
CPC leadership: Bernier’s to lose? Not quite, say insiders
Though Maxime Bernier is the apparent frontrunner in the Conservative leadership race, insiders say the voting system still means a Bernier win is not a foregone conclusion. While Michael Chong’s campaign and Chris Alexander say they see paths to victory for themselves, Deepak Obhrai’s campaign manager says she expects him to be dropped on the first […]
First out of the gate: a look at Peter Julian’s NDP leadership campaign
NDP MP Peter Julian, the first to officially enter the NDP’s ongoing leadership race, is so far supported in his campaign by a pool of roughly 200 volunteers, says campaign manager Susan Spratt. “We have people on the ground in every jurisdiction, and they’re the folks going out and setting up meetings for Peter, getting rallies […]
Take it from me: advice to the new Conservative leader
OTTAWA—Not even an oracle can properly predict what will happen during this weekend’s Conservative leadership event. Please stop calling it a “convention,” as it is not a political convention in the traditional sense. A computer program that cross-tabulates data will determine a winner, not people crossing the floor in some dramatic game-changing moment captured on […]
Political Insider’s Guide to Conservative Party Leadership Convention
BY THE NUMBERS: 13: the number of candidates running to become Conservative Party leader 11: the number of men in the running 2: the number of women in the running 4 p.m.: the time the cash bar will open on May 27 5: The number of official Conservative Party of Canada leadership debates, in Saskatoon, […]
Conservatives say leadership ‘wide open’ and ‘excited’ about party renewal, first leadership convention in 13 years
Conservative Party stalwarts say the 14-month leadership race—the party’s first in 13 years, which comes to an end in Toronto this weekend—has “renewed” the party and the new leader will have no difficulty keeping it united. “It’s exciting,” said John Reynolds, former Conservative MP and co-chairman of Maxime Bernier’s (Beauce, Que.) leadership campaign. “It’s good for […]
Sorting out the Conservative leadership race
OAKVILLE, ONT. —In just a few days we’ll get the exciting news as to who will be the next leader of Canada’s Conservative Party. And that news will … wait, hang on a second; I just noticed that I used the words “exciting” and “Conservative” in the same sentence, which I’m sure must violate some […]
Quebec is no great hurdle to Singh’s leadership bid
A betting person might wager that Jagmeet Singh—unless he stumbles badly and quickly out of the gate—could soon be the candidate to beat in the battle for Thomas Mulcair’s succession. With solid roots in the Ontario NDP—whose deputy leader he was until this week—and in multicultural Canada, Singh has the elements of a potential leadership […]
Axworthy to head World Refugee Council
Former Liberal cabinet minister Lloyd Axworthy has been tapped to lead the World Refugee Council, a group that will be tasked with finding new ways to deal with the world refugee crisis. Mr. Axworthy will be chair of this organization, which has been created by the Waterloo, Ont.-based Centre for International Governance Innovation and is […]
