Bernier’s frank talk on supply management starts Tory leadership race on right foot
TORONTO—During my previous political job, I had the opportunity to talk and privately meet many people in Ottawa, including then ministers of the former government of Stephen Harper. I learned a lot during those meetings and I had a chance to know good people and politicians. One of those who impressed me the most was […]
LeBlanc, Goodale, Philpott voted best cabinet ministers in Question Period: The Hill Times’ 24th Annual Politically Savvy Survey
Government House Leader Dominic LeBlanc, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale, and Health Minister Jane Philpott were voted the best three cabinet ministers in Question Period in The Hill Times’ 24th Annual Politically Savvy Survey. Liberal MP François-Philippe Champagne (Saint-Maurice-Champlain, Que.), Mr. LeBlanc (Beauséjour, N.B.), and Mr. Goodale (Regina-Wascana, Sask.) were also picked as the most effective government MPs in Question Period, […]
A tale of two conventions
VANCOUVER—Little could be more different than the post-election conventions the New Democrats and the Conservatives have held this spring. The first featured the summary execution of leader Thomas Mulcair at the hands of party members and an unresolved divisive battle for the soul of the party. The New Democrats left Edmonton in early April in […]
‘There were a number of MPs who stood up and said ‘that’s too much,’ ‘upset’ Conservative MPs want new national council to revisit nomination rules
VANCOUVER—“Upset” Conservative MPs say they want the party’s newly-elected national council to revisit a new rule enacted by the outgoing council in early May that allows incumbent MPs to be protected from nomination challenges for the 2019 election. If incumbents have $150,000 in their riding association bank accounts and one per cent of eligible voters as […]
Tories would be foolish not to allow Ambrose to run for permanent leader
TORONTO—Interim Conservative leader Rona Ambrose did something earlier this month that her predecessor failed to do after a decade in power: display genuine emotion. Fighting back tears as she discussed the plight of Fort McMurray residents in the aftermath of the disastrous wild fires that ravished entire neighbourhoods, Ambrose made a permanent connection with the […]
What to watch for at the Conservative convention
OTTAWA—Later this week in Vancouver and Winnipeg two different political conventions will be taking place. In the Manitoba capital Liberals will gather to bask in the glory of their impressive 2015 victory. Didn’t former Liberal leader Bob Rae once opine that triumphalism is a bad thing? In British Columbia, Conservatives will get together to try […]
Proposed free-memberships make some Liberal MPs nervous
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s idea of free memberships for any Canadian who wants to register with the Liberal Party is making some incumbent Liberal MPs nervous because it could mean more challengers than usual and tougher fights in the nomination campaigns prior to the next election. “It’s open season for anybody to go,” said a Liberal […]
NDP fundraising plunge stirs leadership talk under Mulcair
The worst fundraising quarter for federal New Democrats since 2011 has added incentive for the party’s hierarchy and MPs to speed up a leadership election timetable to replace outgoing leader Tom Mulcair, with the official opposition Conservatives and governing Liberals set to push the NDP even further from the spotlight over the coming months. The […]
Of histrionic leaps, leadership, and insufferable buoyancy
OTTAWA—Newspaper after newspaper has been plastered with a tired grey face coupled with a lazy histrionic headline and “failure” narrative. For anyone outside the Ottawa bubble, any vision of the man with the big bearded smile who was inches away from the Prime Minister’s Office just one year ago (as polls, pundits and NDP staffers […]
NDP supporters urge respectful debate in an effort to avoid divisive party infighting
After a convention that left many NDPers “dazed and confused,” with divided opinions over decisions to hold a leadership race and further debate over the Leap Manifesto, important questions and conversations lie ahead for members, and party analysts urge caution and respect to avoid real schisms and infighting. “Social media channels—Twitter, texts, and emails—in the […]
