Generational changes in the Sikh Canadian vote could spell trouble for Liberals
Sikhs have long been called “power brokers” in Canadian politics for the ability of Sikh political activists to deliver delegates in nomination and party leader races on the local, provincial, and federal level, and for the past 30 years they’ve mostly backed the federal Liberals, but that could change in the next federal election, say […]
Too much party control in ‘highly uncompetitive’ candidate selection: Samara study
Over the past five elections, fewer than one-fifth of candidates earned their name on the ballot through a competitive party nomination process, found a new Samara report, a statistic the group says shows candidate selection is “highly uncompetitive, opaque, unpredictable, and centrally controlled” by parties. In effect, party brass—not party members or the Canadian public—have […]
Majority of Canadians may support TMX, but the project remains an electoral risk for Liberals: pollsters
Recent polls may indicate a majority of Canadians support the government’s plowing ahead with the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project, but with further opposition actions expected, experts say the best Liberals can likely hope for is to not lose too many progressive voters. “It’s very unlikely that it’s going to help them win support anywhere […]
Science and Sport Minister Duncan down a director
Sport and Science Minister Kirsty Duncan recently bade farewell to her director of operations, Catherine Loiacono. Ms. Loiacono first joined Ms. Duncan’s office as science minister in April 2018 as director of both operations and parliamentary affairs to the minister. In January of this year, she dropped the latter title; Nilani Logeswaran continues to serve […]
Who wins next election depends on how much Canadians are willing to nurture the health of our ailing planet
OTTAWA—Timing is everything in politics. And the lifespan of a political trajectory is about six months. Bluntly put, if the cabinet exit by Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott had occurred this month, the Liberal election goose would have been cooked. The government would have had too little time to turn around negative public reaction to […]
New chief of staff for Public Services Minister Qualtrough
Public Services and Procurement Minister Carla Qualtrough has a new chief of staff in her office following Matt Stickney’s exit to join the Liberal Party’s national campaign team last month. Mr. Stickney marked his last day in Ms. Qualtrough’s office on June 17 and has since joined the federal Liberal Party’s headquarters as the national […]
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 […]
Liberals, Conservatives offer clear policy differences on climate change
TORONTO—If voters want a clear choice in the upcoming federal election, differences on climate change policy between the Liberals and Conservatives provide just that, with carbon pricing the clearest but not the only dividing line. Yet the reality is that Canada is projected to fall short of meeting its 2030 emissions reduction pledge under either […]
New policy directors for ministers Morneau, Champagne, and LeBlanc
Finance Minister Bill Morneau and Infrastructure Minister François-Philippe Champagne both have new directors of policy in their respective ministerial offices. Justin To exited as director of policy and deputy chief of staff to Mr. Morneau on June 21. Over his years working for Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government, Mr. To helped to draft the last four […]
This just in: Olivier Duchesneau joins Liberal HQ as deputy national campaign director
Olivier Duchesneau recently exited his post as chief of staff in Families, Children, and Social Development Minister Jean-Yves Duclos’ office to become deputy national campaign director for the Liberal Party. He officially joined the federal party’s headquarters on June 25 and is now working closely with fellow former chief of staff Jeremy Broadhurst, who left […]
