“The House is back for the last fall sitting before the October 2019 election. What will be your party’s No. 1 focus this fall?”
Cameron Ahmad Liberal strategist “Members of the Liberal caucus held their annual summer retreat just a few weeks ago in Saskatoon. Their discussions focused squarely on how this government will continue finding solutions to real problems, and make life better for all Canadians. “That is exactly what we will do over the next few months, […]
Labour Minister Hajdu’s chief of staff now senior adviser to Defence Minister Sajjan
Employment, Workforce Development, and Labour Minister Patty Hajdu is starting the fall sitting in need of a new chief of staff. Her former one, Matthew Mitschke, is now a senior adviser to National Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan. Mr. Mitschke had been chief of staff to the employment minister since December 2015, starting under then-minister MaryAnn […]
With Liberal Leona Alleslev crossing the floor, Scheer’s smile just got a bit brighter
OTTAWA—When you are the leader of the official opposition in the era of Justin Trudeau, you take political wins and shots of momentum wherever you can get them. Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer got some this week when the once-Liberal Member of Parliament for Aurora-Oak Ridges-Richmond Hill, Ont., Leona Alleslev, crossed the floor and joined the […]
From staffer to minister: the rise of Mary Ng
Despite claims of favouritism levelled by opponents, Mary Ng says it’s her 20 years of government and political experience that propelled her to the Liberals’ front bench in the 16 months between her election to the House of Commons and her cabinet appointment. “What you get is you get a grounding—you get a grounding in […]
From CPTPP to NAFTA, trade to top agenda in the House this fall
The House of Commons is back this week for the last fall sitting before the 2019 election, and trade is set to top the agenda, with NAFTA renegotiations ongoing and a bill to enact the new Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement fresh on the Order Paper. Government House Leader Bardish Chagger (Waterloo, Ont.), in a phone interview […]
A political triangle
QUÉBEC CITY—Recently, the Liberal Party of Canada’s federal riding association of Brome-Missisquoi in Quebec requested that its incumbent Member of Parliament either participate in a nomination or step down as the candidate for the 2019 election. The party appointed the incumbent, Denis Paradis, according to its candidate selection rules, thereby going against the majority of […]
New communications director among recent hires by Innovation Minister Bains
Innovation, Science, and Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains hired a few new ministerial staffers recently, including Jean-Luc Ferland as his new director of communications. Mr. Ferland was previously a senior communications adviser and policy adviser to Treasury Board President Scott Brison on the Hill, effectively serving as the minister’s press secretary. He’d been a staffer to […]
Conservatives, NDP dealing with internal feuds, upbeat Trudeau Liberals ‘excited’ for fall sitting
While the Conservatives and the NDP deal with internal unity issues, the federal Liberals say they’re “excited” to start the fall sitting and are ready to face the electorate in October 2019 or even earlier, despite major policy issues and challenges, including signing a new NAFTA deal and building the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. “We’re […]
Trudeau Liberals to target NDP-held riding in northern Saskatchewan in 2019, hoping to win ‘several’ more in province: Goodale
SASKATOON—The federal Liberals have been winning only one seat in Saskatchewan in every federal election since 2004, but now are bullish about their prospects of winning “several” in 2019. In an interview with The Hill Times at the Liberal caucus retreat in Saskatoon, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale (Regina-Wascana, Sask.) said that his party has a […]
LeBlanc ‘accepts’ ruling on his conflict-of-interest breach, but dodges further questions
Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc ducked questions on his party’s familiarity with federal ethics rules in the wake of the ethics commissioner’s ruling on Wednesday that he was in a conflict of interest over his decision to award a lucrative contract to his wife’s first cousin. Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion said in a report on Wednesday […]
