Poor issues management plaguing Trudeau’s team, say strategists
The public relations problems that plagued Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s recent India trip are part of a pattern of poor issues management that politicos say will dog this government if it doesn’t change course quickly. Mr. Trudeau (Papineau, Que.) and his team are prone to self-inflicted wounds and not responding fast enough to nip an […]
Upcoming gun bill ‘scaring the hell out of the Liberal caucus,’ and Trudeau’s response to Harvey’s concerns puts a chill on backbenchers, say Liberals
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s angry response to a rural MP’s concerns raised at a recent national caucus meeting on the Hill over the government’s upcoming gun legislation did not go over well with some Liberal MPs who say it will have a “chilling” effect on their ability to speak candidly at the closed-door meetings. According to […]
“The 2018 federal budget is out. What are your top three takeaways?”
Cory Hann Conservative strategist “Justin Trudeau is failing middle-class Canadians, women, and business operators—the very people the prime minister claims to help. His economic policies are failing to make a difference in the lives of Canadians. His budget completely failed to address the real possibility that we could see our most important free trade agreement […]
New policy director, press secretary for International Development Minister Bibeau
International Development and La Francophonie Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau has hired a couple of new political staffers in her ministerial office, including new director of policy, Suzanne Taylor. Ms. Taylor marked her first official day on the job on the Hill on Feb. 28. Before that, she was a senior partnership officer with the International Development […]
Trans Mountain expansion could be ‘major issue’ in next election, says Riis, but most MPs in pipeline’s path cite ‘overwhelming’ support
The government’s approval of Kinder Morgan’s $7.4-billion Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project is expected to cost the party electorally in 2019, but most MPs in the pipeline’s proposed path say the majority of their constituents support it. “This could be one of the major issues in the next federal election, particularly in the Lower Mainland […]
Foreign Minister Freeland hires (another) Rhodes Scholar as policy aide
Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland recently hired former University of Oxford Rhodes Scholar Joseph Singh to serve as a new policy adviser in her ministerial office. Mr. Singh officially started on the job on Feb. 26, and fills a gap left by former policy adviser Omer Aziz, who ended his time in the minister’s office […]
Minister Chagger shuffles director Arsenault between her cabinet offices
Liberal MP Bardish Chagger, the minister for Small Business and Tourism minister and the government House leader, recently shuffled one of her senior staffers from one ministerial office into the other. Daniel Arsenault had been serving as director of parliamentary affairs to Ms. Chagger in her role as the minister for Small Business and Tourism […]
“Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s recent trip to India has been much maligned by political observers and the opposition. What did it accomplish?”
Cameron Ahmad Liberal strategist “The prime minister’s key priorities during his trip to India were to deepen the cultural ties between our people, expand investment and trade opportunities, and advance shared goals with the Indian government. On all three fronts, we made substantial progress all Canadians can be proud of. “The prime minister began his […]
Trudeau made some rookie mistakes in India because feds lack diverse staff, says former Freeland staffer
Diversity among the political staffers who populate Parliament Hill has come far from days past, but more needs to be done to increase multiculturalism at the staffing level, and recent gaffes on Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s trip to India are a symptom of this problem, says former staffer Omer Aziz. “It’s not enough to […]
Budget 2018 not an election-year spending plan, but Liberals ‘pre-staging’ some issues: stakeholders
The Trudeau government’s third federal budget is not an election-year spending plan crafted with an eye towards the campaign trail, though certain elements could hint at what issues the Liberals will run on in the 2019 vote, say stakeholders. Nearly 200 representatives from the private and non-profit sectors gathered in the Reading Room in Centre […]
