Liberals spent more than $16,000 on Snapchat filters since coming to power

The Liberal government spent more than $16,000 on developing and placing Snapchat filters in both Canada and the United States to promote the federal government during special events, since its cabinet was sworn in on Nov. 4, 2015. Seven federal departments, agencies, and Crown corporations reported developing specialized filters for Snapchat—a popular social media platform that allows […]
Hilary Leftick named new PMO appointments director, Natacha Engel made her deputy

Hilary Leftick has officially been named the new director of public appointments in the Prime Minister’s Office, along with a number of other staff changes in the Langevin Block. Ms. Leftick, who has been acting in the role since mid-February, was first hired to work as a youth affairs adviser in the PMO in April 2016. She was […]
Liberals’ low fundraising numbers should ‘set off alarm bells,’ say some political players

The Conservative Party’s commanding lead in fundraising in the first quarter of this year should set off alarm bells in the Liberal Party, say some political players. “If the Conservatives raised more money than us in the second quarter, I would describe that as fundraising recession, and it’s serious,” a former senior Liberal said comparing it […]
Health minister hires new parliamentary affairs director

Health Minister Jane Philpott recently filled a vacancy among her senior staff ranks, hiring Jordan Miller to serve as her new director of parliamentary affairs. Previously, Peter Cleary was parliamentary affairs director to the minister, but he left the Hill early last month and is now a senior consultant at Toronto-based public affairs, policy, and […]
New parliamentary secretary assistants hired for Agriculture, Treasury Board

PARLIAMENT HILL—Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Lawrence MacAulay hired a new assistant in his parliamentary secretary, Liberal MP Jean-Claude Poissant, at the beginning of April. Michel-Antoine Renaud marked his first day as assistant to the parliamentary secretary for agriculture on April 3. Previously, he’d been working as a sales representative with Thermo Fisher Scientific, which describes itself online […]
‘People are experiencing the economy,’ more than half of Canadians believe economy’s stalled, says poll

OTTAWA—Canadians are not showing a high level of optimism in the economy, despite the federal government’s sales pitch and positive projections of growth from the Bank of Canada and the International Monetary Fund. As part of a recent online omnibus poll of almost 2,000 Canadians, conducted by the Toronto-based Campaign Research polling firm, questions about Canadians’ perception […]
Liberals push back against eliminating deferred-tax provision, but say Morneau open to change

The elimination of work-in-progress tax deferrals in the last federal budget will not only be a detriment to lawyers but also impede Canadians’ access to justice, say some Liberal MPs and the Canadian Bar Association who are pushing back against the policy. Yet members of the Liberal caucus say Finance Minister Bill Morneau (Toronto Centre, […]
“The Liberal government has introduced a 308-page budget implementation bill. What from it stands out to you most?”
Kate Purchase Liberal strategist “Last week, our government introduced the Budget Implementation Act—the next step in our ambitious plan to invest in the middle class and build an economy that is as inclusive as it is innovative. Here are just a few of the ways the act will prepare Canadians and their communities for the […]
PMO hires a new executive assistant, another switches assignment

The Prime Minister’s Office recently hired Nour Kechacha as an executive assistant to both PMO senior adviser Mathieu Bouchard and to director of administration and special projects Brett Thalmann. Until recently, Ms. Kechacha had spent the last year working as a legislative assistant to Liberal MP Marwan Tabbara, who was elected to represent Kitchener South-Hespeler, […]
Prime Minister Trudeau preferred leader to guide country ‘through a major crisis’: poll

OTTAWA—Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals would be supported by 38 per cent of the population if an election were held today, compared to 29 per cent for the Conservatives and 19 per cent for the New Democrats, according to a Campaign Research survey of 1,970 people. The Liberals are also most popular with 18-24 year olds (45 per […]