Real action happening behind scenes in Liberal leadership
Marc Garneau said his decision to drop out of the Liberal race was based on pure mathematics. He didn’t have the numbers to win so, arguably, it made more sense for him to drop out and rally behind the frontrunner. Garneau’s move mitigated earlier self-inflicted damage caused when he attacked Justin Trudeau as […]
To beat Trudeau, laughter is best strategy
OAKVILLE, ONT.—If you believe all the Trudeaumania hype, Liberal-leader-in-waiting Justin Trudeau is like an irresistible force of nature. He just can’t be stopped. Indeed, a narrative is emerging in the media which casts him as an archetypical hero: the handsome, young, charismatic, son of a demi-god who, like some sort of latter day Alexander […]
Liberal Party luring tentative converts to a defining Grit cult
MONTREAL—On a stopover at Pearson airport on the way back from a vacation a few weeks ago, I spent half an hour sitting a few feet from Marc Garneau as we both waited for a flight. It was late on a Saturday night and he was absorbed with his BlackBerry. I did not want […]
Garneau’s campaign admits phone survey didn’t comply with CRTC rules on political polling
PARLIAMENT HILL—Former Liberal leadership contender Marc Garneau’s campaign has admitted a contentious robocall telephone survey it conducted last week did not comply with federal caller identification rules for political polling. But a spokesperson for the campaign told The Hill Times the infraction, which prompted involvement by Liberal Party headquarters, was not related to Mr. Garneau’s […]
Justin Trudeau: bright new thing or same-old same-old?
GATINEAU, QUE.—Propelled by a potent combination of nostalgia and charisma, Justin Trudeau is looking more inevitable than ever— certainly as the next Liberal leader, perhaps as the next prime minister. But it is less inevitable that a Justin Trudeau government would look very different from any other in recent memory—including the one we have […]
Onward online soldiers
OAKVILLE, ONT.—Don’t tell anyone, but I am secretly amassing an online activist army. Already I have thousands of Facebook “friends” and Twitter “followers” and LinkedIn “contacts” ready to do my bidding. With a single click of a mouse, I will one day unleash these online legions to smite my political enemies. Sound crazy? Maybe […]
Justin’s got a juggernaut, but he’s not taking anything for granted in federal Liberal leadership campaign, say Trudeau backers
PARLIAMENT HILL—Liberal Party news that nearly 300,000 voting age Canadians have signed up to cast ballots in the party’s April 14 leadership election, with half recruited by leadership candidate Justin Trudeau’s army of volunteers, was sobering for the other candidates on Wednesday, even though Mr. Trudeau’s supporters on Parliament Hill warned against taking anything […]
Trudeau has federal Liberal leadership locked up, say Grit MPs, ‘people want to see a leader they believe in’
PARLIAMENT HILL—Justin Trudeau has the federal Liberal leadership race virtually locked up after rounding up the lion’s share of a new class of Liberal supporters who will be eligible to vote in the leadership election without actually joining the party, Liberal MPs say. The party is in the midst of verifying the names and identities […]
Why I’m not falling for Liberal promises to legalize cannabis
OTTAWA—Recently, the leadership candidates for the Liberal Party of Canada have promised varying versions of cannabis “legalization” if their party returns to power. Some are calling the party’s new position on cannabis law reform “bold.” I would agree, if this were 1973. True, hearing a national party actually talk about legalization is a step […]
Liberal debates are dull, but good for democracy
OAKVILLE, ONT.—You have to hand it to the federal Liberals. Yes, they may be languishing in third place and, yes, their days of glory may be far behind them, but when it comes to dreaming up creative and imaginative debate formats the Liberals are second to none. We’ve certainly seen their mastery in this department […]
