Fresh hires for Wilkinson include new policy, regional advisers
Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson has added a few new staff to his ministerial team so far this spring, including Raphaël Beauchamp, who started on the job as a senior policy adviser during the first week of May. Beauchamp previously worked for Wilkinson during his time as environment minister; starting in January 2020 as a […]
Time to stop ‘pussy-footing around’ racism: ‘When do we draw the line?’ ask Black Liberal MPs
In the wake of the mass shooting on May 14 in Buffalo, N.Y., which targeted Black people, the current and former chair of the Liberal Black Caucus (LBC) say they want to see concrete action from their own government to address racism and hate in Canada. “I can’t speak for the government. But I could […]
In praise of polling
OAKVILLE, ONT.—American politician Sarah Palin once dismissed polls saying they were for “strippers and cross-country skiers.” Of course, Palin isn’t the only politician who has ever disparaged polls and polling. The old expression “the only poll that matters is the one on election day” seems to pop up every election cycle. Yet, for all their […]
Liberal-NDP alliance could have a profound impact on Conservative leadership race
TORONTO—The somewhat unexpected Liberal-New Democratic Party alliance might have a profound impact on the federal Tory leadership race. First, it will advantage those contenders who are sitting MPs, as they will not have to rely on a sitting member to resign, so they can run to enter Parliament in a by-election—or, even worse, actually wait […]
This just in: a look at Deputy PM and Finance Minister Freeland’s 30-plus staff ministerial team
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has more than 30 staff in her office, which is led by her chief of staff Leslie Church. Hill Climbers has been seeking to officially confirm Freeland’s staff team since late last year. To date, only a short list of staff has been confirmed, including Church, press […]
PMO’s executive, HR, research, and correspondence teams updated
There’s lots of movement to catch up on in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office, including the departure of senior adviser Olivier Duchesneau and the addition of James Armbruster as the PM’s new special assistant. Duchesneau left the PMO at the end of January after two years as a senior adviser. A former press secretary to […]
The uncomfortable fact about liberal democracies
Western media coverage of Russia’s war against Ukraine has made it easy to overlook an uncomfortable fact: since the end of the Cold War, the Western world—led by the United States—has been, by far, the greatest source of international violence. Nearly one million people died as a result of the U.S “war on terror.” NATO’s […]
Read all about it: Immigration Minister Fraser’s new 17-member team
Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Minister Sean Fraser’s new office is now 17 staff strong, and includes a slate of five regional advisers, two of whom—Juan Sarmiento and Dorine Soundranayagam—cover Ontario. Sarmiento is a former constituency assistant to Ontario Liberal MP Judy Sgro. Soundranayagam is a former constituency assistant to Scarborough-Rouge Park, Ont., Liberal MP Gary Anandasangaree. […]
The wait for pharmacare has gone on long enough
When the NDP and the Liberals signed their confidence-and-supply agreement in March, one element that generated a lot of excitement was a pharmacare plan. This is something that has been promised for more than 50 years, since the Hall Royal Commission report established medicare in the 1960s. Then came the April budget. Where was pharmacare? […]
Liberals tap new research bureau head this Parliament
There’s been plenty of movement in the Liberal research bureau since the start of the 44th Parliament, where Linda Campbell has taken over as managing director. Melissa Cotton, who’d run the caucus research office for the last five years as managing director, left the Hill in January and is now a senior manager of government […]
