Cudmore joins Public Safety Minister Blair’s team
James Cudmore is back on Parliament Hill, this time as director of communications to Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair. Mr. Cudmore marked his return roughly two weeks ago, after being on what he described on LinkedIn as a “sabbatical” since exiting as director of policy to the democratic institutions minister shortly after the […]
Chiefs of staff on the move: Champagne, Joly, MacAulay change top staffers as new session of Parliament begins
Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne hired a new chief of staff in his office as of last week, after Daniel Lauzon moved from his post helming Economic Development and Official Languages Minister Mélanie Joly’s office to take on the job. Mr. Lauzon’s first day in Mr. Champagne’s office was Sept. 21. He replaces Laurence Deschamps-Laporte, whose time in […]
Three possible election date scenarios
There are three possible election date scenarios facing Canadians: the first coming on the heels of the Speech from the Throne, presumably on a non-confidence vote; second, a non-confidence motion put after a fall budget or economic update; and lastly, a vote of non-confidence following a spring budget. In all three scenarios Prime Minister Justin […]
Canada needs to step up support for international tropical conservation
Canada is a global cheapskate when it comes to supporting the world’s most threatened and biologically rich tropical ecosystems—despite the risks to food, water, climate, and health when these ecosystems are destroyed. This week, our organization, the International Conservation Fund of Canada (ICFC), published a ground-breaking report on Canadian support for tropical conservation. We […]
Parliament: the reckoning episode
OTTAWA—To paraphrase Tennyson, in the immediate aftermath of a minority government Throne Speech, an old political hack’s fancy heavily turns to thoughts of elections. So, amid the chaos, confusion, and uncertainty that the COVID-19 pandemic has sown, the second session of the 43rd Parliament of Canada will commence with a Speech from the Throne on Sept. […]
Parties ramp up fundraising to cope after ‘big hiccup’ of pandemic, with a modified ‘return to normal,’ say experts
As parties adjust to the new normal of operating amid COVID-19, the threat of a fall federal election is a “convenient” reason to resume ramping up digital fundraising efforts, prompting a modified “return to normal,” say experts. Speaking to The Hill Times last week, Dean Tester, president of Tester Digital, noted the pandemic “made things […]
Liberals still struggling to outrun WE blame game
OTTAWA—It has been a week since the WE Charity announced it was going to close its Canadian operations and lay off more than 100 employees. Proclaiming that they were naive and misunderstood the vicious nature of Canadian politics, Mark and Craig Kielburger called time on WE. While I don’t think there is any dispute that […]
On Iran sanctions, Canada needs to step up against Trump’s unilateralism
The United States is set to restore virtually all United Nations Security Council sanctions on Iran on the eve of Sept. 20. This decision was made following the Trump administration’s recent failure to garner support for the adoption of a draft resolution to the UNSC that sought to extend an arms embargo against Iran. This was […]
Feds should focus on gauging ‘wariness’ of COVID measures, says strategist, after public opinion research spending dip in 2019-20
The Liberal government spent $11.3-million on public opinion research studies in the last year, but those efforts didn’t capture much of the public’s reaction to COVID-19 spending, and in turn, experts say Ottawa’s efforts should now shift to gauging Canadians’ evaluation of its relief efforts. The feds commissioned a total of 121 projects spanning 30 […]
Communications team changes for Joly, Murray has a new chief
Economic Development and Official Languages Minister Mélanie Joly has a new communications team in place in her office, with Catherine Mounier-Desrochers having been promoted to press secretary as of Aug. 18. As reported by Hill Climbers earlier this week, former finance press secretary Maéva Proteau has taken over as director of communications to Ms. Joly. […]
