Major Conservative ad buy an ‘opening salvo’ for 2019 aimed at introducing Scheer to suburban men, female voters, say experts
The Conservative Party’s reported $2-million national ad push is its “opening salvo” of the 2019 election, and pollsters and strategists say the two ads currently on airwaves are both aimed at introducing new leader Andrew Scheer and putting “pocketbook” issues in focus in the lead-up to the next campaign. “I would consider this the opening […]
There’s no real ammunition for Conservatives against pot legalization
OTTAWA—Thanks be to God marijuana is now legal, because it’s been getting pretty tiresome constantly talking about it. It almost makes you long for the day when Senate reform was the hot topic. Well, maybe not. For me, this isn’t a question of self-interest as a cannabis aficionado. The last time I smoked weed I […]
The Washington Post comes north of the border
The Washington Post, whose motto is “Democracy Dies in Darkness,” is joining a number of American press shops looking to Canada to expand their market. The paper announced on Oct. 11 that reporter Emily Rauhala will cover Canada for the Post. She’s set to travel across the country to “illuminate people, places and the passions that […]
Liberals turn sights on social media giants in bid to boost elections bill
The Liberal government wants to push major online platforms to expand their political advertising registries north of the border, as part of a package of more than 60 changes it’s proposing to its already-sweeping elections modernization bill. When MPs return from their ridings on Oct. 15, members of the Procedure and House Affairs Committee (PROC) […]
No job cuts at iPolitics in wake of Torstar deal, says founder
There will be no job cuts at iPolitics now that Torstar is the online news outlet’s new owner, says iPolitics founder and publisher James Baxter, who will be leaving the company once the transition is complete. “One of the terms of the deal is that everyone is kept on—that was important to me,” he said in a […]
Putin in ‘most dangerous’ mid-life crisis in history, says Tom Nichols
The goal of Russian interference and misinformation in Western democracies is to decrease civic engagement, says a former cold warrior. Speaking at a talk on ‘Russia’s Challenge to North American and European Security’ put on by the Macdonald-Laurier Institute on Sept. 27, Tom Nichols, a Sovietologist and professor at the U.S. Naval College, said Russian […]
Canada’s ranter-in-chief, Rick Mercer, to release unheard diatribes
Former CBC personality and comedian Rick Mercer is coming out with a book of his unreleased rants, Rick Mercer Final Report, on Nov. 6, 2018. Mr. Mercer, co-creator of This Hour has 22 Minutes, hosted the Rick Mercer Report for 15 seasons; the final episode of the show aired earlier this year on April 10. The Mercer Report included his […]
Power to the people: Maxime Bernier turns to social networks to boost base
Since announcing his exit from the Conservative Party in dramatic fashion last month, Quebec MP Maxime Bernier says he hasn’t had any contact with his former caucus colleagues, and is instead focusing on attempting to play spoiler in 2019 by using social media to drum up a new, engaged grassroots base. On Sept. 14, Mr. […]
Shine your dancin’ shoes: here’s your guide to the fall’s hottest shindigs
“I like large parties. They’re so intimate. At small parties, there isn’t any privacy,” said outspoken Jordan Baker in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, and whether or not you prefer your parties crowded or intimate, filled with food or with a rockin’ dance floor, Hillites can agree all around that there are plenty in Ottawa […]
Stepping back to look ahead: why this outspoken parliamentary secretary volunteered to be demoted
When Liberal MP Celina Caesar-Chavannes turned down the offer to serve another term as a parliamentary secretary, it wasn’t a decision made lightly, she says, nor was it solely based on the social media abuse to which she’s been subjected for being a woman, particularly a woman of colour, who speaks her mind. First elected […]
