New political order pits keepers against disrupters
OAKVILLE, ONT.—I’ve never put our culture on a couch to study its psyche, but if I did, I bet the resulting diagnosis would be it suffers from “political bipolar disorder.” Okay, I just made that malady up. But the point I’m trying to get across here is that the collective subconscious of our society likes […]
We’re being ill-served by Conservative, NDP leadership races
TORONTO—Canadians are being ill-served by both the Conservative and NDP leadership races. Neither party has found a candidate who is speaking intelligently about the real challenges facing the country. This is giving the Trudeau government a free ride. But no government should have a free ride. Our democratic society deserves something better—a serious opposition that […]
Niki Ashton expected to enter NDP leadership race next week
Keep your eyes peeled: Niki Ashton is likely to announce her intention to run for the leadership of the NDP next week, say two sources close to her office. An NDP staffer who is affiliated with Ms. Ashton’s (Churchill-Keewatinook Aski, Man.) office, as well one of Ms. Ashton’s regular volunteers, each said separately they are expecting Ms. […]
How to counter the Liberal advantage
OAKVILLE, ONT.—Sometimes a political forecast isn’t a prediction; it’s more like a common sense observation. For instance, common sense tells me, that all things being equal, the next federal election will be handily won by the Justin Trudeau Liberals. I say that simply because the Liberals happen to enjoy a huge inherent structural advantage over […]
Grit MP Ouellette emerges from caucus, happy ‘no one lost any teeth’
It’s getting harder to differentiate the quotes from politicians from the quotes of hockey players. For example, take these comments Liberal MP Robert-Falcon Ouellette made after a caucus meeting held Feb. 22, as distributed to press gallery members through a transcription service. “Should I say something? Should I say anything? What could I say?” he […]
Carleton’s political management program has churned out Hill staffers aplenty
With five cohorts of alumni to date, Carleton University’s unique political management master’s program has seen many of its grads land jobs on the Hill, everywhere from the Prime Minister’s Office to cabinet and opposition offices, with others working in government relations and at other levels of government. Under the current Liberal government, that list […]
NDP leadership candidates waiting for Conservative leadership furor to die down before entering race
According to NDP insiders and MPs, potential candidates for the NDP leadership race are thinking that the later, the better, when it comes to announcing their bid. The main reasoning behind this comes down to being able to get the most attention. With 14 candidates dramatically fighting for leadership of the Conservative Party right now, […]
Liberals and Conservatives tied in nationwide poll, Grits still strong in Central Canada, but losing younger voters
The federal Liberal and Conservative parties would each win the votes of one-third of Canadians if an election were held now, according to a poll taken at the beginning of February. A year and four months after taking power, the Liberals have lost about one-third of the voters who supported them in the October 2015 […]
Kaufmann now senior policy adviser to Health Minister Philpott
Liberal staffer Brian Kaufmann, who has expertise in indigenous affairs issues, recently shifted roles, bidding farewell to Indigenous and Northern Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett’s office to join Health Minister Jane Philpott’s political staff team. Mr. Kaufmann has spent the last year working as a policy and regional affairs adviser to Ms. Bennett, but on Jan. […]
Lots of challenges and opportunities for political players this year
OTTAWA—Having avoided the standard year-end retrospective, primarily because I was late to the keyboard and all the good “sunny days” and “honeymoon” analogies were already taken, I have decided to cast my mind forward and look at what I would like to see the coming year hold and some of the challenges and opportunities for […]
