Quebec byelections offer preview
Quebec Premier Jean Charest’s Liberal party held onto its traditional stronghold Montreal riding of Outremont in last week’s provincial by-elections, but it was soundly crushed in the predominantly francophone riding of Vercheres on the south shore. In Outremont, the Quebec Liberals saw a slight drop in their support, but held onto the riding with 49 […]
Martin fighting windmills like Don Quixote: PM is fending off phantom enemies from the outside and inside
He’s just not a strong and courageous leader. Prime Minister Paul Martin looks more like Don Quixote fighting windmills. If you’ve been listening to his latest rants, Canada is under attack from enemies on the inside and on the outside. But fortunately, Mr. Martin is touting himself as the White Knight ready to defend the […]
Fontaine works with Elections Canada to boost First Nations voter turnout
AFN Leader Phil Fontaine isn’t publicly endorsing the Liberals, but told The Hill Times he would prefer ‘to work with a government that’s committed to our issues.’ Assembly of First Nations Leader Phil Fontaine is working with Elections Canada to encourage First Nations citizens across Canada to vote in the election and says “they have […]
Third party ads in the ridings
Hundreds of lobbyist organizations are running advertisements in electoral districts across the country in the current election campaign as third party advocates to promote their pet issues. Kory Teneycke, executive director of the Canadian Renewable Fuels Association said in an interview that third party advocates of specific issues are relying more on advertisements during election […]
Grits leak Quebec strategy
The Bloc Quebecois isn’t going to change its campaign plan after the Liberals accidentally leaked details of its own strategy. Michel Gauthier, the Bloc’s chief campaign organizer, said his own party was hardly surprised to see a list of 20 “targeted”ridings flagged by the Liberals. “We knew already. Listen, political parties have extraordinary tools today. […]
Holiday greeting cards an expense in the current election campaign
Holiday greeting cards sent by incumbents and new candidates during the current campaign are considered an election expense, according to Elections Canada. In every campaign, each riding has a different spending limit for electoral expenses which is determined by Elections Canada based mainly on the number of electors and the size of the riding. Before […]
A critical look at war room strategists on TV political panels
CBC Newsworld Early Edition with Don Newman M-F 10:30 Susan Murray Liberal strategist As a former CBC journalist, Ms. Murray is clearly revelling in her new role on the other side of the news, and she gnaws away at the issues using the Liberal message du jour with the tenacity of a terrier. Opposing panellists […]
Bloquing blogs on the trail
A couple of new websites have popped up in the past week. In Quebec, a few federalist students at Universite de Montreal have set up their own anti-Bloc website – http://www.bloquequebecois.org – the parody site looks almost exactly like the real party website: http://www.bloc.org except it’s filled with tongue and cheek criticism that the party […]
Swing ridings across Canada
Swing ridings: winning candidate won with a slim margin of victory. The ridings are heavily targeted by the runner-up. Winning party is shown in the parentheses. Up to 30 are shown, with a maximum margin of victory of 15%. * Indicates incumbent not running again Liberal Targeted Swing Ridings: 1. Simcoe-Grey, Ont. (Cons.) 0.2% 2. […]
Liberal stronghold up for grabs: Tories banking on former Harris Cabinet minister to win in Ottawa West-Nepean
Ottawa West-Nepean has been a Liberal stronghold since 1988 and candidate Lee Farnworth wants to keep it that way. Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan lent Ms. Farnworth some help last week when she was in town visiting the Pinecrest Queensway Health and Community Services Centre. Liberal incumbent Marlene Catterall, who announced her retirement earlier this […]
