‘You can’t call your opponent an SOB one day and then have to sit down and negotiate with him in a reasonable manner the next’
Ed Broadbent doesn’t practise any religion.The NDP is his church. After 37 involved in and out of the House in federal politics, the retiring MP says he still has the same strong belief as when he was first elected on June 25, 1968; that is, to influence change. “The principle vehicles for change for citizens […]
NDP mount election campaign for holiday truce
New Democratic Party national campaign officials are conducting negotiations behind the scenes with the Conservatives, the Liberals and the Bloc to come up with a holiday season truce. NDP director of communications Brad Lavigne confirmed last week that his party wants to suspend all national campaigns during the holiday season, but he refused to give […]
Pollsters warning: political environment ‘very volatile’
Public opinion pollsters say the only way to ensure accuracy is to conduct a poll on the day of the election which is against the law. The current public opinion polls on political parties being released daily and weekly are indicative, but will matter more and more as election day approaches, say top pollsters. “Journalists, […]
PARLIAMENTARY CALENDAR: The Public Policy Forum hosts a new weekly, non-partisan breakfast panel on the election week
Every week, Public Policy Forum participants will go behind the headlines and hear from experts on the numbers, the highlights and the issues at the National Press Club in Ottawa. TUESDAY, DEC. 13 Canadian Club of Ottawa Lunch – Canadian Ambassador to the U.S. Frank McKenna and U.S. Ambassador to Canada David Wilkins will speak […]
Bloc wooing ethnic vote in Quebec at Grits’ expense
In Quebec it’s the same story. The difference is that the alternative now is the ‘sovereigntist’ movement; not that the ‘ethnics’ now want Quebec to separate, but they are not afraid of the ‘sovereigntists’ and do not trust the Liberal ‘federalists.’ TORONTO – It has always been taken for granted that the so-called “ethnic” vote […]
The Spin Doctors: “Who won the campaign last week and what’s your party’s message for week No. 3 in this eight-week election campaign?”
Leslie Swartman Liberal Strategist “It’s a mug’s game to say who won and who lost. I’m sure all of us will say our own party leader prevailed. But these are very early days in a long election campaign. “What is really important is that each of the parties lay out its platform and that Canadians […]
Bloc leader wants long-term commitment
Sleeping with the enemy… Gilles Duceppe has come a long way since that cheese bonnet incident. The Bloc Quebecois leader continued to refine his standup comedy routine, with a campaign stop last week on the popular Radio Canada talk show, Tout le monde en parle. Responding to questions from host Guy A. Lepage, Mr. Duceppe […]
Grating sameness of election media coverage and the pick-a-winner phenomenon starting to get to me
There is a grating sameness to the performances in these recurring elections – no, not by candidates, by media. Not many journalists enjoy covering elections. They bring deadlines that drive reporters to exhaustion. Few volunteer for the assignment. But nobody ever says no, either, and some media persuade themselves that lively, provocative reporting will bring […]
Hill staffers working out in the field on campaign 2006: ‘If you’re a political junkie then it’s sort of like Christmas time’ working on election campaign: staffer
Meanwhile, James Dykstra takes over the position of director of policy in CIDA Minister Aileen Carroll’s office from Desiree McGraw who started her maternity leave last week. Political Hill staffers working for free on the 56-day election campaign and outside of regular work hours do so because it’s good for their parties and it’s good […]
Issue-driven campaign so far
The early predictions were this election campaign would be negative, nasty, and downright dirty. Instead, it’s been heavy on policies and issue-driven.Thankfully. Some say this election campaign has been as substantive in the first two weeks than the entire five-week campaign in 2004. Conservative Leader Stephen Harper should be given a lot of the credit […]
