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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Fisher says Paul Martin at ‘the bottom of the heap’ of Prime Ministers
The House is dwindling in its importance and Cabinet ministers are no longer as important as they used to be because federal politics is dominated by top strategists of the Prime Minister, says Doug Fisher, the dean of the Parliamentary Press Gallery. “Everything builds around the Prime Minister and, of course, the Prime Minister has […]
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 […]
Who’s winning the election campaign communications war, so say a couple of wiseguys
So far it is not clear what the Liberals’ theme is, maybe ‘give me a chance just because’: Powers Campaign Themes: Whose Message is Getting Out Powers: Creating the right identity is vital if you are going to have any chance of winning a campaign! Define or be defined. Go back to the 2000 election […]
Privy Council Office putting campaign platforms under the microscope
PCO planning for a transition in government is a lot more complex today, since there are many different scenarios to consider under the current context with four political parties, say experts. Every single campaign promise is now going under a microscope in the Privy Council Office as it applies its made-in- Canada remedy for political […]
