As NDP ups pressure on health care, a PM focused on re-election may not want to make supply-and-confidence deal last, says strategist
Pollster David Coletto says opposition parties have not yet drawn clear ‘battle lines’ to differentiate their own positions from the government.
Liberals enjoy boost from ‘nervous New Democrats,’ while Poilievre may need to ‘recalibrate’ media strategy after Mississauga-Lakeshore byelection, say strategists
Less-partisan voters who ‘turn on the radio’ to ‘hear some quick news’ may be better reached through traditional platforms like CBC or CTV, says Conservative strategist Shakir Chambers.
May says she’ll lead Greens in a snap election, but wants Pedneault centre stage by 2025
Elizabeth May’s running mate Jonathan Pedneault says he does not plan to seek a seat before the next general election, at which time he will run in his home province of Quebec.
Closing in on party totals, Poilievre leadership win would put Tory fundraising juggernaut ‘on steroids,’ says Powers
The Conservative Party’s fundraising juggernaut continues to pull ahead of its main political rivals—raising more money than the Liberals and NDP combined for the past two quarters—and strategists say the numbers from the party’s leadership contest suggest that a win by MP Pierre Poilievre would be like a shot of “steroids” for the Tory apparatus. […]
All federal parties need to improve their leadership and nomination processes or risk losing credibility
In almost every nomination or leadership election, political parties have faced allegations from their own candidates of playing favourites or of making unfair decisions behind closed doors. But transparency and fairness are the two key ingredients of any legitimate nomination or leadership contest. Thanks to Elections Canada, our general elections are held to the highest […]
It’s time to fix the rules of the electoral game and widen the pool of players
So, you want to run for politics, but you are worried about the financial costs of taking time off work to campaign. Do you have a “political campaign emergency fund” set up? Probably not. Most of us don’t have access to the kind of money necessary to mount a political campaign, never mind the kind […]
Liberals start with a fairly strong lead, but achieving a majority looking like an uphill climb
OTTAWA—Six weeks ago, an election at summer’s end looked like a pretty good bet to produce a majority victory for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Liberals. Canadians were buoyant about the apparent fading out of the pandemic, vaccination targets were being achieved, virus cases were way down, and the Liberals, enjoying public appreciation for […]
Money talks: Bloc’s fundraising may be cause for concern for Grits, Tories in Quebec
Politicos are gearing up for an impending election call with party leaders, incumbent MPs, and candidates already busy hitting the pavement, and Conservatives are heading into the likely election once again with the best-stocked war chest, having raised almost $6-million more than the Liberals in 2020. “Clearly, Conservatives have the advantage on better organization techniques […]
Universal basic income, transit, seniors care in focus for members heading into the Liberal policy convention
From universal basic income to a national transit strategy, Liberal Party members will be looking to debate a range of policies at the party’s upcoming policy convention, a debate they expect will unfold as usual, despite the fact this year delegates won’t be converging in person as a result of COVID-19. This year’s convention will […]
Political parties need to field as many women candidates as men
When Justin Trudeau shuffled his cabinet last month, he retained the gender balance that earned him headlines back in 2015. No one commented, because six years on, it’s become the default for the federal Liberals. That’s good news for the roughly 50 per cent of the population who identify as women. But it’s not enough—and […]
