Federal Liberals face ‘wipeout’ in B.C. blue wave, say pollsters

Angus Reid’s Shachi Kurl says B.C. United sunk under a rising Conservative tide, and warns previously safe Vancouver federal Liberal ridings could face similar flooding.
Liberal caucus off to B.C. for annual summer retreat to brainstorm fall parliamentary game plan

Liberal MP Marcus Powlowski says the caucus needs to discuss ‘how to address people’s dissatisfaction with our direction as the government.’
Top Liberals internally temper expectations on high-stakes byelection in LaSalle-Émard-Verdun, Que.

Liberal national campaign co-chair Soraya Martinez Ferrada told the Ontario Liberal caucus that the Sept. 16 Montreal-area byelection is a ‘three-way contest.’
Witness says she’ll return if invited after fracas at House Status of Women Committee, it’s more important than ‘petty politics’

Conservatives are calling on the Liberals to allow witnesses to return to speak after a disastrous House committee meeting on July 31.
Byelections loom large as parties enter final summer stretch

Liberals are laying low and seem to be lacking urgency after their Toronto byelection defeat back in June, say pollsters.
How to parry an attack

Playing defence doesn’t mean you have to be defensive. If anything, you should use your opponent’s attack as a chance to counterattack.
Bot campaign furor a ‘wake-up call’ greater insight, regulation needed, says expert

‘This is a phenomenon that is happening across all social media platforms, but we don’t have really good insight into how widespread it is,’ says Concordia’s Fenwick McKelvey.
Conservatives’ TV ad tells us a lot

Conservatives will employ negative ads to get their message across even though the polls indicate they are well ahead in the race. This is a little surprising since the ‘book’ says if your party is way out front, you should probably stick to positive messaging.
‘It could be a great night for the NDP’: potential byelection wins could trigger end of Lib-NDP agreement, say political players

‘If you thought Toronto-St. Paul’s was a world of pain for Justin Trudeau, not doing well in LaSalle-Émard-Verdun would be another devastating blow,’ says pollster Nik Nanos.
NDP sets sights on Montreal-area Liberal stronghold LaSalle-Émard-Verdun

Craig Sauvé was an NDP regional director in the 2011 election which saw the left-of-centre party win 59 of 75 seats in Quebec, including this Montreal-area riding.