The creation of Canada was at core of diversity
OTTAWA—In Canada, the 150th birthday bash seems to have taken on a double meaning. Bash connotes a happy time when everyone joins together in an unforgettable party. Bash can also mean a chance to take a dump on the very birthday celebration that drew hundreds of thousands of Canadians to Parliament Hill. Some of the […]
Deep freeze sets in Quebec’s sovereignty issue
There was time not so long ago when the very notion of a federal government funding some June 24 festivities in Quebec would have raised eyebrows on both sides of the federalist-sovereigntist divide. Ottawa has long contributed to the financing of St-Jean-Baptiste celebrations in the rest of Canada, but it had abstained from associating itself […]
Rural Liberal candidates who lost last election eager to start nominations for 2019 federal run
The Liberals, who hold 183 seats in the Commons, should start nominations in unheld rural ridings as soon as possible to give the eventual candidates enough time to start campaigning for the 2019 federal election, say Liberal candidates who lost in these ridings in the last election. “They should try to expedite these nominations to […]
Liberal Senator urges colleagues to stand up against government pressure on voting decisions
Cabinet ministers’ “systematic lobbying” of Senators on government legislation could undermine the independence of the Red Chamber and it’s up to each Senator to ensure they maintain independence in their voting decisions, says a Liberal Senator from Quebec. “You have to use that vote for the purpose for which you’re called in the Senate, which […]
Trudeau’s decline in popularity is self-inflicted
As Justin Trudeau’s government approaches mid-mandate, he remains the most popular government leader in the country. But that says as much, if not more, about the lacklustre standing of the current set of premiers as about the staying power of the popularity of the prime minister. In three of the four larger provinces, for instance, […]
Prime Minister’s Office hires two new political staffers
The Prime Minister’s Office, which recently dropped its old name, the Langevin Block, to officially be known as the Office of the Prime Minister and the Privy Council Office, hired two new staffers. Mayaf Dura is now a writer in the PMO’s correspondence unit, which previously shrank by one in May with the departure of […]
Government House Leader Chagger says she ‘misremembered’ her presence in Senate the night of key budget vote
Government House Leader Bardish Chagger’s office says the minister “misremembered” the details of her comings and goings in the Senate, while explaining her presence in the entrance of the Senate Chamber ahead of a key vote on amendments to the government’s budget bill last Tuesday night. Conservative Senators have criticized Ms. Chagger (Waterloo, Ont.) and […]
Liberal donor, ex-nomination candidate named to Via Rail board
A new government appointee to the Via Rail board has donated about $20,000 to the Liberal Party of Canada and its affiliates, including to his own campaign when he unsuccessfully ran for the federal Liberal nomination for a Quebec riding in 2014. Transport Minister Marc Garneau (Notre Dame de Grâce-Westmount, Que.) announced on June 27 the […]
Flavours of Canada: politicos dish out their favourite recipes
What’s a typical Canadian food? Poutine or Nanaimo bars, you might say. Maybe ketchup chips or Kraft Dinner. Some kids in British Columbia, the province Senator Mobina Jaffer represents, likely see the traditional Indian dessert gulab jamun as a B.C. food, she says, “because every restaurant has it.” “[I asked my grandson to] name a […]
Government ad spending estimated to have dropped by half, as Liberals test new system to screen out partisanship
Spending on government advertising has dropped by about half since the Conservatives’ time in power, according to preliminary estimates, as the Liberals rolled out new advertising rules meant to stamp out any apparent partisanship. Christiane Fox, the former assistant secretary to cabinet for communications and consultations with the Privy Council Office, told the House Government […]
