Trudeau may be guilty of over-reaching, but Scheer needs to reach further
Over the last week, Canadians saw the two main federal party leaders make mistakes which showcased some of their key vulnerabilities. Both Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Opposition Leader Andrew Scheer demonstrated points of strategic weakness their respective parties will look to exploit during the fall election. Let us start with the prime minister. Many […]
Conservatives vulnerable to intolerance attacks, and ‘clumsy’ Cooper episode feeds into perceptions, say strategists, pollster
Episodes like Conservative MP Michael Cooper’s “clumsy” and “insensitive” choice to read from the Christchurch shooter’s manifesto feeds into peoples’ “worst perceptions about the party” and opens Conservative Party Leader Andrew Scheer up to attacks, says pollster David Coletto. It draws on the party’s “greatest vulnerability,” said Mr. Coletto, which is “this question around their […]
Conservatives haven’t quite learned their lines in the theatre of inclusivity
OTTAWA—If you are a member of a marginalized community in Canada, the Conservatives have trolled you over the last couple of weeks with the Justice Committee’s devolution into Trumpian Theatre under the guise of tackling online hate speech. On Tuesday, May 28, the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights held one hearing of many […]
Word to the wise (owls): procedure shouldn’t trump policy
Recent years have seen plenty of debate over the constitution of the Senate of Canada and the role it should rightly play in the federal legislative process, including over how far it’s appropriate for the Upper Chamber’s 105 unelected members to go when amending government legislation. As the Chamber becomes increasingly independent—debate over the genuineness […]
Senate survey offers better picture of diversity among Chamber staff
New numbers suggest the Senate’s hiring of women, Indigenous people, and visible minorities is on par with each group’s availability in the workforce, but behind on employing those with disabilities. An estimated 2.6 per cent of Senate staff are people with disabilities, though they represent 4.4 per cent of the available workforce, according to new […]
New-parent MPs allowed year-long pass from House duties under long-awaited leave changes
Long-awaited parental leave provisions are in the final stretch in the House of Commons, with the proposed new system allowing Members of Parliament to be absent from the House Chamber for up to 12 months after the arrival of a new child. “I feel hard work is accomplished now. But I’m just a little bit […]
Former prime ministers, rivals, come out to celebrate John Turner’s 90th birthday
John Turner, the oldest living former Canadian prime minister, was toasted at his 90th birthday party on June 10 at the Sir John A. Macdonald Building in Ottawa. Organized by his former PMO staffers Lisa Haley and Marc Kealey, the party drew a crowd of 205, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and former prime ministers […]
Increase focus on cultural diplomacy, Senate committee says
Global Affairs Canada should take the lead in improving Canada’s cultural profile in a bid to enhance the country’s soft power, according to a report released Tuesday from the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee. The committee released a report, titled “Cultural Diplomacy at the Front Stage of Canada’s Foreign Policy,” which calls on the government to […]
Senators drafting ‘corridor’ amendments to tanker ban bill, despite Garneau’s warnings
Independent and Conservative Senators are working on amendments to the government’s controversial bill to ban oil tankers from ports along most of the B.C. coast, despite Transport Minister Marc Garneau’s signal to the Senate in May that the government didn’t want to compromise on the core elements of the bill. Independent Senators André Pratte (De […]
Conservative Leader Scheer makes changes to his OLO communications team
Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer recently made some changes to the communications team lineup in his Official Opposition Leader’s Office, with two former advisers to Ontario Premier Doug Ford marking their first day on the job last week. News that two of Mr. Ford’s communications aides—Veronica Green and Simon Jefferies—would be making their way to Ottawa […]
