400 per day? Advocate questions reliability of summer border-crossing predictions after figures fall short
Recent figures on monthly border crossings show that a prediction made by the Quebec government on flows of people coming into Canada this summer—and one frequently cited by the media and federal Conservatives—has so far fallen flat, raising questions about how border-crossing predictions are handled, says one advocate. In April, the Quebec government told the […]
Few Canadians know what the military is up to, but maybe that’s a good thing
OTTAWA—The results of a recent survey show that the Canadian military has a serious image problem, in that many Canadians are unaware that it even exists. According to the findings of an extensive poll conducted by Earnscliffe Strategy Group for the Department of National Defence, only 26 per cent of Canadians felt that they had […]
Public services minister names a new policy director, as seniors minister staffs up
Public Services and Procurement and Accessibility Minister Carla Qualtrough has hired on a second director of policy to her office, Kristina Molloy, who’ll be focused on the minister’s accessibility file. Ms. Molloy was previously director of policy to Kirsty Duncan as the minister for sports and persons with disabilities. In the July 18 shuffle, Ms. […]
Halifax policy convention Scheer’s time to focus on homegrown visability
A policy convention is something like a Seinfeldian Festivus, or a biennial airing of grievances. As former Conservative strategist Tim Powers told The Hill Times in today’s paper, it’s three days on the therapist’s couch—a massive counselling session to get everything out in the open. But there’s a reason most people don’t broadcast their own […]
Hill lobbyist ties the knot, with help from legendary curler
Hill denizens Derek Nighbor and Joey Taylor wed on Aug. 11 with the help of Canadian curling legend Colleen Jones. Mr. Nighbor is a lobbyist and CEO of the Forest Products Association of Canada, and Mr. Taylor is a public affairs manager at Engineers Canada. Since they met through curling and both watched it religiously on […]
Liberals could cede some ground on the left, as they contend with Conservatives, says strategist
The 2019 election may be more than a year away, but there are signs that the Trudeau government could lean into a more centrist agenda given the political challenge it faces from the Conservatives, according to some political observers. As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Papineau, Que.) and his cabinet decamp to Nanaimo, B.C., on Tuesday […]
‘The only thing Ford understands is brute strength’, says Vaughan, as more Liberals endorse John Tory for mayor
The Toronto mayoral race saw a recent flurry of endorsements from Liberal MPs for candidate and incumbent John Tory, a move some observers say is a low-risk decision with easy political benefits at the local level, and a play to outflank PC Premier Doug Ford. On Aug. 8, Mr. Tory announced that Liberal MPs Marco […]
‘Buzz’ around Ford’s media strategy ‘almost bigger than the tactic,’ says digital strategist
Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s strategy of delivering spin straight to his base through his Twitter channel is less about hoodwinking Ontarians, and more about playing to his base and to the narrative of the media as an opposition party, say some political observers, while others see the start of a concerning trend. The launch of […]
The tyranny of compelled propaganda
OAKVILLE, ONT.—Thomas Jefferson once said, “To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves is sinful and tyrannical.” And that leads me to think if Jefferson were alive today and living in Canada, he’d see a lot of sinful and tyrannical stuff, since Canadians are often compelled […]
Poverty, health care problems will challenge new Seniors Minister Tassi
TORONTO—One of the first things the Trudeau government failed to do after winning the 2015 election was to appoint a new minister for seniors. Former prime minister Stephen Harper had created a minister of state for seniors in 2008, but millennial-focused Justin Trudeau in 2015 decided the post wasn’t needed. Now, barely a year before […]
