Trudeau must seek change in Russia policy at NATO summit
At the NATO leaders’ summit this week, Canada must offer strong support for the alliance. At the same time, it should take a more visible and assertive role to ensure its greater effectiveness. Most importantly, Canada needs to seek a change in policy towards Russia. The West’s policy of accommodation has failed. Russia views it […]
A dozen ridings obvious targets for Conservatives as they seek to reclaim Liberal territory in Ontario next year
The federal Conservatives are well-positioned to make gains in Canada’s largest province in the next election, and a dozen Liberal ridings in Ontario may as well be painted with bullseyes. Those include Aurora-Oak Ridges-Richmond Hill, held by Leona Alleslev; Newmarket-Aurora, held by Kyle Peterson; Richmond Hill, held by Majid Jowhari; King-Vaughan, held by Deb Schulte; […]
Heritage Minister Joly borrows PMO adviser Dea to serve as her interim chief of staff
Canadian Heritage and Official Languages Minister Mélanie Joly’s chief of staff Leslie Church is away on maternity leave and, in the meantime, the minister has brought in Maxime Dea, a policy adviser in the Prime Minister’s Office, to fill in on an interim basis. A former head of communications and public affairs for Google Canada, Ms. Church […]
What is the point of NATO?
TORONTO—Donald Trump says too many NATO countries, including Canada, don’t pay their fair share of defence costs. The U.S. president is right about that. But the real question facing the 29-member alliance is far more fundamental. What is the point of NATO these days? In 1949, when the then 12-member North Atlantic Treaty Organization was […]
Could Justin Trudeau lose the next election?
TORONTO—Could Justin Trudeau lose the next election? Well, sure he could. In strictly existential terms, you are always facing political death. The distance from hero to zero is very slight. Ask Kathleen Wynne. After Trudeau won big in 2015—after he came from a remote and distant perch in the House of Commons, from third place, […]
Conservatives topped Liberals in fundraising for second year in a row in 2017: annual report
For the second year in a row, the Conservative Party topped the governing Liberals in fundraising in 2017, raking in roughly $4.9-million more in donations, as detailed in the parties’ published annual financial returns released last week. Overall, the Conservatives led the pack in 2017 with roughly $18.8-million in donations from 94,786 individuals, while the […]
‘It’s a bit of an inferno’: groping allegation against Trudeau has ‘damaged’ his personal brand, say political players
The groping allegation against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, which is attracting international media attention, has damaged his brand as a self-described “feminist” and is a serious “distraction” from his government’s agenda, say political insiders. “This is turning into a bit of an inferno,” said Darrell Bricker, CEO of Ipsos Global Public Affairs, in an interview […]
Senators racked up fines for absences as parliamentary session dragged on
Some Senators have blown past their 21-day limit for unexplained absences from the Red Chamber as the historically-long parliamentary session has dragged on, racking up fines of $250 for every day beyond the limit. The Parliament of Canada Act allows Senators and MPs to miss 21 sitting days per session of Parliament before they are […]
Ford’s move serves to sabotage environmental responsibility
OTTAWA—Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s very first political act was to scrap the provincial cap and trade system. He framed the decision as “promise made, promise kept,” circulating a video tweet that features gas tank prices going down. As of last Thursday, 32,000 people had viewed the tweet and almost 2,000 liked what they saw. But […]
Liberal insiders ‘anticipate’ cabinet shuffle before cabinet retreat in British Columbia late next month
With the next federal election 15 months away, strategists say this summer is the last best opportunity for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to get his front bench ready for the “home stretch” and weed out anyone not running again in 2019. Liberal insiders also say they anticipate a shuffle to happen before the summer cabinet retreat […]
