For Pierre Poilievre, nastiness serves a strategic political purpose
Anger is Poilievre’s calling card. It got him elected, made him a cabinet minister, and won him the Conservative leadership.
A trickle of PR won’t douse the Liberals’ flaming poll numbers
No one should write off Justin Trudeau or the Liberal Party, but neither should the Liberals be so naïve as to just dismiss recent data or think a simple change of tone will make things better.
Conservatives’ polling lead ‘still fundamentally about the Liberals,’ as fatigue sets in with incumbents, say pollsters
A new ad pitch to soften Pierre Poilievre’s image will only work if it’s backed by the Conservative leader’s actions, according to former Liberal strategist Dan Arnold. But Conservatives are still polling about 10 points ahead of the Liberals.
Liberals face uphill battle in ‘war of ideas’ over best path forward on reconciliation, say pundits
A recent Pollara survey suggests the Conservatives have a 12-point lead amongst Indigenous voters, which policy analyst Melissa Mbarki says could be partly due to the party’s talking points on fiscal responsibility and spending.
‘Leaders are basically the national campaigns’ today: messages of change and contrition a possible remedy for low numbers, say pollsters
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is ‘not running against perfection, he’s running against Justin Trudeau,’ says Nik Nanos.
NDP ‘a loser’ in recent byelections, should be ‘very worried’ about hemorrhaging support to Liberals, say political players
Recent byelection results should make the NDP rethink their supply-and-confidence deal with the government, says Innovative Research president Greg Lyle.
‘I’ve never seen the country in a darker, more divided mood than we find it today’: polarization, unpopular leaders present challenges for parties to break out of poll stasis, pollsters say
Greg Lyle of Innovative Research says a summer cabinet shuffle offers ‘relaunch’ for Liberals, while Nik Nanos recommends Poilievre avoid the spotlight.
‘Polarizing’ Alberta campaign ‘a harbinger of what to expect’ in next federal election, say insiders
It would be a mistake for Pierre Poilievre to run on a populist message in the next federal election as that vote will be decided in the suburbs of major urban centres, not in rural ridings, says Prof. Duane Bratt of Mount Royal University.
‘Liberals in trouble’ over China’s attempted meddling in Canadian elections, say pollsters
The China interference story has ‘long legs,’ and some twists and turns. The Liberals should be ‘quite concerned because if the current Conservative advantage consolidates and the longer the numbers stay here, it becomes the new normal, and it will require more effort to dislodge the trend line,’ says pollster Nik Nanos.
Ontario’s proposed polling ban would leave voters ‘in a dark room,’ says Nanos
Polls may have a ‘negative impact on voter turnout,’ but banning them is ‘not a silver bullet,’ says a Samara Centre for Democracy spokesperson.
