Legault’s ‘dangerous’ claims may have just cost O’Toole the election
Quebec Premier François Legault’s “dangerous” claims may have just cost Erin O’Toole the election. Angry warnings not to vote for Liberals, New Democrats, or Greens were supposed to help the Conservative leader. Early in the campaign, Legault made it very clear that his sympathies were with O’Toole. But that was before O’Toole revealed that part […]
Rock ramblings: skeptical but steady support for the Liberals
OTTAWA—Over summer’s last weekend, I got the chance to spend some time at home in St. John’s. Mostly I was with people removed from the daily grind of politics—though they were Newfoundlanders, so not fully disengaged. But these are more normal folks, not reading every tweet dispatched about #Election44 or waiting for the next public […]
Trudeau still dogged by questions about timing of the election during first leaders’ debate
In an election campaign where a defining ballot box issue has yet to emerge, the leaders of the four top parties in Quebec took to the debate stage on Thursday evening in an event that many have said marks the beginning of the campaign’s homeward stretch. Observers say there was no clear winner in the […]
Léger poll on eve of first French debate shows O’Toole gaining momentum in Quebec
As party leaders prepare for the Sept. 2 TVA debate—a crucial event for reaching many Quebec voters—a new poll from Léger Marketing suggests the Conservatives are on the rise in the province. “The reason why this poll is this really important is over the past two years, ever since the 2019 election, we’ve never had […]
A pox on all their houses: the major parties pander shamelessly on language
KAMOURASKA, QUE.—One of my mother’s cousins was married to a prominent Franco-Ontarian, Marcel Joyal, who was a lawyer in Ottawa and later became a Federal Court judge. They summered here, and I was lucky enough to enjoy his company from time to time. Joyal was a passionate Canadian, and late into the Kamouraska summer nights, […]
Paula Simons launches video series celebrating Alberta
Continuing her crusade to share the amazing variety in her home province of Alberta, Independent Senator Paula Simons has started filming a set of videos as of the week of Aug. 9 focused on exploring different aspects of the region and its people. “Calling them ‘mini-docs’ may be a bit grand,” she said in an […]
Survey says: health care, COVID benefits, affordability, and climate change top of mind for voters
OTTAWA—Over the past two weeks, I have had the great pleasure of guest hosting VOCM’s Openline program in Newfoundland and Labrador. Openline is a long-standing platform for all manner of discourse in my home province. It can often be a useful barometer of which issues are top of mind for the people of the Rock […]
Sharp-witted ISG Senator Keating remembered as a ‘relentless champion’ with an ‘insatiable intellect,’ sardonic sense of humour
Sharp, devoted, and extremely funny, Independent Senator Judith Keating is being remembered by her Red Chamber colleagues as a passionate advocate for New Brunswick. Throughout her life and after she was appointed to the Senate in January 2020, she advocated for women, people living in rural areas, access to medical health, and access to abortion […]
A dose of optimism—and realism—to decarbonize Alberta
An economically viable path to decarbonize Alberta’s oil and gas sector is starting to look much less like fantasy and a whole lot more feasible. Five recent announcements show that the pieces are coming together: plans for a new $1.3-billion net zero hydrogen plant in Edmonton; an announcement from Alberta Energy to facilitate creation of […]
Quebec’s anglophones have been cast adrift by the Trudeau government
KAMOURASKA, QUE.—It is tough being abandoned. On June 16, virtually the entire House of Commons dropped any historical commitment to the anglophone minority in Quebec, as it supported a Bloc Québécois motion recognizing Quebec’s “right” to unilaterally amend its provincial Constitution. This was effectively an endorsement of Quebec’s plans to enshrine French as its official […]
