‘Basic human rights’ at stake in Nunavut housing crisis, says NDP MP Qaqqaq

NDP MP Mumilaaq Qaqqaq spent her summer touring communities across Nunavut to highlight the dire housing conditions her constituents face, another chapter in what she describes as a seemingly endless fight to push the federal government to guarantee basic human rights for the people of Nunavut. Now, with Parliament soon to return for a new session, […]
‘Diplomat’ Deltell’s promotion could lead to closer co-operation in Parliament as new Tory House team spotlights Quebec, party unity, say insiders

With new Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole having assembled his House leadership team and front bench, a former Conservative House leader says Gérard Deltell’s talents are finally being fully utilized as the new one, as the new team seeks to unite the party and look towards making gains in Quebec. A former House leader for the […]
Legendary Hill scribe Richard Gwyn dies at 86

For years, Richard Gwyn was regarded as one of the best political journalists in Canada. He died last week from Alzheimer’s disease at the age of 86. Mr. Gwyn made a name for himself as a national affairs columnist at The Toronto Star, where he covered the governments of Pierre Trudeau, Joe Clark, John Turner, […]
Intergovernmental relations and the pandemic

The moment Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took to the airwaves and announced the lockdown on March 13, 2020, it was clear that responding to the COVID-19 pandemic would require unprecedented intergovernmental activity. Since then, first ministers’ meetings have been held weekly, via conference calls, which is a remarkable feat in a federation where such meetings […]
Would-be Conservative leaders wooing Quebec dairy farmers, but organizers say they won’t decide the race this time

The three leading candidates in the Conservative leadership race have all reached out to Quebec’s dairy farmers with promises to protect the supply management system, in a bid to win support from a group that may have swung the last contest in favour of now outgoing Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer. However, the organizer of a […]
Newfoundland and Labrador’s new premier is one to watch

OTTAWA—Newfoundland and Labrador has a new premier. This past weekend the governing Liberal Party elected Dr. Andrew Furey as its leader. In the next number of days, he will be sworn as the province’s 14th premier. The Furey name will be familiar to many in Ottawa, as his father is Senator George Furey, the Speaker of […]
Christopher Evelyn takes over as chief of staff to Women and Gender Equality Minister Monsef

Women and Gender Equality Minister Maryam Monsef has a new chief of staff leading her office with the recent promotion of Christopher Evelyn to the top job. Mr. Evelyn has been working for Ms. Monsef since late 2015, and has slowly been working his way up the proverbial Hill ladder since. He started out as […]
Alberta cannot look to Quebec as a model for separatism—it’s not a fair fight

A new political party has entered the political arena in Alberta: the Wildrose Independence Party of Alberta—a merger between the Freedom Conservative Party and Wexit Alberta. This new independence party reflects the mood that Albertans will always get a raw deal from Ottawa because federal governments have to cater to the golden triangle of Toronto-Montreal-Ottawa above […]
On the bubble: Atlantic Canada’s plan getting mixed reviews

OTTAWA—The premiers of Canada’s four Atlantic provinces are opening the region up for interprovincial travel among themselves this Friday, July 3. It could be the first step to opening Atlantic Canada to the rest of the country. But in the East, there is concern. Premiers Dwight Ball, Stephen MacNeil, Blaine Higgs, and Dennis King are […]
Quebec’s Dominique Anglade is a woman of many firsts

KAMOURASKA, QUE.—Dominique Anglade heads a lot of lists: first person of colour to be an official opposition leader in Canada; first woman to lead the Quebec Liberal Party; and the first fluently multilingual, as in speaks more than four languages (Creole, French, English, German, Spanish), party leader anywhere in Canada. And, I point out, she […]