Conservatives counting on new faces in Quebec, with few obvious ridings to target in 2019
The federal Conservatives are counting on well-liked local candidates and a message of “openness” from leader Andrew Scheer to convince Quebecers to give them more seats in 2019, say political players. Despite the Bloc Québécois’ messy divorce, however, there are signs it will be tough to build on the party’s recent success in the province. […]
Telling feds to pay more for asylum seekers is fair game for Premier Ford, stopping cooperation is not
New Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s move to stop cooperating with Ottawa on asylum seekers arriving in the province is, at best, a negotiating tactic for more federal support, and at worst, a cynical, political manoeuvre at the expense of good public policy. Let’s hope it’s more the former than the latter. Mr. Ford has cancelled […]
Ford government’s move to withdraw support for resettlement of asylum seekers ‘short-sighted,’ says Vaughan
The Ford government’s decision to halt its co-operation with Ottawa on the resettlement of asylum seekers could throw a wrench in the plan to establish an information-sharing system between the province and the federal government that seeks to alleviate pressures on social services. Calling the influx of migrants entering Canada a “mess” that Ottawa is […]
If gender equality is so important, why don’t Canadians give female premiers a second term?
If gender equality is so important to Canadians, why do we not allow female premiers a second term? Many argue that, historically, parties in decline and doomed to electoral defeat elect a female leader to clean up their mess. When the mess gets tidied enough for a possible electoral win, they replace the female with […]
Ford Nation and the demise of the campaign playbook
OTTAWA—Last week, Scott Reid, formerly Paul Martin’s communications director and currently a political analyst and speechwriter who “was pitching in” for Kathleen Wynne’s team, wrote one of the more sobering post-mortems on the Ontario campaign. The piece, published in the Globe and Mail, posed the question as to whether campaigns even matter anymore: “In an […]
New federal languages legislation must address unique linguistic needs of Inuit
Inuit are pleased that the Government of Canada has prioritized the co-development of national First Nations, Inuit, and Métis languages legislation during the current legislative session. This co-development exercise has the potential to advance reconciliation between Inuit and the Crown, and to positively change the way we work together on shared legislative priorities. Perhaps most […]
Trudeau government’s promise on Indigenous education gets a failing grade
What would you do if education officials in your children’s school board falsified graduation rates or failed to track why so many children were unable to pass basic literacy tests? What would you do if, year after year, education officials covered their tracks by ignoring orders to compile useable data to ensure better education outcomes? […]
Respect provincial laws to ensure the highest standard applies
During the last electoral campaign, the Liberal Party’s platform stated that a Trudeau government would respect provincial and municipal authority before authorizing oil or pipeline projects. “While governments grant permits for resource development, only communities can grant permission.” So the Liberals said—before the elections. In Bill C-69, the government has decided not to take into […]
Ford’s win won’t influence Quebec
Don’t expect Ford mania to seep into Quebec’s fall election campaign. The opposite is likely to happen. Rarely have Quebecers followed an Ontario campaign with as much fascination as the one that concluded with a Tory majority victory on Thursday. But that interest was based on a mix of incredulity and relief. Incredulity that a plurality […]
Ontario now ranks first in Canada for representation of women
During elections where the losses are as big as the wins, it’s easy to miss the obvious. This may be especially true in Ontario where, in this past Thursday’s election, the distinct desire for change was an overriding preoccupation. This intense thirst for change overrode multiple and conflicting concerns, including the relative inexperience and polarizing […]
