Political realities will turn Notley against Trudeau
OAKVILLE, ONT.—The most improbable political alliance in Canadian history is coming to a predictably inglorious end. I’m talking, of course, about the “Entente Cordiale” that was forged between Alberta NDP Premier Rachel Notley and Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, a once beautiful friendship that’s now unravelling before our eyes. Mind you, it’s something of a […]
Conservatives using tour to capitalize on perfect moment to introduce Scheer to Quebecers, say politicos
With one pollster predicting the Conservatives will be the only realistic alternative to the Liberals in Quebec in 2019, the party has wisely embarked on a Listening to Quebecers tour to introduce its relatively unknown leader to Quebecers, emphasize its tough stance on immigration issues, and look for platform ideas. Observers also say the party should ride the […]
Newfoundland’s Ches Crosbie, the unlikely candidate, could now be premier
OTTAWA—Canadians’ embrace of dynastic politics continues. No, this isn’t another column about Doug Ford, who comes from a well-known political family. It’s about Ches Crosbie, the new leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador. Crosbie, the son of Newfoundland and Labrador political legend John Crosbie, just did something his father was never […]
Another approach to Canada’s bitumen quagmire
There will be both a significant financial and political cost no matter what decision is taken to resolve the current impasse on the Kinder Morgan pipeline project. Why not investigate an alternative? What if governments helped finance a refinery in Alberta to refine the bitumen to a state that it is less hazardous for transport? […]
After 36 years, it’s time Quebec sign the Constitution
The call from the Prime Minister’s Office in March 1982 came as things were not going well for the Liberal opposition in Newfoundland and Labrador. Premier Brian Peckford had called a snap “referendum” election for April 6, seeking to wrest management of offshore oil from Pierre Trudeau’s government in Ottawa. The caller enthusiastically told me […]
Kinder Morgan project a test of Trudeau’s competency, puts his 18 B.C. seats at risk, say pollsters
Whether Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gets the Kinder Morgan pipeline project built, as he says he will, voters will judge as a test of his competency, say pollsters. And the stakes are high, with the Liberals’ 18 seats in British Columbia at risk. Much of his credibility is bound up in his ability keep the project his […]
Author Ted Rowe on how ex-Newfoundland PM Robert Bond became ‘the greatest’ Islander
The banking crisis of 1894 had been building for years. Newfoundland’s two commercial banks were unregulated, and they had been allowed to deplete their cash reserves and borrow, from the government Savings Bank and lenders in England, to fund their loans. St. John’s fish merchants appointed as bank directors (including Augustus Goodridge) were approving outsize […]
Experts warn of ‘long-term political consequences’ for Liberals if Trans Mountain pipeline fails, but Trudeau says pipeline will happen
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who met with B.C. Premier John Horgan and Alberta Premier Rachel Notley for more than two hours on the Hill on Sunday, says the government will start negotiating with Kinder Morgan to “remove the uncertainty” over the fate of the $7.4-billion Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project and promised the pipeline will happen, […]
Saskatchewan MPs with ties to Humboldt crash victims ‘stunned,’ focused on community support
News that 15 Humboldt Broncos Saskatchewan junior hockey team members and personnel had been killed in an April 6 bus crash made it all the way to Pakistan, where Conservative MP Robert Kitchen heard what happened. “I saw it and I was stunned,” said the Saskatchewan MP in an April 12 phone interview. Sitting in a hotel […]
Humboldt tragedy hits home for MPs
Speaking through tears, Conservative MP Kevin Waugh recalled bumping into Brody Hinz, a statistician for the Humboldt Broncos Saskatchewan junior hockey team, last November in Ottawa. The 18-year-old was one of the 15 people killed in a Friday evening bus crash carrying the hockey team. “Here’s a kid that was probably me 37 years ago. […]
