Liberal MP Khalid won’t back down after racists crash her town hall
A town hall meeting centred on how to remove systemic racism in Canada was derailed by a group of people yelling racist slurs, primarily directed at the host, Liberal MP Iqra Khalid who represents Mississauga-Erin Mills, Ont. The Toronto Sun reported on Feb. 23 that one man yelled “you’re a fraud,” another yelled “is this […]
Budget 2018 not an election-year spending plan, but Liberals ‘pre-staging’ some issues: stakeholders
The Trudeau government’s third federal budget is not an election-year spending plan crafted with an eye towards the campaign trail, though certain elements could hint at what issues the Liberals will run on in the 2019 vote, say stakeholders. Nearly 200 representatives from the private and non-profit sectors gathered in the Reading Room in Centre […]
Third-party harassment probes of current, former MPs ‘unprecedented,’ say observers
The fact four of the five federal parties with seats in the House of Commons are currently gripped with investigations into the conduct of current and former MPs is “unprecedented,” and speaks to a shift in how political parties weigh the optics of handling allegations, say strategists and a former senior PMO official. “It’s unprecedented in […]
How Canada can improve its STEM gender deficit
We recently celebrated the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, and there’s much to celebrate—but also, much work to do. It’s a day to celebrate just how far we’ve come since Elsie MacGill, aircraft designer and Canada’s first female engineer, was asked to leave the University of British Columbia in 1921 because of […]
Brown’s leadership campaign team includes old and new faces—some with deep federal ties
Working to clear his name amid allegations of sexual misconduct and financial impropriety, and now trying to force his was back to political relevance, embattled Independent MPP-turned-leadership candidate of the Ontario Progressive Conservatives Patrick Brown has assembled a crack team of “ride or die” political operatives to help him muscle his way back to becoming […]
Some Liberal MPs frustrated with leadership for not sharing anti-abortion political strategy on Canada Summer Jobs program
Some Liberal MPs say they’re frustrated the party leadership did not share the political strategy with the caucus on why the government was so adamant on keeping the new controversial reproductive rights clause in the Canada Summer Jobs applications and are annoyed the uncalled-for “mistake” could risk their re-election chances in 2019 in socially-conservative ridings. […]
Indigenous rights, sexual harassment, engaging grassroots dominate final day of NDP policy convention
New Democrats agreed they want their party to demand a national inquiry into the “gross miscarriage of justice” in Colten Boushie’s shooting death and the RCMP’s handling of the case as well as confront sexual harassment in their own ranks. The two resolutions were passed Sunday during an emergency debate on the final day of […]
Add women, change politics by making parties pay, NDP says
As Ottawa becomes more embroiled in the anti-sexual harassment #MeToo movement, the New Democrats are renewing their call for the federal government to codify its support for having more women involved in politics as elected officials. On Feb. 6, NDP House leader Ruth Ellen Brosseau (Berthier-Maskinongé, Que.) tabled a notice for an opposition motion highlighting […]
Conservatives at Manning conference seek ways to court female, millennial, urban voters
Conservatives at last week’s Manning Networking Conference in Ottawa strategized how they can bridge the gap between their core 26 per cent voter base and the 51 per cent of Canadians open to voting for them, by appealing to women, millennials, and urban dwellers. The annual gathering of conservatives took place Feb. 8-11 at Ottawa’s […]
Expect Liberal budget to focus on science, women’s role in economy
OTTAWA—Thomas Mulcair got it right a few years back when, commenting on the approach of Stephen Harper’s government to the role of science in policy development, he said the Conservatives relied on “decision-based fact-making.” But, unfortunately for the NDP, it was Justin Trudeau’s Liberals who managed to capitalize in the 2015 election on a commitment […]
