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Ken Polk

Ken Polk is a public affairs counsellor with Compass Rose. He has served as a speechwriter and legislative assistant to former prime minister Jean Chrétien and as director general of communications for Health Canada.

Poilievre, the Super Bowl, and the cautionary tale of the Buffalo Bills

  • Pierre Poilievre will have to do much more than stand pat if he seriously plans on finally winning the Canadian political Super Bowl. Otherwise,
Opinion | BY KEN POLK | February 12, 2026
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre appears to be doubling down on his strategy to focus on the economy and affordability, and his pitch is still aimed at what calls the 'forgotten Canadians,' especially young Canadians. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Poilievre, the Super Bowl, and the cautionary tale of the Buffalo Bills

Opinion | BY KEN POLK | February 12, 2026
  • Pierre Poilievre will have to do much more than stand pat if he seriously plans on finally winning the Canadian political Super Bowl. Otherwise,

Poilievre, the Super Bowl, and the cautionary tale of the Buffalo Bills

Opinion | BY KEN POLK | February 12, 2026
  • Pierre Poilievre will have to do much more than stand pat if he seriously plans on finally winning the Canadian political Super Bowl. Otherwise,
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre appears to be doubling down on his strategy to focus on the economy and affordability, and his pitch is still aimed at what calls the 'forgotten Canadians,' especially young Canadians. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Quebec: inhaling the ‘hopeium’ of the next ‘Mark Carney’

  • The potential evanescence of a CAQ without François Legault in all probability increases the likelihood of a PQ win in October. Investors already concerned
Opinion | BY KEN POLK | January 26, 2026
Quebec Premier François Legault announced on Jan. 14, 2026, that he will resign as premier and won't run in the October election, but he will remain in his role until the party elects a new leader. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Quebec: inhaling the ‘hopeium’ of the next ‘Mark Carney’

Opinion | BY KEN POLK | January 26, 2026
  • The potential evanescence of a CAQ without François Legault in all probability increases the likelihood of a PQ win in October. Investors already concerned

Quebec: inhaling the ‘hopeium’ of the next ‘Mark Carney’

Opinion | BY KEN POLK | January 26, 2026
  • The potential evanescence of a CAQ without François Legault in all probability increases the likelihood of a PQ win in October. Investors already concerned
Quebec Premier François Legault announced on Jan. 14, 2026, that he will resign as premier and won't run in the October election, but he will remain in his role until the party elects a new leader. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Guilbeault’s departure from cabinet is unfortunate, but unavoidable collateral damage

  • Unlike Steven Guilbeault, Mark Carney doesn't have the luxury of enforcing a green energy litmus test on the Alberta premier. He has a truculent
Opinion | BY KEN POLK | December 15, 2025
Then-environment minister Steven Guilbeault, pictured on Dec. 16, 2024, being scrummed after then-finance minister Chrystia Freeland announced her resignation from Justin Trudeau's cabinet. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Guilbeault’s departure from cabinet is unfortunate, but unavoidable collateral damage

Opinion | BY KEN POLK | December 15, 2025
  • Unlike Steven Guilbeault, Mark Carney doesn't have the luxury of enforcing a green energy litmus test on the Alberta premier. He has a truculent

Guilbeault’s departure from cabinet is unfortunate, but unavoidable collateral damage

Opinion | BY KEN POLK | December 15, 2025
  • Unlike Steven Guilbeault, Mark Carney doesn't have the luxury of enforcing a green energy litmus test on the Alberta premier. He has a truculent
Then-environment minister Steven Guilbeault, pictured on Dec. 16, 2024, being scrummed after then-finance minister Chrystia Freeland announced her resignation from Justin Trudeau's cabinet. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Liberals are the Groucho Marx of Canadian politics

  • Groucho Marx’s dictum works in Canadian politics. Principles are less important than results. The Liberals have always known this. Perhaps the NDP and the
Opinion | BY KEN POLK | September 15, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney has found his own centre ground, formed on voter repudiation of Trump and the imperative to harness the government to achieve huge economic reforms, writes Ken Polk. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Liberals are the Groucho Marx of Canadian politics

Opinion | BY KEN POLK | September 15, 2025
  • Groucho Marx’s dictum works in Canadian politics. Principles are less important than results. The Liberals have always known this. Perhaps the NDP and the

Liberals are the Groucho Marx of Canadian politics

Opinion | BY KEN POLK | September 15, 2025
  • Groucho Marx’s dictum works in Canadian politics. Principles are less important than results. The Liberals have always known this. Perhaps the NDP and the
Prime Minister Mark Carney has found his own centre ground, formed on voter repudiation of Trump and the imperative to harness the government to achieve huge economic reforms, writes Ken Polk. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Will Poilievre vs. Ford define the CPC leadership review?

  • This percolating conflict must worry Pierre Poilievre and his team as they prepare for the leadership review in January 2026. It’s bad enough that
Opinion | BY KEN POLK | August 11, 2025
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, left, and Ontario Premier Doug Ford. Ford continues to stake out policy positions that contrast with those of Poilievre. He weighed in at the most recent meeting of the premiers and territorial leaders, joining a consensus that called for an 'increase to economic immigration levels' to meet their labour needs. The Hill Times photographs by Andrew Meade

Will Poilievre vs. Ford define the CPC leadership review?

Opinion | BY KEN POLK | August 11, 2025
  • This percolating conflict must worry Pierre Poilievre and his team as they prepare for the leadership review in January 2026. It’s bad enough that

Will Poilievre vs. Ford define the CPC leadership review?

Opinion | BY KEN POLK | August 11, 2025
  • This percolating conflict must worry Pierre Poilievre and his team as they prepare for the leadership review in January 2026. It’s bad enough that
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, left, and Ontario Premier Doug Ford. Ford continues to stake out policy positions that contrast with those of Poilievre. He weighed in at the most recent meeting of the premiers and territorial leaders, joining a consensus that called for an 'increase to economic immigration levels' to meet their labour needs. The Hill Times photographs by Andrew Meade

The dog days of summer for Pierre Poilievre

  • As you relax this summer, spare a few kind thoughts for the Conservatives. Their leader has shown he has nothing to offer them but
Opinion | BY KEN POLK | July 14, 2025
Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre holds a press conference in the House of Commons foyer on May 27, 2025. After losing the most recent election—which includes the loss of Poilievre's own riding—the Conservatives will have to reconsider its 'take no prisoners' attitude, Ken Polk writes. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

The dog days of summer for Pierre Poilievre

Opinion | BY KEN POLK | July 14, 2025
  • As you relax this summer, spare a few kind thoughts for the Conservatives. Their leader has shown he has nothing to offer them but

The dog days of summer for Pierre Poilievre

Opinion | BY KEN POLK | July 14, 2025
  • As you relax this summer, spare a few kind thoughts for the Conservatives. Their leader has shown he has nothing to offer them but
Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre holds a press conference in the House of Commons foyer on May 27, 2025. After losing the most recent election—which includes the loss of Poilievre's own riding—the Conservatives will have to reconsider its 'take no prisoners' attitude, Ken Polk writes. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

In politics, a ‘near victory’ is a defeat

  • Why did so many voters conclude that it was more important to stop Pierre Poilievre than to deny the Liberals a rare 'four-peat?' How
Opinion | BY KEN POLK | May 15, 2025
Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre at a whistle-stop rally at Olde Stanley’s Maple Lane Farm in Edwards, Ont., on April 27, 2025. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

In politics, a ‘near victory’ is a defeat

Opinion | BY KEN POLK | May 15, 2025
  • Why did so many voters conclude that it was more important to stop Pierre Poilievre than to deny the Liberals a rare 'four-peat?' How

In politics, a ‘near victory’ is a defeat

Opinion | BY KEN POLK | May 15, 2025
  • Why did so many voters conclude that it was more important to stop Pierre Poilievre than to deny the Liberals a rare 'four-peat?' How
Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre at a whistle-stop rally at Olde Stanley’s Maple Lane Farm in Edwards, Ont., on April 27, 2025. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Will better mood music be enough for the Liberals?

  • While Trudeau may have decided the potential benefits of moving senior ministers outweigh the risks, it likely won’t be enough to dig the government out
Opinion | BY KEN POLK | July 31, 2023
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hugs Jenna Sudds after she is sworn in as minister of Families, Children and Social Development during a shuffle at Rideau Hall on July 26, 2023. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Will better mood music be enough for the Liberals?

Opinion | BY KEN POLK | July 31, 2023
  • While Trudeau may have decided the potential benefits of moving senior ministers outweigh the risks, it likely won’t be enough to dig the government out

Will better mood music be enough for the Liberals?

Opinion | BY KEN POLK | July 31, 2023
  • While Trudeau may have decided the potential benefits of moving senior ministers outweigh the risks, it likely won’t be enough to dig the government out
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hugs Jenna Sudds after she is sworn in as minister of Families, Children and Social Development during a shuffle at Rideau Hall on July 26, 2023. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Time for Liberals to reconnect with progressives

  • Former prime minister Brian Mulroney has been famously quoted to the effect that in politics 'you dance with the one that brung ya.' Looking
Opinion | BY KEN POLK | February 20, 2023
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberals were elected in 2015 on a wave of his star power and a promise of real change, luring progressive voters away from the NDP. But listening to them in recent weeks, you have to wonder if they've lost their progressive touch, writes Ken Polk. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Time for Liberals to reconnect with progressives

Opinion | BY KEN POLK | February 20, 2023
  • Former prime minister Brian Mulroney has been famously quoted to the effect that in politics 'you dance with the one that brung ya.' Looking

Time for Liberals to reconnect with progressives

Opinion | BY KEN POLK | February 20, 2023
  • Former prime minister Brian Mulroney has been famously quoted to the effect that in politics 'you dance with the one that brung ya.' Looking
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberals were elected in 2015 on a wave of his star power and a promise of real change, luring progressive voters away from the NDP. But listening to them in recent weeks, you have to wonder if they've lost their progressive touch, writes Ken Polk. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Echoes of Chrétien in Trudeau’s handling of O’Toole

  • OTTAWA—Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has taken an almost lifeless Liberal Party back to the government and has been re-elected twice. Notwithstanding a political record
Opinion | BY KEN POLK | October 4, 2021
As it turned out, Justin Trudeau, right, may have thought the time was right to get a majority while the getting was good. But with Erin O’Toole looking like a possible election winner in the first weeks of the campaign, Trudeau drove a wedge into the Conservative Party centrist strategy by attacking its platform pledge to repeal the Liberal ban on military-style assault weapons—a loser among suburban voters, writes Ken Polk. The Hill Times photographs by Sam Garcia

Echoes of Chrétien in Trudeau’s handling of O’Toole

Opinion | BY KEN POLK | October 4, 2021
  • OTTAWA—Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has taken an almost lifeless Liberal Party back to the government and has been re-elected twice. Notwithstanding a political record

Echoes of Chrétien in Trudeau’s handling of O’Toole

Opinion | BY KEN POLK | October 4, 2021
  • OTTAWA—Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has taken an almost lifeless Liberal Party back to the government and has been re-elected twice. Notwithstanding a political record
As it turned out, Justin Trudeau, right, may have thought the time was right to get a majority while the getting was good. But with Erin O’Toole looking like a possible election winner in the first weeks of the campaign, Trudeau drove a wedge into the Conservative Party centrist strategy by attacking its platform pledge to repeal the Liberal ban on military-style assault weapons—a loser among suburban voters, writes Ken Polk. The Hill Times photographs by Sam Garcia

An election may be the best thing for Erin O’Toole

  • Amid steadily deteriorating poll numbers, many Conservatives are thinking about the party’s prospects as we approach an expected federal election. Not surprisingly in our
Opinion | BY KEN POLK | July 26, 2021
That's the ticket: Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole, pictured on the Hill on Oct. 28, 2020, will be vying to prevent the governing Liberals from recouping a majority, if an election is called this year. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

An election may be the best thing for Erin O’Toole

Opinion | BY KEN POLK | July 26, 2021
  • Amid steadily deteriorating poll numbers, many Conservatives are thinking about the party’s prospects as we approach an expected federal election. Not surprisingly in our

An election may be the best thing for Erin O’Toole

Opinion | BY KEN POLK | July 26, 2021
  • Amid steadily deteriorating poll numbers, many Conservatives are thinking about the party’s prospects as we approach an expected federal election. Not surprisingly in our
That's the ticket: Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole, pictured on the Hill on Oct. 28, 2020, will be vying to prevent the governing Liberals from recouping a majority, if an election is called this year. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
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