Federal auditor general to start probe into vaccines this year
Canada’s auditor general is hoping to launch a probe into the federal government’s vaccination efforts sometime this year, an audit that Karen Hogan hopes will paint a “comprehensive picture” of the entire process from approval to rollout. Speaking to the House Public Accounts Committee on Tuesday, Ms. Hogan said some “co-ordination” will be required with […]
Duelling Liberal, NDP conventions a pre-election glimpse into campaign readiness
The recent back-to-back Liberal and NDP policy conventions offered a chance for party brass to test pre-election campaign messages on a captive audience, say strategists who suggest the governing party presented a “well-oiled” machine while the New Democrats struggled to get policy proposals air time. “Everyone is lining up the framework and the messaging they […]
MacAulay says ‘progress’ being made cutting veterans’ benefit backlog amid COVID-19
Veterans Affairs Minister Lawrence MacAulay reiterated Monday that there are encouraging signs his department is headed in “the right direction” on its goal of bringing the backlog of veterans’ applications for disability benefits “under control” by 2022. Testifying before the House Veterans Affairs Committee Monday, Mr. MacAulay (Cardigan, P.E.I) said he is “confident” that will […]
Thirteen suburban ridings will be key battlegrounds in next election, say former Liberal MPs and pollsters
The 13 suburban ridings that were decided with the closest margin in 2019 will be the battleground ridings in the next election, and winning them all could deliver the Liberals a majority government, say former Liberal MPs who are running in the next election and pollsters. “In terms of the Liberals being able to form […]
‘Enough is enough’: new group aims to open path for Filipino-Canadian candidates in next federal election
Ignore Filipino-Canadian candidates at your own peril: that’s the message a new political action group is sending to federal parties, as jockeying for nomination races for the next election gets underway in earnest. The Filipino community could be a decisive political force for whichever party manages to rally it, say two of the founders of […]
MPs call for revamp of federal role in long-term care system devastated by COVID-19
One week away from one of the most anticipated budgets in recent Canadian history, MPs and advocates are calling for greater federal support for infrastructure and staffing for long-term care homes that have been devastated over the last year by a COVID-19 pandemic for which many were completely unprepared. A recent report from the Canadian […]
Feds brushing ‘crumbs’ to Black Canadians, says former Liberal MP Caesar-Chavannes
When former Liberal MP Celina Caesar-Chavannes heard the news that the prime minister had a new parliamentary secretary, it was “a little bit of a gut punch.” Parliamentary secretary appointments and shuffles are typically a fairly mundane exercise, and this one was no exception. With a pair of Liberal MPs—Kate Young (London West, Ont.) and […]
Canadians are ‘confused and anxious’: COVID-19’s third wave making Trudeau Liberals ‘vulnerable,’ say pollsters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals are becoming politically “vulnerable” as the country is being hit by a serious third wave of COVID-19 along with the more deadly variants, and Canadians are unhappy and “confused and anxious,” while the vaccine rollout continues to be slow and public health guidelines are contradictory in different regions of the […]
Digital-first campaigns come with competitive advantage, Democratic organizers tell Grits
Early adoption of digital organizing and technologies can bring competitive advantages to campaigns, say U.S. Democratic organizers fresh off the presidential campaign, especially if they’re conducted amid the pandemic. The potential for a federal pandemic election has not been entirely ruled out by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Papineau, Que.), though he’s said repeatedly he has […]
In election-style address, Trudeau pits Liberals’ appetite for change with Conservatives’
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told Liberal members Saturday they have to act as bulwark against “disconnected” Conservatives, as the country grapples with how to address the onslaught of challenges exacerbated by the pandemic. In a direct rebuttal to Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole’s (Durham, Ont.) earlier bid to rally convention delegates behind his calls for change, […]
