Updated mandate letters allow Grits to showcase pandemic fight without being attacked for abandoning promises, say politicos
With the release of updated mandate letters, the federal government has positioned itself as confronting the COVID-19 pandemic, yet not shying away from past commitments that could lead to opposition attack. After months of waiting, the Liberals released supplementary mandate letters on Jan. 15 for cabinet ministers focused on the pandemic and economic recovery, but […]
Post controversy, Green Party executive director position remains unfilled
Three months after the Green Party’s executive director exited his post amid controversy, the position remains unfilled, and, as speculation of an early election mounts, a party spokesperson says the search for a replacement has yet to begin. Prateek Awasthi started his job as the Green Party’s executive director in May 2020, becoming the first person […]
Parties ramping up candidate nominations across Canada as election threat looms
Speculation of a spring election is running rife, and federal parties are ramping up candidate nominations across the country, with at least 170 candidates nominated so far between the five major parties. “If parties were expecting the fixed election date [in 2023] to be respected I don’t think they would be ramping it [nominations] up […]
Could Parliament Hill withstand a Capitol Building-style insurrection?
The Jan. 6 insurrection on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., shook the U.S., threatening a beacon of democracy and begging the question: could something similar happen in Canada? And if it did, could Parliament Hill withstand such an assault? The closest thing that Canada’s had to a similar surge of violence in recent memory is […]
Finance Committee chair Easter top non-cabinet-MP target for lobbyists in 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic kept MPs away from Ottawa for most of the year, but that didn’t stop lobbyists from meeting with MPs to try and influence both the government’s and the opposition’s agenda. Liberal MP and House Finance Committee chair Wayne Easter was lobbied 190 times in 2020, the most for an MP not serving […]
Canadians ‘overrepresented in the alt-right,’ says filmmaker who chronicled movement’s rise
Canadian-born extremists are having a disproportionate impact on American politics, says the filmmaker who followed the rise of prominent far-right figures amid Donald Trump’s presidency. Journalist Daniel Lombroso’s evidence is anecdotal but built from four years embedded in the alt-right movement following leading extremists across 12 states and five countries while collecting hundreds of hours […]
Biden’s plan to cancel Keystone XL pipeline could be ‘blessing in disguise’ for Liberals, says former diplomat
U.S. President-elect Joe Biden’s expected plan to kill the Keystone XL pipeline project could be a “blessing in disguise,” says one political observer, while others say the move reflects the predictability of the incoming administration. Former diplomat Guy Saint-Jacques, who was the deputy head of mission at Canada’s U.S. embassy when former president Barack Obama […]
Designating Proud Boys as terrorist organization could deter recruits, experts say
A move by Canada to designate the Proud Boys as a terrorist organization could help deter would-be recruits from joining, but without accompanying preventative measures that address underlying grievances, experts say it would be a largely symbolic gesture. Public Safety Minister Bill Blair (Scarborough Southwest, Ont.) earlier this month acknowledged that Canada is considering labelling […]
‘Natural attrition’ can absorb most jobs in fossil fuel industry in managed phase-out, says economist
Canada can wean itself off fossil fuel energy without involuntarily dislocating most workers in the industry, if the government sets a managed course for phasing out its use, according to a new environmental report. In a new study commissioned by Environmental Defence, a Canadian environment organization, released Monday, economist Jim Stanford found that, over a […]
With Trump leaving and Biden taking over as U.S. president, ‘stars aligned’ for Canada on having a ‘stable, experienced partner,’ say politicos
With now-impeached U.S. President Donald Trump on his way out and U.S. president-elect Joe Biden administration taking over power this week, political insiders say they are expecting a “predictable and experienced” partner on foreign policy and trade issues for Canada to work with in the next four years. “He already has an excellent relationship with […]
