Ontario election has everything to do with identity politics
Since Wilfrid Laurier and his promise of “Sunny Ways,” referencing Canada’s multi-ethnic fabric, the “big red tent” for cultural diversity has been a cornerstone of the Liberal Party’s position as Canada’s “natural governing party. In Ontario, the same strategy has been a central foundation of the ongoing “left consensus” seen since the collapse of the Tory […]
Party may finally be able to close lid on decades-old Bob Rae bogeyman
TORONTO—”Pink Floyd” and the Clampetts. Rae Days and massive deficits. With Andrea Horwath’s NDP showing continued momentum in the Ontario election, is it time again for the Bob Rae monster to burst out of the bedroom closet at night? Will he do an encore as a scary apparition at the stroke of midnight around the spooky […]
PMO hires new issues adviser straight out of Finance Minister Morneau’s office
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office has recruited a new issues adviser to its fold straight out of Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s office. Chloé Luciani-Girouard marked her first day in the issues management branch of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on May 14. She fills a gap left by the recent departure of former PMO issues […]
Even if you’re not a New Democrat, you’ve got to feel for Jagmeet Singh
OTTAWA—Even if you aren’t a New Democrat you’ve got to feel a little bit for NDP leader Jagmeet Singh. It is as if he can neither make a break nor catch one. Even longtime Dippers, who usually have an abundance of optimism even when facts and the environment suggest they shouldn’t, are concerned about Singh’s […]
Health minister hires new communications director, Mathieu Filion, from Duclos’ team
Health Minister Ginette Petitpas-Taylor recently scooped up a new director of communications straight out of Families, Children, and Social Development Minister Jean-Yves Duclos’ office. Mathieu Filion took over as communications director to Ms. Petitpas-Taylor on April 30, and is now working closely with the minister’s press secretary, Thierry Bélair. Before then, he’d been doing the […]
Tories jet off to fight Liberals in Star Wars spoof, Hann says more to come
In a galaxy far, far away (actually, it was just on Parliament Hill) Conservative MP Erin O’Toole was spotted with a lightsaber in hand ready to board a spacecraft that would take him to fight off the Liberals in an approaching space battle station. The 33-second ad, published on YouTube on May 4—or Star Wars […]
Other Quebec voices fill Bloc’s void
In a book timed to cause a stir in Quebec’s overheated pre-election season, Radio-Canada journalist Michel C. Auger tackles what he identifies as 25 myths that feed the province’s political conversation. Among others, his contention that Quebec is winning the battle to ensure it remains a French-language society and his take on the need to […]
Liberals to use two-pronged strategy in 2019 campaign: ‘demonize the right’ and ‘steal’ from the left, say NDP, Conservative MPs
The governing Liberals are already in the 2019 election campaign mode, but opposition MPs say Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s strategy to “demonize” the right and “steal” policy ideas from the left won’t work and plan to focus on the Grits’ unkept promises in the next federal campaign. “That seems to be their strategy that they’re […]
Status of Women Minister Monsef promotes Christopher Evelyn to operations director
Status of Women Minister Maryam Monsef recently promoted her policy and Ontario regional affairs adviser, Christopher Evelyn, to serve as director of operations in her ministerial office. Mr. Evelyn has been working for Ms. Monsef in her capacity as a federal cabinet minister since the beginning, starting in December 2015 as a policy adviser to […]
Senate seeks intervener status to back House BOIE in ongoing court battle with NDP
The NDP’s court challenge of the House Board of Internal Economy’s 2014 order for NDP MPs to repay almost $4-million in expenses continues, with the Senate now seeking intervener status to support the BOIE’s appeal of a Federal Court decision to allow the case to be heard. “I suspect they’re [the Senate] doing it partly […]
