The girls (and boys) are back in town
OTTAWA—On the heels of a cool, wet summer break, things are about to heat up inside the political precinct and, as entertaining as that may be, it will also set the path to Canada’s 43rd general election and, by extension, the makeup of the 43rd Parliament. There will be plenty of legislative protein in the […]
Dinner is ready, but the guest list isn’t finalized
GATINEAU, QUE.—At the mid-point of his mandate, Justin Trudeau must be a happy prime minister. He retains a comfortable edge in the polls, he has survived many mostly self-inflicted errors, and, there are no obvious giant killers on the parliamentary horizon. And he keeps winning hearts (if not votes) one selfie at a time. But […]
NDP caucus heads into busy fall sitting with high spirits, despite public opinion polls
Despite public opinion polls, spirits are high among the federal NDP caucus heading into the fall sitting, with “excitement” over tripled membership numbers and a soon-to-be elected new leader, and NDP House Leader Murray Rankin says he’s expecting it to be a busy one. “We’ve got exciting stuff going on in many provinces, you’ve got […]
Ex-NDP MP Peter Stoffer diagnosed with prostate cancer, says he ‘has 99 per cent chance of full recovery’
A popular former Nova Scotia NDP MP, who worked tirelessly during his 18-year parliamentary career to promote the causes of Canadian veterans, has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Peter Stoffer, who represented Sackville-Preston-Chezzetcook, N.S., (a riding that has held various names), between 1997 and 2015, told The Hill Times on Sept. 15 that he was diagnosed “a […]
Can a new leader make the NDP relevant again?
OTTAWA—Gone are the days when the likes of Ruth Ellen Brosseau could trade in a campus bartender gig in Ottawa for a seat in Parliament on the strength of the late Jack Layton’s appeal in Quebec—and accomplish this move without even campaigning in the riding of Berthier-Maskinongé. While the NDP now holds power in Alberta […]
After cabinet shuffle, new Veterans Affairs Minister O’Regan hires a chief of staff
PARLIAMENT HILL—New Veterans Affairs and Associate Defence Minister Seamus O’Regan has a new chief of staff running his first-ever ministerial office. Cyndi Jenkins moved over from her role in the Prime Minister’s Office to take on the job. Until recently, Ms. Jenkins had been an Atlantic regional desk adviser in the PMO’s operations branch since the beginning […]
‘The NDP can’t win without Quebec,’ and with four per cent membership there, that’s a problem, say some insiders
Quebec is understood among NDP insiders as a key piece in the party’s path to government, but with only four per cent of members who call the province home, Quebecers will have very little say about who becomes the next NDP leader. Quebec accounts for 4,907 of the 124,000 NDP members eligible to vote in this fall’s […]
Twitterverse has something to say about Trudeau’s favourite beer
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is knee-deep in scandal after an interview he recently did with a U.S. website, and not just because he’s again granted access to foreign journalists while Canadian scribes settle for emailed talking points from his staffers. He’s featured in a video interview by Danielle Weisberg and Carly Zakin, founders of an […]
NDP leadership race comes down to choice of ‘power vs. principle,’ say strategists
With voting in the NDP leadership race starting later this month, political strategists say the decision comes down to party members deciding whether they want to make a pragmatic choice—i.e., pick someone who can beat Justin Trudeau—or they prefer someone who stays true to the party’s social democratic principles, or perhaps even strike balance between […]
Quebec unimpressed with NDP
MONTREAL—The numbers are in and they don’t bode well for the NDP in Quebec, regardless of the outcome of the party’s upcoming leadership vote. The enthusiasm that attended the 2011 orange wave has given way to widespread voter indifference as well as internal discomfort within the province’s depleted NDP ranks. None of the four candidates […]
