Calgary Forest Lawn Conservatives elect Jasraj Hallan to succeed late MP Deepak Obhrai for the upcoming federal election
With the election call only days away, the federal Conservatives elected Jasraj Hallan as their candidate in the coveted riding of Calgary Forest Lawn, which opened up unexpectedly last month after the death of Deepak Obhrai, the party’s nominated candidate to run for what would have been his eighth successive term as an MP. The […]
Leader tours show Liberals eye riding upsets to offset tougher battles out East, experts say
Party leaders’ summer travel itineraries tell a story of politicians who are looking to break ground in ridings historically held by rivals, particularly the Liberals who may be looking to make up for anticipated losses out East, say strategists. “The Liberals have done a good job of setting themselves up for a victory in seats […]
Too much party control in ‘highly uncompetitive’ candidate selection: Samara study
Over the past five elections, fewer than one-fifth of candidates earned their name on the ballot through a competitive party nomination process, found a new Samara report, a statistic the group says shows candidate selection is “highly uncompetitive, opaque, unpredictable, and centrally controlled” by parties. In effect, party brass—not party members or the Canadian public—have […]
Conservative party leads nominees, NDP lags with quarter of ridings confirmed
Five months out from the federal election, the Conservative Party has the most candidates named, its 277 nominees far ahead of the governing Liberals’ 197 candidates, according to the latest numbers from their parties. That means the Tories have filled 82 per cent of the 338 ridings needed to offer a full slate. Maxime Bernier’s […]
Outspoken Liberal MP Wayne Long could face contested nomination
Outspoken Liberal MP Wayne Long could face a fight for his seat from within his party, after he didn’t meet an October deadline to complete party goals needed to protect incumbents from contested nominations, and hasn’t heard back about an extension. The MP for Saint John-Rothesay, N.B., is one of about 20 Liberal MPs who […]
NDP ‘under the gun’ to name candidates, say politicos, as they trail Grits, Tories on campaign slate
The NDP has 12 per cent of its candidates confirmed for the 2019 election, far behind the 61.5 per cent nominated under the Conservative banner and 50 per cent for the Liberals. It puts the New Democrats in a tough spot, say some analysts, but the party’s ex-national director said isn’t yet a problem. The […]
Nomination race spending limit doubles for 2019 campaign, creating barrier to recruiting new female candidates, say MPs
The spending limit for federal parties’ nomination contestants in the 2019 election cycle is almost double what it was in 2015, chiefly because of the long election campaign last time around, and some say the higher donation limit is a barrier to recruiting new female candidates. “There are so many barriers to recruit women candidates, […]
Candidate nominations for 2019 to ramp up this fall, Conservatives have big head start
After a summer of door-knocking and laying groundwork for the next federal election, the Conservative Party now has 128 official candidates for the 2019 election, while the Liberals have 21 and the NDP none. While there’s still a little over a year until the 2019 vote, strategists say the more work done now, the better. […]
Liberals start nomination process for 25 unheld ridings
The federal Liberal Party opened up applications for potential candidates in 25 unheld ridings in late June, the first formal step towards candidacy for Grits in 2019, according to the party’s website. Those who want to run for the party in those opposition-held ridings can now formally ask the Liberal Party to send them […]
Political parties busy laying groundwork this summer for 2019 election, Conservatives already ahead
Conservatives are already ahead in recruiting candidates for the 2019 federal election and all the political parties are using these critical summer months to start laying the groundwork for the next national campaign, say political strategists. “This is the last summer before the election. Next summer, we’re pretty well in a writ period, regardless of […]
