Big-name staffers steal candidate spotlight as B.C. Conservative leadership race takes shape

Pollster Shachi Kurl warns Ottawa against over-reading staffing tea leaves as ‘outsider’ Caroline Elliott’s star-studded campaign team competed with her official B.C. Conservative leadership launch last week.
Far-right ideology is a prescription for bad health

Once political leaders learn they can dictate health policy through culture wars, the intrusion rarely ends.
‘If not now, when?’ Canada should ‘stand up’ to U.S. threats against Greenland, say Senators, ex-MP McKay

Canada is offering ‘a classic, measured’ response, says Senator Peter Boehm, while Senator Andrew Cardozo questions ‘how much longer’ the prime minister can take that approach. If Canada doesn’t take a stand now, ‘can we expect anybody in the world to stand up for us?’
‘Stark contrast’ between Carney and Trudeau’s approach to Indigenous relations, says ITK president Obed

Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami president Natan Obed says it’s been ‘challenging’ navigating the ‘new lens’ of Mark Carney’s leadership, with the national body having to pitch investments to the feds in ‘almost like a Dragon’s Den approach.’
New policy adviser among recent staff changes for Trade Minister Sidhu

Plus, Galen Richardson has been promoted to director of stakeholder relations to multifaceted Minister Dominic LeBlanc.
‘We’re in real trouble’: Carney faces historic crisis amid trade war, U.S. annexation threat, and two potential separatist referendums, say politicos

When MPs return next week for the winter sitting, the House of Commons should pass a motion condemning ‘imperialism coming out of the Trump government,’ says former foreign affairs minister Lloyd Axworthy.
Pope Leo is pouring old-fashioned sauce over the venomous Trump: it’s called diplomacy

Pope Leo famously has no divisions to send to battle, rather the expression of a conscience to protect all of humanity from the ravages of war. Mark Carney, in deciding how much Canada should actually spend on preparing for war, should emulate Leo, not Donald Trump.
The NDP and the 11th Commandment

It makes sense for a front-runner to make a virtue of cordial campaigning and to shame opponents who decide to go on the attack. In other words, while pushing the 11th commandment might seem idealistic, it’s often self-serving.
China is definitely a door worth opening

The long-term outcome of Mark Carney’s trade mission is unclear. What is clear is that the two countries have been working hard to repair the relationship.
Canada now needs a backup plan for our auto industry

Canada is, by far, the U.S. auto industry’s largest export market and the cross-border value chains have worked well for all three countries. So CUSMA may continue. But how far are we prepared to go at the expense of other sectors and regions in Canada?