Our latest Spark Insights polling (Sample 4026, nationwide, online, April 4-8) finds the Liberals (46%) well ahead of the Conservatives (32%) buttressed by a 19 point lead in BC, a 17 point lead in Ontario, and 20 points ahead of the BQ in Quebec. Underpinning this support is wide approval (65%) of the government’s performance. Liberal governments have historically faced...
As many as eight more opposition MPs are being courted to cross the floor, three Liberal sources told The Globe and Mail. Conservative and NDP MPs are in the mix, the sources said, though it remains unclear if any will make the jump – or when. The sources are all veteran Liberal organizers, and two are directly involved in reaching...
PM Carney says he's 'often the last to know' about floor-crossers joining his party. In the wake of another Conservative breaking ranks to join Prime Minister Mark Carney, Liberal MPs are sharing new details about how they successfully convinced the first floor-crosser — Nova Scotia MP Chris d'Entremont — to join their side. In an interview with CBC's The House...
A nail-biting Quebec by-election that was supposed to make or break the Liberals’ hopes of a majority government now looks more like a test of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s popularity in a part of the country not given to displays of Canadian unity. The game has changed since Mr. Carney called the by-election in Terrebonne last month, after the Supreme...
Federal Liberals have agreed to set 16 as the age of majority for Canadians to be able to use social media accounts. Party grassroots passed a non-binding resolution Saturday morning for the restriction and to place the onus on social media companies to enforce it. Quebec MP Rachel Bendayan says prolonged social media use is harmful to the mental health...
Our latest Spark Insights polling (Sample 4026, nationwide, online, April 4-8) finds the Liberals (46%) well ahead of the Conservatives (32%) buttressed by a 19 point lead in BC, a 17 point lead in Ontario, and 20 points ahead of the BQ in Quebec. Underpinning this support is wide approval (65%) of the government’s performance. Liberal governments have historically faced...
Formed in 1949, in the wake of a world war which cost tens of millions of lives, 12 countries signed the NATO charter in Washington, D.C. The aims were to deter Soviet expansionism, to prevent the rise of nationalistic militarism in Europe, and to promote European integration. A lot has changed, in Trump’s America.
This was supposed to be a column about the trio of by-elections in a few days that would have delivered the Liberals to the balmy climes of MajorityLand – if everything went exactly right for them, that is. But then, Marilyn Gladu decided to make Wednesday the most exciting day of the week. The Sarnia, Ont. MP was elected four...
This has to be the worst of times for Donald Trump -- nothing is going right, and the US President looks increasingly unhinged on a daily basis. Even some of his base are abandoning him. With Chantal away, former Washington correspondent Keith Boag joins Bruce for some serious Trump talk. Plus, another Conservative crosses the floor, making a Liberal majority...
Nearly three in five Canadians support the idea of Canada joining the European Union, a new poll suggests. A Nanos Research survey conducted for The Globe and Mail shows that 57 per cent of respondents would either support (28 per cent) or somewhat support (29 per cent) Canada becoming a full member of the EU. The results also show that...
There has been a lot of debate in recent weeks about the province’s decision to take over the City of Toronto’s role in the agreement governing Billy Bishop Airport and to acquire the city-owned lands at the airport. Some have asked why the province would take such a step. The answer is that Billy Bishop is a critical piece of...
I have an urgent request for Prime Minister Mark Carney: please come to Vaughan, Ont., to meet with our Jewish community. As Vaughan’s mayor, I want you to know that Jews here feel angry, scared, defiant, tired, shocked and beleaguered. Who can blame them? I’ve lived my entire life in this country, but I have never before witnessed the shocking...
Supporters of the Liberal Party of Canada had much to celebrate in Montreal this weekend. For one thing, the party is on the verge of commanding another majority in the House of Commons. Sixteen months ago that seemed implausible, bordering on inconceivable. For another, it continues to exist as a significant presence in Canadian politics. Fifteen years ago that seemed...
Prime Minister Mark Carney plans to follow in Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s footsteps and strip the ability of his party’s members across the country to weigh-in on his leadership should he fail to win the next election. It’s the latest demonstration of Carney’s grip on the Liberal party, which was on full display Friday during the Grits’ national convention in...
As Prime Minister Mark Carney accepts a fifth floor-crosser into the Liberal caucus from across the political spectrum, how big is too big of a tent? The Political Panel weighs in on how floor-crossers are shaking up the dynamics on Parliament Hill.
Politicians who worry that the newest Conservative convert to Mark Carney’s Liberals will hold right-wing policy views that are incompatible with the government’s social policy positions have not yet recognized what’s going on. They rightly perceive that Sarnia Member of Parliament Marilyn Gladu has held views on abortion, same-sex marriage, vaccination mandates and other policies that are counter to what...
It’s like déjà vu all over again. Yet another Conservative MP, uncomfortable with the direction of the party or doubtful about its electoral prospects, has decamped to the Liberals. The fourth floor crossing from the CPC in six months — with more MPs reportedly considering the move.
It seems there’s a cross-party freakout over the fact that Conservative MP Marilyn Gladu has crossed the floor of the Commons to join the Carney caucus. Conservatives are outraged that Gladu would turn her back on the party under whose banner she was elected no fewer than four times.
With a speed that lightning metaphors would insult, your National Post’s comment section has already published a couple of items about Wednesday’s shock defection to the Liberals of Sarnia MP Marilyn Gladu, who had been re-elected to the House of Commons as a Conservative less than a year ago. These pieces establish that Gladu was one of the most radical...
A podcast can show you a side of someone but a floor-crossing tells you something deeper about the mood inside a caucus. When Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre sat down with Joe Rogan for a long, wide-ranging interview, even critics had to admit he came across differently. The usual edge wasn’t there. No constant jabs at Prime Minister Mark Carney, even...
After 12 months, five floor crossings and one Liberal convention this weekend in Montreal, Mark Carney is going to get his majority government. If the Liberals win the three byelections scheduled for next week, and they should, they’ll have 174 seats, enough to pass legislation without relying on the Speaker of the House of Commons or support from another party...
By now, interested readers will be able to find all sorts of reminders that, before she crossed the figurative floor to the Liberals on Wednesday, Marilyn Gladu had a reputation in Ottawa as an eccentric at best, and a loose cannon at worst. Her Wikipedia entry features expressions like “hydroxychloroquine” and “conversion therapy.” Scanning reactions to the Sarnia MP’s defection...
My jaw is on the floor. Marilyn Gladu just crossed the aisle to the Liberals, and I am struggling to find the structural logic in a move this cold. As a veteran strategist and former National Campaign Manager, I’ve been involved with backroom politics for so long it’s fair to say the majority of my adult life has been lived...
With one warm floor-crossing welcome, Prime Minister Mark Carney challenged Wednesday what it means to be a Liberal, gave his primary opponent a big wake-up call, and planted the seeds for simmering caucus discontent. A day before Liberals gather in Montreal for their biennial convention — Carney’s first as leader — the prime minister embraced four-term Sarnia—Lambton—Bkejwanong Conservative MP Marilyn...
Sarnia Conservative MP Marilyn Gladu backed the trucker blockade in Ottawa, along with a bill that would force floor-crossers to quit and run again. On Wednesday, however, she crossed the floor to become a newly-minted Liberal for Prime Minister Mark Carney — the fifth of her kind. There’s no quit in this politician. A less obvious Liberal than Gladu you...
During his brief and ill-fated time as leader of the Liberal Party, Michael Ignatieff invited Canadians to join him inside the "big red tent." This appeal obviously did not work out for Ignatieff. But perhaps he was merely ahead of his time. Fifteen years after Ignatieff's time as Liberal leader came to a sudden end, Mark Carney is exploring just...
The news that Conservative MP Marilyn Gladu is crossing the floor to join the Liberal caucus, effectively guaranteeing Prime Minister Mark Carney a parliamentary majority, has not been hailed universally by her constituents. “She thinks she knows better than her voters?” said one resident of Sarnia–Lambton–Bkejwanong on social media. “What is the flipping point? You wonder why people get radicalized...
Of all the floor-crossers who’ve inched Prime Minister Mark Carney closer to a majority in the past six months, Marilyn Gladu won the award Wednesday for generating the most spit-takes. Just in time to attend the Liberal Party National Convention in Montreal this weekend, Gladu — a very Conservative member of Parliament since 2015 — announced that she had defected...
It was during the 1964 U.S. Supreme Court case Jacobellis v. Ohio on hardcore pornographers that Justice Potter Stewart famously offered as a threshold test for obscenity: “I know it when I see it.”
“The whole point of being an MP is to represent your constituents,” a Conservative MP told a local Ontario newspaper back in January, when she backed a call for automatic by-elections following an MP’s defection. “So if they’re voting you in under one platform,” she continued, “for you to switch for whatever reasons, just seems to me to not be...
Down the street from the House of Commons, a parliamentary crisis unfolds. This drama doesn’t involve misconduct; the fate of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government doesn’t hang in the balance. Most visibly, it’s a clash between senators who believe their duty is to act — to fully study government legislation and recommend changes — and others who believe they shouldn’t...
Almost since its inception, the Senate of Canada has been the subject of proposals for reform. Now there are the first faint stirrings of a new movement: Senate unreform. Ten years after Justin Trudeau introduced his “merit-based, non-partisan” process for appointing senators there are whispers that the whole thing might be about to be called off. The Globe and Mail...
Jamieson Greer stands like Mount Olympus above the intellectual molehills of his cabinet-level colleagues, to such an extent that one worries for his welfare in the Trump administration. The U.S. Trade Representative spoke at the Hudson Institute think tank on Tuesday, and such was his coherence it was almost possible to set aside that his boss had just threatened to...
One voter expectation trumps all others today: trust. You can be charismatic, intelligent, a good orator and attractive, but if voters don’t feel confident that you are worthy of their trust, go home.
As the world absorbed this morning the good news that Persian civilization has not been obliterated per an apparent nuclear threat issued by an American president to end an avoidable war he started, the question remains of “What just happened?”. In superficial terms, what just happened was an unjustified war in the Middle East launched by an American president acting...
rime Minister Mark Carney will address party members on the last day of the Liberal national convention in Montreal. Carney's address is set for 2 p.m. eastern time this afternoon. Liberal party grassroots are also preparing to debate and vote on a series of policy resolutions, although they are non-binding.
As Prime Minister Mark Carney made the rounds on day two of his party’s Montreal convention, two types of Liberals kept trying to shake his hand. One, the lifetime Liberals, who’ve known every party leader for decades. The other, young Liberals, whose introduction to the party was through former prime minister Justin Trudeau’s progressive values.
Online Streaming Act requires large streamers contribute to Canadian media funds. When she was growing up in Australia, Carla de Jong remembers watching the iconic Canadian TV show Degrassi — which at the time was airing on Australia's public broadcaster. "I love the example of Degrassi, which is a wonderful Canadian series…. And it showed me as an Australian teenager...
PM Carney has said an age of majority for social media is under discussion. Liberal members will decide today whether they think the government should restrict young Canadians' access to social media platforms and artificial intelligence chatbots, as the national convention winds down in Montreal. Liberal grassroots will vote on 24 policy pitches Saturday, ranging from health-care system improvements to...
The Canadian government has given the two submarine builders vying for a massive defence contract an opportunity to revise their filed bids – a move that also provides the companies an opportunity to enrich the industrial benefits they would provide to Canada. Both South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean and Germany’s TKMS already submitted their bids weeks ago to meet an early...
EDMONTON, ALBERTA, CANADA -- An Alberta judge has put up a roadblock on a petition drive to force a vote on the province quitting Canada.
MONTREAL -- Liberal party members will soon grapple with the question of whether children and young teens should be barred from accessing social media accounts for platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, Reddit and YouTube.
The Liberals’ newest MPs were given a standing ovation as they each took to the stage at their party’s policy convention, but in the hallways some delegates quietly wondered whether the liberal umbrella is getting too big. Former Conservative MP Marilyn Gladu was the first to address delegates. In her opening remarks Thursday, the Sarnia MP said the prime minister...
Prime Minister Mark Carney's Liberal government is on the verge of securing a majority government ahead of three byelections next week. Here's what a majority government would mean for him and for Canada. What is a majority government? A majority government is formed when a political party has more than half of the seats in the House of Commons. Currently...
The Bank of Canada and the country’s major banks and financial firms met Friday to discuss cybersecurity risks raised by Anthropic PBC’s latest artificial intelligence model.
Gladu's social conservatism shrugged off at Liberal convention. High-spirited Liberals gathering at their national convention in downtown Montreal don't seem bothered by how they cobble together a majority government, as long as they find stability. Some 4,500 party members have gathered to talk policy and build momentum ahead of Monday's three byelections that are all but guaranteed to get the...
Former interim NDP leader Don Davies will continue to act as the party's parliamentary leader in the House of Commons while new leader Avi Lewis remains outside of Parliament. The House of Commons resumes sitting Monday for the first time since Lewis won the NDP leadership on March 29 and he announced the new critic roles for his caucus in...
High-profile progressive Liberal MPs attending the party's national convention in Montreal on Friday welcomed and defended former Conservatives who have crossed the floor to their caucus. Former environment minister Steven Guilbeault said while he and many of his colleagues were "surprised" when MP Marilyn Gladu quit the Conservatives to join his party, he's confident she stands by his party's values...
Swedish firm pitches centre as means to keep mission-critical data out of U.S. hands. As part of its pitch to lure Canada to buy Gripen-E fighter jets, Saab has offered to establish a secure, sovereign data centre in Montreal to house critical, top-secret mission data and intelligence, CBC News has learned. The company is framing it as a "unique advantage"...
Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada's next governor general will speak both French and English. In an interview with Radio-Canada, Carney answered "absolutely" when asked by radio host Patrick Masbourian whether he would commit to naming a candidate who speaks both of the country's official languages. Gov. Gen. Mary Simon speaks English and Inuktitut but has failed to become fluent...
Danielle Martin was going door to door meeting voters when a woman, newly released from the hospital, really wanted to show off her stitches. “I said, ‘I’m really sorry, but I don’t feel like that would be appropriate,’” Martin, a high-profile family doctor-turned-Liberal candidate, recalled with a laugh. “I’m not sure my insurance covers that.”
Prime Minister Mark Carney visited the Montreal Canadiens dressing room after the team's 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning in a thrilling game Thursday night. Carney was in Montreal for a Liberal party convention running through Saturday, attending the game following a day of media appearances and speeches across the city. He met with Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki, forwards...
Marilyn Gladu crossed the floor from the Conservative caucus to join the Liberals because it was the "best thing" for her riding, the country and herself, the Sarnia MP said Thursday night in Montreal. Gladu stole the opening show at the Liberal national convention after she stunned political circles across the country by unexpectedly crossing the floor from the Tories...
Formed in 1949, in the wake of a world war which cost tens of millions of lives, 12 countries signed the NATO charter in Washington, D.C. The aims were to deter Soviet expansionism, to prevent the rise of nationalistic militarism in Europe, and to promote European integration. A lot has changed, in Trump’s America.
Liberals are meeting in high spirits on the second day of their national party convention in Montreal -- just days before the party is expected to clinch a majority government. On Monday, a series of byelections are expected to grant the Liberals a majority mandate without having to call a general election, even if they don't win them all. Prime...
Liberal MPs gathering among 4,000-plus party faithful in Montreal say they are “energized” after the latest floor crossing to their “big tent” puts them in majority territory—and a far cry from the pre-2025 election days when Liberals were “headed to nowhere.” Greeted by a clamouring, cheering group of volunteers and conventiongoers in the upper level of the Palais de congrès...
OTTAWA -- An internal Canadian Security Intelligence Service memo says allowing the spy agency to collect foreign intelligence overseas would capitalize on its "existing footprint and expertise," but might also invite a host of problems.
XEmailRedditLinkedIn Canada's Immigration Department is sending tens of thousands of refugee claimants letters that they may not be eligible for asylum — and is telling some of them that they should leave immediately. The move comes after Ottawa passed a law last month that tightened how and when claimants can apply. "These are not deportation letters," Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship...
Canada is condemning Israel for striking Lebanon hours after an apparent ceasefire was struck in the Middle East conflict and is calling on Hezbollah to disarm in favour of diplomatic solutions. Despite an 11th-hour ceasefire announced by U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday, Israel attacked Beirut on Wednesday in a renewed effort to strike at the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group...
In a scene carefully orchestrated for TV cameras, Prime Minister Mark Carney and an entourage of cabinet ministers walked recent Liberal convert Marilyn Gladu through throngs of party members lined up for selfies and handshakes Thursday in Montreal. Little more than a year ago, in the waning days of Justin Trudeau's leadership, Liberals were gloomily contemplating almost certain electoral defeat...
Less than an hour outside downtown Montreal, election signs with the faces of Bloc and Liberal candidates running in Terrebonne are displayed everywhere, including on lawns, storefronts and even lamp posts. The Liberals are throwing everything they can behind the traditional Bloc riding they won by a single vote in the 2025 federal election. That decision was ultimately overturned by...
Pierre Poilievre was defiant on Thursday in the face of questions about his leadership of the Conservative party after a fourth member of his caucus defected to the Liberals this week. He reminded reporters that a "record-smashing 8.3 million Canadians" voted Conservative last year. "Our mandate, and my leadership, does not come from dirty backroom deals. It comes from the...
After losing another of his MPs to the Liberals, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says he personally supports recall petitions — a way for constituents to remove a representative if they garner enough local support. "When a member of Parliament goes back on the word they made to their constituents and switches parties, constituents should be able to petition to throw...
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Thursday he understands U.S. President Donald Trump’s “disappointment” in the alliance for not immediately helping him with his war with Iran, but also backed Trump’s decision to not inform allies ahead of time. Speaking at the Ronald Reagan Institute in Washington a day after meeting with Trump privately to discuss the president’s criticisms, Rutte expressed...
Canada is talking to Britain, Japan and Italy about obtaining observer status in their joint program to develop a next-generation fighter aircraft. Ottawa is sending letters to all three countries formally requesting this, a senior Canadian government official said. The Globe is not identifying the source because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- In a stunning political reversal, prominent supporters of Rep. Eric Swalwell's campaign for California governor withdrew their support Friday after the congressmember denied allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman twice, including when she worked for him.
NEW YORK (AP) -- After chants of "run again!" filled the room, former Vice President Kamala Harris told African American activists on Friday that she's actively considering another presidential bid.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump's search for an off-ramp from the war with Iran is getting bumpy inside his Republican Party.
Donald Trump is accustomed to criticism from coast to coast -- Democrats, disaffected Republicans, late-night comedians, massive protests. Yet in his second presidency, Trump's most influential American critic doesn't live in the country but at the Vatican.
Canada is condemning Israel for striking Lebanon hours after an apparent ceasefire was struck in the Middle East conflict and is calling on Hezbollah to disarm in favour of diplomatic solutions. Despite an 11th-hour ceasefire announced by U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday, Israel attacked Beirut on Wednesday in a renewed effort to strike at the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group...
Prime minister has said deal must include end of hostilities in Lebanon. Ottawa is pushing for Lebanon to be part of the ceasefire deal between the Trump administration and Iran and for its inclusion to be honoured by Israel, a senior Liberal source told CBC News. Canada is one of "many countries trying to push for Lebanon," said the source...
Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz again Wednesday in response to Israeli attacks against the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon, casting doubt over whether an already precarious ceasefire to end more than a month of war will hold. The United States and Iran both claimed victory after reaching the agreement, and world leaders expressed relief, even as more drones and...
Prime Minister Mark Carney and nine European leaders issued a joint statement Wednesday saying they welcome the reported two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran. The deal was announced Tuesday evening after President Donald Trump threatened that "a whole civilization" would "die" if a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz -- a crucial shipping lane -- was not...
Iran, the United States and Israel agreed to a two-week ceasefire, an 11th-hour deal that allowed U.S. President Donald Trump to pull back from his threat to unleash a bombing campaign that would destroy Iranian civilization. Hours after the announcement, Iran and Gulf Arab countries reported new attacks Wednesday. It was not clear if the sporadic attacks would be enough...
Free trade negotiations with the United States have always triggered acrimonious and deeply damaging debates in Canada and often exposed political miscalculations at the highest levels. During the 1911 federal election campaign, Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier, running on a free trade platform, was denounced in Quebec as a traitor to the French and in Ontario as a traitor to...
Canada occupies a pivotal position as like-minded nations converge around shared Arctic interests. The Arctic Ocean’s growing accessibility is linking northern waters with the Baltic and the Sea of Japan. A resolute NATO “blue wall” now stretches from Finland to Alaska, with close partner Japan at the far end. Together, these circumpolar democracies form the “Free North,” extending the principles...
A collection of SubStack publishing within Canadian public affairs.
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s office wants to bust up a monopoly. I think I’m the target. Let me explain. The Privy Council Office (PCO), home of the prime minister and cabinet, has been flooded with complaints about its failures to comply with the Access to Information Act.
Canadian troops may be only days away from deploying to the Middle East to aid the U.S.’s and Israel’s war on Iran. The latest indication is a joint statement expressing concern about Iran’s restriction of oil tankers through the narrow Strait of Hormuz signed by Prime Minister Mark Carney and NATO allies late in the week.
Canadians who have neglected to pay their taxes to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) have been coming forward in droves to take advantage of new amnesty rules.
He's done it again: Prime Minister Mark Carney has convinced yet another Conservative to join his Liberal government. This time, it's Sarnia—Lambton—Bkejwanong MP Marilyn Gladu, who previously said she was "personally pro-life" and opposed a Liberal bill to ban conversion therapy. She's now recanting those positions as Carney insists Liberal values are unchanged. How does it work when the Liberals...
This has to be the worst of times for Donald Trump -- nothing is going right, and the US President looks increasingly unhinged on a daily basis. Even some of his base are abandoning him. With Chantal away, former Washington correspondent Keith Boag joins Bruce for some serious Trump talk. Plus, another Conservative crosses the floor, making a Liberal majority...
Peter Mazereeuw talks with political science professor Alex Marland about MPs crossing the floor to join the Liberal Party, the fate of Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, and Liberal Party indifference to Mark Carney's small-c conservative policies. Marland holds the Jarislowsky Chair in Trust and Political Leadership at Acadia University, and has written books about party discipline and loyalty in Canadian...
At Issue this week: As former Conservative MP Marliyn Gladu's move to the Liberals further widens the views within caucus, could it impact upcoming byelections? What does another defection mean for Pierre Poilievre’s leadership? And, will Mark Carney address concerns around the independence of Senators?
