Nov 24 2020 — Don Lenihan and Andrew Balfour — National Newswatch — Now that Donald Trump’s charges of election fraud have failed in the courts; and his plan to persuade (or bully) state officials to overturn the results is hitting a wall, the end of his presidency may finally be in sight. It’s up to Joe Biden to see that nothing like this ever happens again. Biden […]
Nov 18 2020 — Don Lenihan and Andrew Balfour — National Newswatch — Reading Erin O’Toole’s recent speeches reminded us of the old management consultants’ joke that a camel is a horse designed by a committee. Apparently, O’Toole doesn’t get it. He wants to build a new electoral coalition around a “philosophy” that has even bigger bumps than our enigmatic desert friends. The Tory leader embraces three fundamentally […]
Nov 10 2020 — Don Lenihan and Andrew Balfour — National Newswatch — Pfizer brought the world some great news yesterday, but an end to the pandemic is still a long way off. Getting Canadians there quickly will require lots of intergovernmental cooperation – and that has us worried. Politics and pandemics are a lethal mix, and Jason Kenney’s decision last week to reject Ottawa’s COVID Alert app […]
Nov 2 2020 — Don Lenihan and Andrew Balfour — National Newswatch — Tyrants are a constant in history, and Donald Trump has earned a place among them. Joe Biden may have dismissed him as a clown but give this clown another four years and he could bring the Republic to its knees. That would be a tragedy. Like it or not, America leads the free world and […]
Oct 24 2020 — Don Lenihan and Andrew Balfour — National Newswatch — These are troubled times on the Bay of Fundy. Commercial fishers have blocked Mi’kmaq fishing boats, threatened the fishers, destroyed their property and traps, and even burned down an Indigenous fish plant. What is going on? First, let’s say what this crisis isn’t about: It’s not about the number of lobsters in the bay or […]
Oct 15 2020 — Don Lenihan and Andrew Balfour — National Newswatch — When the pandemic first hit, none of us knew what to expect. Medical experts called for a lockdown and governments took their advice. This time round it’s different. Our political leaders are being called on to protect both our health and our economy. As Doug Ford noted on Tuesday, that can be an unpleasant place […]
Oct 6 2020 — Don Lenihan and Andrew Balfour — National Newswatch — If this were the 1990s, Erin O’Toole’s election strategists would have one word for him: narrative. They’d tell him to craft a story that unites people across the country. But elections are changing. The Liberals, we’re told, won the last one through thousands of highly targeted messaging campaigns. What does this mean for the next […]
Sep 29 2020 — Don Lenihan and Andrew Balfour — National Newswatch — Last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivered a speech to the United Nations General Assembly. Normally, that alone would be news but as the case-counts soar and the prospect of an autumn lockdown looms, Canadians are otherwise occupied. Too bad. It is a remarkable speech and one that fits the times. “The world is in […]
Sep 25 2020 — Don Lenihan and Andrew Balfour — National Newswatch — Conservatives claim that the government’s Throne Speech skirts a critical issue: national unity. Admittedly, it doesn’t say much on the topic, but quantity is not always quality. In fact, the Speech contains a crucial line that we think has national unity written all over it, just not the Conservatives’ brand: Canada cannot reach net […]
Sep 16 2020 — Don Lenihan and Andrew Balfour — National Newswatch — Last week, Ottawa was humming with talk of a green plan. Now, spiking COVID numbers have turned the government’s attention back to healthcare and income support. No objection from us; the health of our citizens should be the government’s top priority. But while the plan is on pause, why not use the time to try […]
Sep 8 2020 — Don Lenihan and Andrew Balfour — National Newswatch — Ottawa is abuzz. With the deficit approaching $400 billion, word is out that a second round of spending is on the way, this time for the recovery. John Ivison reports that “the number being bandied around Ottawa is $100 billion” – a huge sum by any measure. Could this be a bluff? In politics, expectations […]
Sep 1 2020 — Don Lenihan and Andrew Balfour — National Newswatch — As a candidate for the Conservative leadership, Leslyn Lewis hoped to “stop the expansion of new categories for Medically Assisted Death.” Social conservatives like Lewis are angry that party leaders prevent MPs from “voting their conscience” on a list of issues, including assisted dying, abortion, and LGBTQ rights. In their minds, whipping these votes is undemocratic and […]
Aug 26 2020 — Don Lenihan and Andrew Balfour — National Newswatch — Next month’s Speech from the Throne will outline the Liberals’ Recovery Plan and expectations are rising. Life, it is said, comes down to a few choices. For Justin Trudeau, this is one of them. Circumstances sometimes magnify the power of elected office – perhaps far beyond what anyone thought possible. Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal […]
Jul 18 2020 — Don Lenihan — National Newswatch — Populism is sweeping the globe, but so far Canada has been relatively untouched. Our luck may be running out. Albertans’ satisfaction with Canadian democracy has fallen 19 points in the last two years. In Saskatchewan, high-quality candidates are said to be standing in line to run for Wexit in the next federal election. So, how […]
Jun 30 2020 — Don Lenihan — National Newswatch — What if Canada and Alberta agreed to turn the page on history? What if Justin Trudeau and Jason Kenney set aside their differences and pledged to work together to make Canada and Alberta global leaders in a new energy era? Fanciful? Maybe, but history is full of unlikely alliances that suddenly make the impossible possible. […]