While National Newswatch does not keep an archive of external articles for longer than 6 months, we do keep all articles written by contributors who post directly to our site. Here you will find all of the contributed and linked external articles from Abbas Rana.
But the PMO says Mark Carney keeps in 'close and regular contact' with MPs, and holds caucus coffee chats and meals with MPs while travelling in their regions. Another Liberal MP says those frustrated by the lack of direct access to the PM want to 'audition' for a promotion to cabinet. Prime Minister Mark Carney is enjoying the peak of...
The intensifying Canada-United States trade war and its resulting double-digit boost in the polls for the governing Liberals is likely to bolster the “stay” side in next month’s separation referendum question in Alberta, according to some insiders. However, others say that while support on both sides may be cementing, the overall numbers are unlikely to shift significantly in either direction...
Barbara Bal is the candidate of record for Nepean, Ont. She lost the April 2025 election to Prime Minister Mark Carney, after he won nearly 66 per cent compared to Bal's 33 per cent. A Conservative Party candidate who ran against Prime Minister Mark Carney in Ottawa’s Nepean riding in last year’s general election says she’s considering running in Pierre...
The only way to prevent floor crossing is for Parliament to pass legislation requiring MPs who switch parties to resign their seats and run again in a byelection, says former Conservative Senate leader and party president Don Plett. A British Columbia Conservative electoral district association is proposing to create a loyalty agreement between the party’s riding associations and candidates, requiring...
A public servant and well-known lobbyist are putting their names forward for the Conservative nomination in Carleton, Ont.—the riding that once belonged to Leader Pierre Poilievre before he lost it in the 2025 election. In interviews with The Hill Times, Sukhu Sekhon, a federal public servant, and Goran Samuel Pesic, a lobbyist and CEO of Samuel Group, confirmed they have...
Liberal MPs are strongly in support of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s move to suspend trade negotiations with the United States, but are concerned that if the two sides do not resume talks, it could have a “very frightening” and long-term impact on Canada’s economy. Some are predicting negotiations will restart by Sept. 8.
A brochure for four Richmond, B.C., candidates running in this October's municipal elections identifies Chak Au as a policy adviser. Until last February, Au had served as a municipal councillor in the city while also holding his federal seat. Some rival municipal candidates and a Liberal MP are calling out Conservative MP Chak Au for serving as a policy adviser...
Maia Johnson is emerging as a rising star who is said to have played a key role in the recent staffing changes, and is already 'making her mark by streamlining processes' within the Prime Minister's Office, say Liberal sources. Prime Minister Mark Carney recently reshuffled the senior ranks of his Prime Minister’s Office, bringing in new advisers and promoting others...
Persistent internal squabbles amongst senior Conservatives have dampened the morale of caucus members, staff, and party volunteers who devote countless hours to helping the party succeed and win elections, raising concerns that the infighting could hurt the party’s prospects going forward and ultimately jeopardize Leader Pierre Poilievre’s political future. “The morale is in the absolute shitter, completely,” said a Conservative...
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s newly minted senior adviser, Morgan Breitkreuz, provides weekly briefings to Alberta’s three Liberal MPs on the upcoming separation referendum while co-ordinating the federal government’s response and helping officials in Ottawa better understand Alberta’s political landscape, according to Liberal MP Corey Hogan. In an interview with The Hill Times, Hogan (Calgary Confederation, Alta.) said that Breitkreuz makes...
Seventeen months into Prime Minister Mark Carney’s mandate, as the Liberals continue to enjoy strong public support across the country, a series of senior staffing changes are underway in the Prime Minister’s Office and in the offices of several senior cabinet ministers. At the same time, MPs, ministerial staffers, and political insiders are increasingly speculating that a cabinet shuffle could...
With Alberta’s referendum only a couple of months away, and the expected presence of about 40 frontbench Liberals and government caucus members at this year’s Calgary Stampede, some senior Alberta Conservatives say the Liberals are using the annual event to begin laying the groundwork for gains in the province for the next federal election. Several Alberta political players say that...
Cabinet ministers who once appeared relaxed and complacent under Justin Trudeau are now 'on their toes' under Prime Minister Mark Carney, say some Liberal MPs. Prime Minister Mark Carney appears to be running the first cabinet government in about 40 to 50 years, but it’s unclear if it will continue in the medium and long term, especially if and when...
With Quebec’s provincial election approaching this fall, and the Parti Québécois pledging a separation referendum if it forms government, political insiders say Prime Minister Mark Carney should recruit high-profile candidates for three upcoming federal byelections in the province to make the federalist case to Quebecers. “You can sort of pre-position a couple of people who are able to play a...
Prime Minister Mark Carney reads his briefing notes and is willing to engage and have a 'thoughtful conversation' with caucus members on any issue they like, says Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith.
If Alberta were to gain independence, it should take a closer look at the potential possibility of a future with the United States, says former Conservative MP Rob Anders. Four more former Conservative MPs are backing the province’s potential separation from Canada and one wants Albertans to consider closer ties with the United States, arguing that the province should pursue...
Alberta’s long-standing grievances will never be addressed within Canada, which means leaving is the only option, say four ex-Conservative MPs, including former Harper-era cabinet minister Jay Hill who now lives in Alberta. At least four former Conservative MPs, including a former chief government whip, are backing the Oct. 19 referendum in the hopes that a majority of Albertans will support...
Political party leaders should make up their minds and either outright appoint candidates, or hold transparent nomination elections, because when parties manipulate the process to get the results they want, it dampens morale and undermines the confidence of grassroots members, say party players. In an interview with The Hill Times, former national director of the Liberal Party Jamie Carroll said...
Ottawa also needs to urgently address misinformation and disinformation surrounding separation, including claims that Albertans would automatically be better off leaving Canada, says pollster Frank Graves.
A three-member Ontario Liberal Party arbitration committee is scheduled to meet May 20 to review Nathaniel Erskine-Smith’s appeal against the provincial Scarborough-Southwest nomination election result, according to Liberal sources. In the meantime, Ontario Liberals are pushing back. In the meantime, Ontario Liberals are pushing back. After losing the provincial party nomination contest in Scarborough-Southwest last weekend, Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith—who...
Most caucus members are not pressing the issue, recognizing that Canada has limited leverage and little ability to meaningfully influence the U.S. position, say some Liberal MPs. With the high-stakes Canada–United States–Mexico Agreement up for renewal this summer—a deal that impacts hundreds of thousands of Canadian jobs—some Liberal MPs are saying one key reason that Prime Minister Mark Carney has...
Former B.C. Liberal MP John Aldag wants his party to begin nominating candidates as soon as possible so they can start campaigning and fundraising for the next election. A significant number of exempt ministerial and MP staffers who left in 2024 expecting a Liberal defeat are now returning to Parliament Hill, as the party now holds a majority and Prime...
With ongoing momentum and the Conservative and NDP vote collapse in Terrebonne, pollster Greg Lyle says the Liberals have a good shot at winning in Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie, a riding represented by the same NDP MP for the last 15 years. After recently winning the challenging Quebec riding of Terrebonne, the Liberals are feeling bullish and are now eyeing the Montreal...
Mark Carney's Liberals risk repeating the Pierre Poilievre Conservatives’ past mistake by bypassing contested nominations, say Liberal sources. With Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberals now in a majority government and holding a double-digit lead in public opinion polls, the governing party is drawing strong interest from potential nomination candidates for the next election cycle. But some long-time Liberals are concerned...
Prime Minister Mark Carney government’s much-touted high-speed rail project, with an estimated cost of $60–$90 billion, carries significant political risk, according to political insiders, who say that instead of prioritizing this large-scale mega project, billed as one of Carney’s “nation-building” projects, the government should focus on intra-city transit initiatives that are more immediately relevant to Canadians. “When you sit down...
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...
Conservative MP Mike Dawson is continuing his fight against accepting the annual pay raise, and says the issue will be discussed at this month’s Commons Board of Internal Economy meeting. Meanwhile, former Liberal MP Joe Jordan says competitive salaries are critical to attract top talent to Parliament.
Two weeks before byelection day, pollsters Nik Nanos and Quito Maggi are predicting a Liberal advantage in the riding of Terrebonne, Que. The presence of 42 independent candidates and the use of a “write-in” or “adapted ballot” could prove decisive in the tightly contested April 13 byelection in Terrebonne, Que., say some Liberal sources and pollsters, adding that a close...
Prime Minister Mark Carney's cabinet is due for an overhaul, say several Liberal MPs, cabinet staffers, and political insiders, and a potential shift to a majority government would significantly change the political dynamics and would likely be reflected in cabinet. As the Liberals surge to a comfortable double-digit lead in public opinion polls and edge closer to majority territory with...
As Mark Carney hits his one-year mark as prime minister and the Liberals reach their strongest levels of support in a decade, polls show the party could win more than 200 seats if an election were held now. But, pollsters caution that events such as a potential recession, rising gas prices linked to the United States-Israeli attack on Iran, and...
Nunavut MP Lori Idlout’s defection from the NDP to the Liberal caucus has almost guaranteed a majority for Prime Minister Mark Carney, provided the Liberals win two of the three upcoming byelections. But governing with a slim majority would pose a significant challenge for the prime minister, as the loss of even one or two MPs could bring the government...
PMO staffers Andrée-Lyne Hallé and Angad Dhillon now attend national caucus meetings every week to take notes for Prime Minister Mark Carney, say Liberal MPs. Less than a year after the Liberal caucus decided that senior staffers from the Prime Minister’s Office could not attend confidential weekly meetings, two senior staffers have been invited back at the request of Prime...
Some Liberal MPs told The Hill Times that Prime Minister Mark Carney should have consulted his caucus before declaring Canada's support for the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. But B.C. Liberal MP Parm Bains says he's received positive feedback from Iranian-Canadians in his riding. Prime Minister Mark Carney declared his support for the deadly American-Israeli attack on Iran shortly after it...
Ongoing public service cuts—and the fear senior officials have about their own job security—are throwing a wrench into the Liberal government’s ability to receive evidence-based and fearless public policy advice, say some public policy experts who also say this advice should be coming from deputy ministers and not political staff. “Politicians will turn to that source [political staff] of advice...
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal government has eliminated thousands of positions from the public service, but no cuts have been made to political staff in ministers’ offices or in the Prime Minister’s Office. Some with expert knowledge in the mechanics of government say that, in the interest of fairness, civil service cuts should be matched with reductions in the PMO...
Even if Prime Minister Mark Carney secures a slim majority through more floor-crossings and upcoming byelection wins, the governing Liberals could still call an early election this year in an effort to obtain a stronger mandate to deal with challenges such as the ongoing trade war with the United States, say pollsters. “The longer they wait for an election, the...
In preparation for a potential early election, the Conservative Party recently sent notices to 16 ridings in five provinces informing them that anyone interested in seeking the party’s nomination should file their papers by Feb. 25, according to Conservative sources. Of these, nine are in Ontario, three in Nova Scotia, one in New Brunswick, two in British Columbia, and one...
Nearly all Alberta Conservative MPs are declining to comment on the province's separation talk, saying they do not want to give it more oxygen, and don't want to undermine Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's chances of forming government in the next election. Pollsters say the issue should be taken very seriously. Most Alberta Conservative MPs aren’t talking publicly about a push...
The Conservative Party of Canada has started the candidate nomination process across the country, according to an internal memo. Ottawa is buzzing with election speculation as Elections Canada lines up offices and recruits staff, Liberals poach candidates and MPs from opposition parties, and the Conservatives have formally launched nomination contests. “In a minority government context, the election could be called...
After receiving a “strong mandate” from the rank-and-file party members in yesterday’s leadership review, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre will be making election readiness a top priority in the event the governing Liberals trigger a spring election, says the Conservative Party’s national campaign director. “Right now, the Liberals are looking for an excuse to call a spring election,” said Steve Outhouse...
The more than 2,600 delegates congregating in Calgary for the party’s three day convention will elect the powerful 20-member national council today and the newly elected councillors will elect the party president tomorrow. The Conservative Party’s biennial policy conference, which began on Jan. 29, wraps up this evening after three days of policy debates, a vote on Pierre Poilievre’s (Battle...
Against the backdrop of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberals rise in public opinion polls following his recent Davos speech and ongoing federal election speculation, rank-and-file Conservatives from across the country are gathering in Calgary to conduct Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s leadership review, debate party policies, and elect a new national council, the most powerful elected decision-making body within the party...
Senior Conservative sources tell The Hill Times that current party president Stephen Barber and Christina Mitas have been strategizing and reaching out to potential supporters ahead of the national council election at the end of this month. If re-elected for a second term at the Conservative Party’s Jan. 29-31 biennial policy convention in Calgary, Ontario national councillor Christina Mitas is...
With the ongoing trade war with the United States, frequent annexation rhetoric from U.S. President Donald Trump, and the potential for two separatist referendums at home, Prime Minister Mark Carney is facing some of the most serious challenges confronted by any prime minister. Still, his performance is receiving mixed reviews from some political players who say Carney’s handling of the...
The Conservative Party’s national council chose to pass a motion formally declaring that the riding's former MP would return even though Damien Kurek had publicly stated that he planned to run in his home riding in the next federal election. In an unusual move, the Conservative Party’s powerful national council passed a motion at its December quarterly meeting confirming former...
Conservative MP Chak Au is estimated to be earning a total of $314,757 as both an MP and British Columbia City Councillor. British Columbia Conservative MP Chak Au, the only person in the House of Commons holding two elected offices simultaneously—as an MP and a municipal councillor—is expected to earn $314,757 in his first year in federal office from both...
According to new nomination rules, if a Conservative candidate lost two consecutive elections, they will no longer need a waiver from the party to take a third run, say Conservative sources. It would take the support of 51 per cent of local members to trigger a nomination contest in a Conservative-held riding, according to new nomination rules approved by the...
With United States President Donald Trump threatening to end the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement and imposing tariffs on goods and services from this country, Prime Minister Mark Carney’s high-stakes decision to sign a memorandum of understanding for an oil pipeline with Alberta is risky. It could also give a political opening to the federal NDP and Green Party in British Columbia...
In a break from its tradition, and for the first time in its history, the Conservative Party’s national council has authorized the party leader to appoint eight candidates in ridings across the country for the next election, say Conservative sources. “The council has agreed to eight appointments [by the leader],” a senior Conservative told The Hill Times. “Basically [there is]...
The Conservative Party must release the findings of its internal investigation, including how the data breach occurred, who was responsible, and what accountability measures have been taken, say some victims of last month’s cyber security incident. Conservative sources say that a data breach initially reported to have impacted 15 MPs could actually extend to hundreds of potential nomination candidates and...
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s cabinet and senior ministerial staff ranks include a significant number of women, but there aren’t any women in the prime minister’s inner circle on whom he relies for top-level, day-to-day strategic advice, say some Liberals. “It’s not as though there aren’t any women with senior-ish titles in the Prime Minister’s Office—of course [there are],” said Supriya...
MPs are in the House of Commons to represent their constituents, and if they believe their party's positions run counter to those interests, they should speak up, even if it means leaving the party or being kicked out, says former Conservative-turned-Liberal MP Bill Casey. Crossing the floor, or even voting against one’s own party, is one of the hardest decisions...
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet’s colourful characterization of the government’s strategy on last week’s budget vote was inappropriate and not suitable for a professional work environment, says the government House leader. “That’s not suitable for work, is it?” said Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon (Gatineau, Que.) in an interview with The Hill Times.
David McLaughlin says building and maintaining trust requires two-way communication. It's also political capital that leaders can draw upon in tough times. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre needs to reach out to his MPs individually, rather than through the House leader and the whip.
It’s more economical for the Speaker to live at a hotel than at the official residence in Gatineau Hills, says spokesman Olivier Duhaime. Liberal MP Francis Scarpaleggia, who was elected as House Speaker in May following the last general election, has chosen not to reside at “The Farm,” the Speaker’s official residence in the Gatineau Hills in Quebec, opting instead...
In a stunning upset that has left the Liberal caucus “kicking ourselves,” the Conservatives have ousted a senior Liberal MP as co-chair of the powerful Canada-U.S. Inter-Parliamentary Group. At the Oct. 29 meeting held to elect a new co-chair, Conservative MP Richard Bragdon (Tobique-Mactaquac, N.B.) defeated four-term Liberal MP and cabinet minister Terry Duguid (Winnipeg-North, Man.) for the position. The...
If the Liberals were to gain majority status amid the ongoing floor-crossing speculation, it would spell bad news for Pierre Poilievre’s leadership review, says Keith Beardsley, former deputy chief of staff to then-prime minister Stephen Harper. With one MP already gone to the Liberals, another one resigning, and more rumoured to be leaving the Conservative fold, the rapidly shifting political...
To stop outside sniping, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre will have to get more than 80-per-cent support in the upcoming leadership review, says Keith Beardsley, a former high-level staffer in Stephen Harper's PMO. If Pierre Poilievre is ever forced out of his role as Conservative leader, it won’t be due to internal caucus dissent, but rather mounting criticism from outside the...
There’s no ‘appetite’ for a Christmas election, says Liberal MP Kevin Lamoureux. With election speculation intensifying, some Liberal and Conservative MPs are preparing for the possibility that a vote could be called in the coming days if the government loses the confidence vote that will follow the reading of the budget on Nov. 4. “We can go into an election...
The survey, launched three days after Pierre Poilievre’s controversial remarks, is ‘Just to confirm the support that I know is already there,’ EDA president James Barlow told The Hill Times. Amid criticism from both within and outside Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s caucus following an interview with a YouTube channel, the Conservative electoral district association of Abbotsford-Langley South in British Columbia...