Feb 18 2021 — Alex Boutilier — Toronto Star — An Ottawa-area MP apologized to constituents Thursday after his office sent private information about “hundreds” of voters to a mailing list of Conservative staffers. But Liberal MP Chandra Arya likely won’t face any sanctions for the privacy breach, because politicians and political parties are largely not subject to Canadian privacy laws.
Feb 9 2021 — Alex Boutilier — Toronto Star — Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole is rejecting the idea of imposing national standards on long-term-care homes as provinces struggle to address the industry’s crisis. O’Toole said the “Ottawa knows best” approach is the wrong one for dealing with the crisis in long-term care, which dates back decades but has been laid bare by the COVID-19 pandemic. […]
Feb 9 2021 — Alex Boutilier — Toronto Star — Canada’s economic recovery after COVID-19 will be the ballot-box question when Canadians next go to the polls, Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole says. Just don’t expect him to force an election any time soon. Speaking with the Star’s editorial board on Monday, O’Toole framed the next election as a choice between which party voters will trust […]
Jan 29 2021 — Alex Boutilier — Toronto Star — At first, Eric Duncan was honoured. And then, very quickly, he was nervous. The rookie MP for Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry got the call from newly elected Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole last year, inviting Duncan to be on his leadership team. “I was honestly not expecting that, it was a surprise. (I was) just surprised and stunned […]
Jan 27 2021 — Alex Boutilier — Toronto Star — The Canadian government is nearing a decision on designating white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups as terrorists, the Star has learned. Far-right extremism has received more mainstream attention in the wake of the Jan. 6 riot in Washington, when a mob of Donald Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol Building. News reports have identified people in […]
Jan 26 2021 — Alex Boutilier — Toronto Star — Some big names in Canadian conservative politics hope right-leaning expatriates can give their parties an edge in upcoming provincial and federal elections. Where Conservatives once tried to limit voting rights for Canadians living abroad, a new group of senior Harper-era strategists and politicos view expatriates as an untapped voter pool.
Jan 26 2021 — Alex Boutilier — Toronto Star — Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole says he opposes “serious” penalties for simple possession of illegal drugs, but that his party will not support further legalization. Speaking to reporters in Ottawa Monday, O’Toole said that Canadians struggling with addiction deserve assistance from the government — not harsh sentences. “It’s not appropriate to have very serious penalties for […]
Jan 8 2021 — Alex Boutilier — Toronto Star — Could something like it happen here? In a way, something like it already has. After Wednesday’s riot in Washington D.C., where Donald Trump’s supporters desecrated the seat of American democracy, some have asked whether such a thing could happen in Ottawa. That question overlooks that Canada has seen an increase in the threat of political […]
Dec 17 2020 — Alex Boutilier — Toronto Star — Canada appears to have dodged the massive SolarWinds hack that officials in the United States are calling a “grave threat” to all levels of that country’s government. Canadian officials confirmed to the Star on Thursday that while numerous government agencies and departments use SolarWinds’ products, they had detected no compromises related to the hack. “None […]
Dec 15 2020 — Alex Boutilier — Toronto Star — A Progressive Conservative MPP says her own party has raised the stakes in her bitter nomination battle with a veteran political strategist in the federal riding of Thornhill. The fight has pitted Gila Martow, who currently represents the riding at Queen’s Park, against Melissa Lantsman, who worked on the PCs’ winning 2018 election campaign, for […]
Dec 13 2020 — Alex Boutilier — Toronto Star — It would’ve normally been a tough crowd for a Conservative senator. “My Canada is the kind of country where trade unions and free collective bargaining makes our economy stronger and Canada a better place,” Hugh Segal, then a Conservative senator, told a room full of Unifor members in 2013, to thunderous applause.
Dec 9 2020 — Alex Boutilier — Toronto Star — Erin O’Toole is expected to put significant emphasis on climate change and environmental policies in the Conservatives’ next election pitch in a bid to broaden the party’s appeal beyond its traditional base. Addressing the climate crisis has not been a central part of the modern Conservative Party’s electoral pitch. But two senior Conservative sources suggested […]
Dec 9 2020 — Alex Boutilier — Toronto Star — A Conservative MP is denying charges of anti-Semitism after someone yelled “George Soros” as Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland was speaking in the House of Commons on Tuesday. Barrie-Innisfill MP John Brassard refused to apologize after the Liberals called him out for allegedly invoking the billionaire philanthropist — who is the subject of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories […]
Nov 26 2020 — Alex Boutilier — Toronto Star — With COVID-19 surging and provinces struggling to contain the pandemic’s second wave, the federal Conservatives have a delicate political task of pushing the federal government on its response without placing blame on the provinces. Most of the provinces where the pandemic is resurgent — Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta — are governed by conservatives, […]
Nov 25 2020 — Alex Boutilier — Toronto Star — The Canadian Armed Forces has found no evidence that “Dakov,” a pseudonym for a man who attempted to join a U.S.-based white supremacist organization, is a member of the military. The Star reported on Oct. 22 that the Department of National Defence was investigating claims that a man who claimed to be a recruit was […]