Articles by Abbas Rana

Dec 9 2019 — Abbas Rana — Hill Times — Some Conservative candidates who were defeated in October’s election say they want to support Party Leader Andrew Scheer in the April leadership review, to protect their own nominations in the next election. Voting for Andrew Scheer (Regina-Qu’Appelle, Sask.) would give them a better relationship with the leadership, and better odds of being party candidates in […]

Dec 2 2019 — Abbas Rana — Hill Times — With the House of Commons set to return later this week for its first sitting following the election, the Prime Minister’s Office has finalized the top staffers in 22 ministerial offices, and has set up a website to solicit resumés for hiring in the offices of MPs, ministers, and the Prime Minister’s Office, according to […]

Dec 2 2019 — Abbas Rana — Hill Times — After dealing with numerous high-profile controversies in his first mandate, being reduced to a minority government in last month’s election, losing 27 seats, and shedding 6.37 percentage points in the national vote, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s transformation from a celebrity politician to a “humbled” leader is the right approach, say political insiders who say it […]

Nov 25 2019 — Abbas Rana — Hill Times — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau lost five seats in Quebec in the October election, but still handed 11 cabinet posts and control of six federal economic development agencies to Liberal MPs from the province last week, and Liberals are betting on the prime minister’s home province as the path to a third term in power, say […]

Nov 18 2019 — Abbas Rana — Hill Times — With Prime Minister Justin Trudeau set to unveil his new cabinet this week and Parliament returning next month, Conservatives are warning that Wexit is a serious issue which is reaching a boiling point, and say all Parliamentarians need to work together to come up with bold and creative ideas to address this important issue affecting […]

Nov 4 2019 — Abbas Rana — Hill Times — With the knives out for Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer for failing to win the federal election, it’s unclear whether he will survive another election amid the onslaught of calls last week for his resignation. To head off a potential ouster, some say Mr. Scheer needs to urgently reach out to his supporters to ensure they […]

Oct 21 2019 — Abbas Rana — Hill Times — The 40-day contentious election campaign that ended on Oct. 20 was one of the most “uninspiring,” “disheartening,” and the “dirtiest” in four decades, as there was little or no discussion about some of the big issues facing Canadians and the focus instead was only on personalities, says an award-winning researcher and a well respected expert […]

Oct 14 2019 — Abbas Rana — Hill Times — With the 2019 election in the home stretch and both parties still running neck and neck in national polls, some political insiders are describing the current campaign as one of the dirtiest in recent history, which was also predicted months in advance by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer. “It’s probably in […]

Sep 30 2019 — Abbas Rana — Hill Times — With both leading national parties expected to unleash their best “bombshell” research on each other in the coming days, some Liberals are worried they cannot afford to take any more major hits, saying self-inflicted wounds have already damaged the Liberal brand and “crushed” the enthusiasm and morale of the rank-and-file-party members, riding executives and candidates. […]

Sep 25 2019 — Abbas Rana — Hill Times — The U.S.-based Time Magazine reporter who broke the story about Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wearing brownface at an Arabian Nights-themed party in Vancouver says she learned about the existence of the picture from ongoing gossip among the Westpoint Grey Academy community. “I had heard about it as a source of gossip in Vancouver community and, […]

Sep 23 2019 — Abbas Rana — Hill Times — Last week’s bombshell pictures showing the prime minister wearing blackface and brownface, at least three times since he was a teenager and the latest in 2001, have made Justin Trudeau’s campaign for a second term in power the fight of his political life, and a lot more complicated, say some pollsters. “This is not a […]

Sep 18 2019 — Abbas Rana — Hill Times — The Liberal and Conservative campaign teams are “at war” trying to unsettle each other, and the possible minority Parliament that could result could be dysfunctional, carrying “significant instability,” says a high-profile pollster. “The war rooms are at war with each other,” said Nik Nanos, chief data scientist and founder of Nanos Research. “If it’s a […]

Sep 16 2019 — Abbas Rana — Hill Times — With the SNC-Lavalin controversy back in the news, one of the country’s leading pollsters expects the opposition leaders to go after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the campaign trail and in the leaders’ debates to push his emotional buttons and to get a reaction that will make him  look “arrogant,” “out of touch” and “entitled,” […]

Sep 9 2019 — Abbas Rana — Hill Times — While the Liberals and Conservatives are poised for a “quite ugly, bare knuckles” fight and the NDP vote declines across the country, the benefactor could be the Greens, who could win more seats than the New Democrats, says a veteran pollster. But another seasoned pollster says it’s too early to predict the Green Party’s rise […]

Sep 9 2019 — Abbas Rana — Hill Times — None of the national parties appears to be connecting to a majority of Canadians and a leading pollster is predicting the ballot question will be “choose your poison” on Oct. 21. “A lot of this has to do with the fact that people are unhappy with both of the choices [Liberals and Conservatives],” said Nik […]