Jan 24 2020 — Aaron Wherry — CBC — Stephen Harper left behind a relatively sturdy foundation for his successor to build on. Even in defeat, Harper’s Conservative party won 99 seats and 32 per cent of the popular vote in 2015. The Conservatives raised $29 million that year, $7 million more than the Liberals. What he didn’t leave behind was an heir (or […]
Jan 21 2020 — Aaron Wherry — CBC — Seven years after Stephen Harper’s Conservative government eliminated funding for the National Roundtable on the Environment and the Economy, a new institute for research and analysis on climate policy in Canada is launching with the assistance of federal funds. The Liberal government will contribute up to $20 million over five years to provide for the […]
Jan 15 2020 — Aaron Wherry — CBC — “It is at times of tension like these,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Saturday, after Iran admitted that one of its missiles had shot down Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752, “that tragedies like this crash can happen.” Before concluding his prepared remarks, Trudeau also said that Iran must take “full responsibility” for the tragedy. It’s […]
Jan 11 2020 — Aaron Wherry — CBC — The Iranian government’s admission that its own military forces shot down flight PS752 was “an important step,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Saturday, but it was also a “first step.” There are still, the prime minister explained, “many more steps” to be taken — that “must” be taken. This is the prudent response. Though […]
Jan 10 2020 — Aaron Wherry — CBC — At a moment of awful revelation Thursday, the prime minister emphasized the need for clarity. “The families of the victims and all Canadians want answers. I want answers,” Justin Trudeau said during his second press conference in as many days. “That means closure, transparency, accountability and justice. And this government will not rest until we […]
Jan 9 2020 — Aaron Wherry — CBC — Justin Trudeau emerged on Thursday afternoon to deal publicly with the world as it is, in all its complexity and danger. Not for the first time, a Canadian prime minister was asked about an American military adventure. Not for the first time, the response required a combination of diplomacy and differentiation. The unanswerable question is […]
Dec 28 2019 — Aaron Wherry — CBC — The second decade of the 21st century was not comforting. The celebration of the so-called “end of history” turned out to be premature. Liberal democracy proved to be less than inevitable and progress could no longer by taken for granted. Populism, nationalism and authoritarianism reared their heads. New media fed our worst impulses. The scales […]
Dec 12 2019 — Aaron Wherry — CBC — On the simplest level, Andrew Scheer was merely a political leader who failed — a politician who made too many mistakes and suffered self-inflicted wounds that cut too deep. The larger legacy of his time as Conservative leader may end up being that of a politician who saw the times pass him by — yesterday’s […]
Dec 11 2019 — Aaron Wherry — CBC — The House of Commons spent Tuesday debating a Conservative proposal to establish a special committee of MPs to study Canada’s ongoing “diplomatic crisis” with China. Whatever the actual merits of that proposal, the timing of it at least underlines another significant matter in Canadian foreign policy that could use some accountability. On Monday, the Washington […]
Dec 6 2019 — Aaron Wherry — CBC — Two men in need of redemption stood across from each other in the House of Commons on Friday. The first man looked upon the other and declared himself disappointed to see that nothing had changed. The second man rose and made a point of showing that he would be taking a slightly altered approach, at […]
Dec 6 2019 — Aaron Wherry — CBC — Talk is cheap and everything is easier said than done — but a throne speech, by its very nature, can only be measured by its words. And the two most prominent words in the official remarks that opened the 43rd Parliament were “climate” and “change.” “Canada’s children and grandchildren will judge this generation by its […]
Nov 26 2019 — Aaron Wherry — CBC — Andrew Scheer and the Conservative Party are proceeding through the stages of post-election grief. Scheer can only hope the process stops before it reaches him personally. The first scapegoat in any case of political failure is always “communications”. A breakdown in communication was the culprit Scheer trotted out three weeks ago when he emerged from […]
Nov 23 2019 — Aaron Wherry — CBC — On paper, Jonathan Wilkinson is the ideal person to front the Trudeau government’s environmental agenda at this particular moment. In practice, he might find it nearly as hard as his predecessor did. “I think we have an opportunity in this minority Parliament to reset things,” Wilkinson said in an interview with CBC News this week. […]
Nov 21 2019 — Aaron Wherry — CBC — Justin Trudeau and Chrystia Freeland have been very good for each other. Not for the first time, the future of the Liberal government — and a lot else — seem to be riding on the two of them finding success together. “She is someone with whom I worked very, very closely, and with great success, […]
Nov 19 2019 — Aaron Wherry — CBC — So who is Justin Trudeau now? He is unlikely to emerge from the result of the October 21 election as a wholly different person. He’s surely still the same complicated figure he was before this fall’s campaign. He is also still the prime minister. But things have changed. His government’s situation, his public standing and […]