Jan 4 2019 — Alex Ballingall — Toronto Star — The newly-acclaimed Liberal candidate in the B.C. riding of Burnaby South is touting community connections in her bid to beat NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh in a federal byelection expected next month. Singh relocated to British Columbia from Ontario last fall to run in the riding, after months of questions and speculation about where the former […]
Dec 27 2018 — Alex Ballingall — Toronto Star — If you look back to this time last year—before Doug Ford and the carbon tax resistance, before the Trans Mountain purchase and the alarm bells from the United Nations—climate politics in Canada look calm, even quaint. At the start of 2018, more than 85 per cent of Canadians already lived with a price on greenhouse […]
Dec 26 2018 — Alex Ballingall — Toronto Star — The leader of the New Democratic Party is talking about fear and insecurity. Not his own, mind you; nor that of his party. Perched on a couch in his Parliament Hill office, Jagmeet Singh is in his usual high spirits, his ebullience by now a well-known characteristic.
Dec 14 2018 — Alex Ballingall — Toronto Star — Through decades of influence in the inner sanctum of Liberal politics, Richard O’Hagan worked closely with two prime ministers, befriended an American vice-president and helped establish the archetype for the modern press secretary. He also garnered a reputation as a snappy dresser.
Dec 5 2018 — Alex Ballingall — Toronto Star — A lawyer speaking for Raj Grewal says the Brampton East MP wants to clarify it was “only” his family that helped pay back money he borrowed to fuel his gambling problem. The lawyer’s statement comes in the wake of questions prompted by Grewal’s 11-minute video statement last Friday, in which the 33-year-old politician describes how […]
Dec 3 2018 — Alex Ballingall — Toronto Star — The New Democrats’ ethics critic is raising concerns that Raj Grewal’s decision to stay on as MP for Brampton East will make investigations into his gambling activity more difficult. Nathan Cullen, an NDP MP from British Columbia, said special rights afforded to MPs under the centuries-old convention of “parliamentary privilege” mean that potential investigations into […]
Nov 22 2018 — Alex Ballingall — Toronto Star — NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is welcoming news the prime minister will schedule a byelection in his riding of Burnaby South next February, even as he questions why the vote for the vacant seat won’t be held sooner. A government official confirmed Thursday that Justin Trudeau intends to schedule three byelections for some time in February, […]
Nov 22 2018 — Alex Ballingall — Toronto Star — A new report shows Canada’s export credit agency provides far greater backing to oil and gas companies than to makers of clean technology, a trend the authors contend undermines the country’s commitment to fight climate change under the Paris Agreement. Released Thursday and sponsored by a host of environmental groups, the report from the research […]
Nov 20 2018 — Alex Ballingall — Toronto Star — Border Security and Organized Crime Reduction Minister Bill Blair is slamming a Conservative MP for hosting a “Guns and Guinness” fundraiser last weekend. In a statement to the Star, the former Toronto police chief said it is “deeply disappointing” that an opposition member would hold a firearms- and alcohol-themed event when Canada is seeing “seeing […]
Nov 4 2018 — Alex Ballingall — Toronto Star — The symbolism, to Avi Lewis’s eye, was spot on. The leader of the federal New Democratic Party, on Bay St. on Friday morning, talking about how the “ultra-wealthy” need to pay their share. But, for Lewis, the imagery fizzled with Jagmeet Singh’s message: a trio of policy proposals about stocks, corporate wealth and taxation that […]
Oct 31 2018 — Alex Ballingall — Toronto Star — The chief budget adviser to Ontario’s anti-carbon tax premier once told Canadian senators that putting a price on greenhouse gas emissions is “the single most important thing that any government can do to transition to a low-carbon economy.” Benjamin Dachis, now Premier Doug Ford’s director of policy, budget and fiscal planning, was supportive of a […]
Oct 20 2018 — Alex Ballingall — Toronto Star — Now that marijuana legalization is out of the way, a new poll suggests the Liberal government’s next big drug policy — the possible creation of national pharmacare — is not a top health-care priority for Canadian voters. Between July 27 and Aug. 3, Pollara Strategic Insights surveyed 4,173 adults across the country. The online survey […]
Oct 18 2018 — Alex Ballingall — Toronto Star — The Liberal candidate who narrowly lost the B.C. riding of Burnaby South in the last federal election says his party should buck the perceived “leader’s courtesy” and nominate a contender to take down NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh in an upcoming byelection. Adam Pankratz, a business professor at the University of British Columbia, said he would […]
Oct 4 2018 — Alex Ballingall — Veteran New Democrat MP Charlie Angus says the surprise resignation of party leader Jagmeet Singh’s chief of staff is “the beginning of a big reset” as the NDP tries to gain traction with voters ahead of next year’s federal election. The party announced Thursday that Willy Blomme submitted a letter of resignation and will step […]
Oct 4 2018 — Alex Ballingall — Toronto Star — Adam van Koeverden, Canada’s most decorated Olympic paddler and two-time national flag bearer at the Games, will make the splash into politics and seek the Liberal nomination for next year’s federal election in the GTA riding of Milton. In an exclusive interview with the Star on Wednesday, van Koeverden said he relishes the steep challenge […]