Oct 8 2018 — Campbell Clark — Globe and Mail — Canada and Mexico have just been through the same kind of trial in trade talks. The aftermath is a little awkward. The two smaller partners in the old North American free-trade agreement talked up a common front, but at key points, they let that slide to look out for No. 1. That’s the story of […]
Oct 1 2018 — Campbell Clark — Globe and Mail — No deal is better than a bad deal, Justin Trudeau often said. But when a mediocre deal comes along, you try to grab it and run. That’s what happened as NAFTA talks went down to the wire this weekend. Mr. Trudeau wasn’t as immune to deadline pressure as his ministers claimed last week. Canada was […]
Sep 26 2018 — Campbell Clark — Globe and Mail — The premier is still the premier. But New Brunswick’s election campaign isn’t really over. The province’s voters delivered not only a hung legislature but a Rubik’s Cube of potential pitfalls for any leader who tries to govern. First crack goes to the incumbent, Premier Brian Gallant. And it’s still possible his second-place standing could be […]
Aug 22 2018 — Campbell Clark — Globe and Mail — Justin Trudeau’s botched trip to India in February was always ill-conceived because it revolved around lazy diplomatic tropes and shallow politicking to domestic audiences – now Andrew Scheer is going to compound the mistake. The Conservative Leader’s news release blared that Mr. Scheer will go on a nine-day mission this fall to “repair and strengthen […]
Aug 5 2018 — Campbell Clark — Globe and Mail — The committee on un-Canadian activities has convened somewhere in a corner of the PMO’s communications office, and they’ve found certain Conservatives to be suspiciously disloyal. Not just disloyal to them, but to the nation, and for the unforgivable offence of meeting Americans without a minder. This is the Liberals preparing to fire at any opponent […]
Jul 25 2018 — Campbell Clark — Globe and Mail — Justin Trudeau gave Bill Blair a made-up cabinet portfolio about borders and organized crime, and now we know why. He’s there to tell us things are under control. The tall, hulking former Toronto police chief was previously given that task as the Liberal government’s spokesman on the legalization of marijuana, allaying fears by assuring Canadians […]
May 29 2018 — Campbell Clark — Globe and Mail — When Bill Morneau strolled down Ottawa’s Wellington Street this morning with Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr, he looked like a confident Bay Street CEO once again. He had just made the biggest deal of his life. This time, he’s signed a $4.5-billion agreement to buy a pipeline project that represents the Liberal government’s last hope […]
May 16 2018 — Campbell Clark — Globe and Mail — The debate on carbon taxes at the May 7 meeting of the Commons finance committee looked like it was frustrating one of the witnesses, University of Alberta economist Andrew Leach. Conservative MPs, and Alberta United Conservative Leader Jason Kenney, suggested a carbon tax won’t really reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, and Mr. Leach slapped back in the […]
May 9 2018 — Campbell Clark — Globe and Mail — U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from a nuclear deal with Iran drove a wedge between Canada’s major allies, but Justin Trudeau’s reaction was muted. This Prime Minister, it is fair to say, wasn’t looking to get mixed up in an international argument over the Middle East.
Apr 25 2018 — Campbell Clark — Globe and Mail — Senseless. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau picked the right word. There wasn’t a clear lesson to learn from a tragedy in which an individual drove a van into pedestrians, killing 10. In Ottawa, where political leaders took stock a day after the tragedy in Toronto, there was no sense of a nagging query about what should […]
Apr 16 2018 — Campbell Clark — Globe and Mail — As media-briefers go, Daniel Jean may be the world’s most incompetent. At least, judging by what the Prime Minister’s national security adviser told a Commons committee on Monday. Mr. Jean told the committee that when he briefed reporters in February on Justin Trudeau’s gaffe-filled trip to India, he was not alleging a conspiracy. He only […]
Apr 2 2018 — Campbell Clark — Globe and Mail — The Liberals can’t spend money fast enough. No, really. Justin Trudeau’s government hasn’t been able to pump out infrastructure projects at the rate it promised. That’s bad for the public and bad for the economy. It’s especially bad politics for the Liberal Party of Canada. The fact that the Liberals can’t get the infrastructure projects […]
Mar 25 2018 — Campbell Clark — Globe and Mail — Why has the Justin Trudeau lost his big popularity advantage? Because of the gender gap. Men aren’t sticking with the Liberal program. The Prime Minister who trumpets that he is a feminist and who appointed a gender-balanced cabinet still leads a party that’s most popular among women, according to regular polling by Nanos Research.
Feb 13 2018 — Campbell Clark — Globe and Mail — Finance Minister Bill Morneau is planning a gender budget, putting federal money behind Justin Trudeau’s declaration that he’s a feminist prime minister. It will include money to pay the costs of agenda-setting pay-equity legislation for employees in the federal government and federally regulated sectors, and will go beyond that into measures to encourage the participation […]
Dec 10 2017 — Campbell Clark — Globe and Mail — Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan’s appointment to the cabinet in 2015 garnered a chorus of wows in press stories that labelled the former lieutenant-colonel who had done three tours in Afghanistan as a “badass.” This week, he’ll unveil a plan to buy second-hand fighter jets from Australia.