Oct 10 2021 — Chantal Hébert — Toronto Star — With one exception, the final federal election results in Quebec are in and what they add up to is an unchanged post-election map. With one last recount still underway, not a single seat has changed hands. In this instance, an absence of change is not synonymous with a non-event. The 2021 federal election results come […]
Oct 2 2021 — Chantal Hébert — Toronto Star — Resurfacing earlier this week for a first debrief of the Sept. 20 election, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau chose to cast his second consecutive minority victory as a glass more than half full. In his own words, the result means his Liberals “get to move even stronger, even faster on the things that Canadians really want.” […]
Sep 24 2021 — Chantal Hébert — Toronto Star — By the numbers, Monday’s election resulted in a decisive victory for the parliamentary status quo. But not everything in electoral politics can be measured in seats. Take Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau. For all the wear and tear accumulated over two terms in office, he remains a major political force.
Sep 17 2021 — Chantal Hébert — Toronto Star — Could Justin Trudeau or Erin O’Toole survive a defeat on Monday? For different reasons, that’s unlikely in either case. Let’s start with the no-brainer involving the Liberal leader. Defeated prime ministers do not as a rule stick around to lead their party in opposition. Even if one wanted to stay put in a humbler role, […]
Sep 14 2021 — Chantal Hébert — Toronto Star — By all indications, Canada is about to sign up for another round of minority rule. With less than a week to go until Monday’s vote, the Liberals and the Conservatives are tied in voting intentions. Each has about one third of the electorate behind it — a percentage that is very close to their respective […]
Sep 11 2021 — Chantal Hébert — Toronto Star — In a week that featured what many expected to be make-or-break debates for the contenders in the Sept. 20 election, Quebec Premier François Legault showed up to steal part of the show. On Thursday, Legault stepped in front of the cameras to dish out unusually pointed election advice to Quebecers. To all intents and purposes, […]
Aug 27 2021 — Chantal Hébert — Toronto Star — Until this week, most non-Conservative voters could assume that their vote next month would boil down to a choice between a majority or a minority Liberal government. There did not seem to be much of a path to power for another party. But as the pre-debate stretch of the campaign nears its end, Justin Trudeau’s […]
Aug 24 2021 — Chantal Hébert — Toronto Star — Whatever happened to Justin Trudeau’s sunny ways? Ten days into a campaign whose timing was of his own choosing, the Liberal leader’s main rivals all look like they are having a better time on the hustings than he is. Polls suggest that indeed they are. Looking at Trudeau’s body language over the past few days, […]
Aug 21 2021 — Chantal Hébert — Toronto Star — Quebec has sprung more than its share of political surprises in the last three federal elections, turning precampaign conventional wisdom on its head in each instance. Over the past decade, Canada’s second largest province has become exhibit one in support of the notion that campaigns matter. The NDP in 2011, the Liberals in 2015 and […]
Aug 17 2021 — Chantal Hébert — Toronto Star — The Conservative election platform was never discussed on the set of the leaders’ debates in 2019. It was released a few days after the curtain had fallen, late on a Friday in the dying days of the campaign. The exercise had more to do with ticking a box than with injecting momentum in Andrew Scheer’s […]
Jun 20 2021 — Chantal Hébert — Toronto Star — Canada’s parliamentarians are about to adjourn their debates for the summer possibly to return only after a general election. One way or another, they are in for a somewhat different political conversation next fall. With every passing week this spring, other issues have slowly been pushing the pandemic off centre stage. In the House of […]
Jun 13 2021 — Chantal Hébert — Toronto Star — Justin Trudeau’s Liberals gained an MP this week and possibly an additional New-Brunswick seat in the next election. With campaign fever running rampant on Parliament Hill, the Liberals may hope the addition of former Green MP Jenica Atwin to their ranks will send a positive message to the younger cohorts of the electorate. But in […]
Jun 6 2021 — Chantal Hébert — Toronto Star — It is not to remember history but rather to honour it that statues in the likeness of prominent Canadian political figures are erected or that their names adorn the front walls of public buildings. As often as not, their elevation to the rank of national icons does more to distort history than to enshrine it […]
May 30 2021 — Chantal Hébert — Toronto Star — Canada’s leading provincial Conservatives have taken a big hit over the course of the pandemic. Outside of the Atlantic region, no Conservative premier gets a passing grade for his management of the health crisis. These days, the government leaders of Alberta, Ontario and Manitoba sit at the bottom of the provincial list. A majority of […]
May 15 2021 — Chantal Hébert — Toronto Star — There is a lot to unpack in Quebec’s just-unveiled overhaul of the province’s language law. At 100 pages, Bill 96 paves the way for months of debate in the national assembly and beyond. Here are five initial observations. Based on the initial reactions, this legislation is not poised to become as polarizing as the province’s […]