Dec 6 2019 — Chantal Hébert — Toronto Star — The first tug of war between Justin Trudeau’s new minority government and the opposition parties was over before it had even begun. By the time NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh showed up in the House of Commons lobby on Thursday afternoon to blast the Liberal speech from the throne the rug of the balance of power […]
Dec 2 2019 — Chantal Hébert — Toronto Star — It is not just Andrew Scheer or the federal Conservatives who took a hit when the party snatched defeat from the jaws of a plausible victory in October. Their provincial allies in Alberta, New Brunswick and Ontario all need to rebuild bridges at home and across the country.
Dec 1 2019 — Chantal Hébert — Toronto Star — More than a decade has passed since the curtain last rose on a hung Canadian Parliament. And what a political drama the first weeks of Stephen Harper’s second term featured! Within days of the return of the House of Commons, the minority Conservatives had set the stage — with an overreaching fiscal update — for […]
Nov 29 2019 — Chantal Hébert — Toronto Star — It is difficult to spend time on Parliament Hill or in Alberta’s capital these days without picking up a lot of hopeful speculation about Rona Ambrose’s return to public life. Whether she wants it or not, the Conservatives’ former interim leader — who left politics after the party picked a permanent successor to Stephen Harper […]
Nov 25 2019 — Chantal Hébert — Toronto Star — In the ongoing Alberta-versus-Quebec debate, it is increasingly hard to differentiate facts from fiction. For example, to believe some of the commentary, both provinces — for different reasons — are deeply unhappy with Justin Trudeau’s re-election victory. The return in strength of the Bloc Québécois tends to be exhibit one in those analyses. But in […]
Nov 24 2019 — Chantal Hébert — Toronto Star — With every passing week, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer looks more like a politician trying to whistle past the graveyard of his leadership. Since the election, there has not been a week that has not featured new cracks in the support Scheer needs to survive a vote of party confidence next April. It is not as […]
Nov 20 2019 — Chantal Hébert — Toronto Star — In the game of dominoes that is behind the making of Justin Trudeau’s second term cabinet, Chrystia Freeland’s shift from the global scene to the domestic stage is the defining move. Her appointment as deputy prime minister solidifies her first place in the Liberal line of succession to Trudeau. But her lead position on the […]
Nov 18 2019 — Chantal Hébert — Toronto Star — Over his years on Parliament Hill, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney built a solid reputation as a wily political operator gifted with a fine grasp on policy. When it comes to hands-on knowledge of the workings of the federal government, he stands head and shoulders above his fellow premiers but also his current federal Conservative Leader […]
Nov 6 2019 — Chantal Hébert — Toronto Star — It was former Quebec premier Lucien Bouchard who coined the expression “winning conditions” after the 1995 referendum to describe what it would take for his Parti Québécois government to again test the will of Quebecers to leave the federation. Bouchard never actually spelled out what the list entailed.
Nov 4 2019 — Chantal Hébert — Toronto Star — Since he lost the federal election last month, Andrew Scheer has tried but mostly failed to make the case that his maiden campaign as leader has resulted, if not in the hoped-for return to power, at least in a moral victory. To sustain his thesis, Scheer has pointed to the party’s first place in the […]
Nov 1 2019 — Chantal Hébert — Toronto Star — It’s early days since the Oct. 21 electoral reshuffling of the federal deck, but not too early for three take-aways from the Liberals’ initial response to the election results. First, in contrast with the aftermath of the 2015 vote, Justin Trudeau has given himself a full month to put together a second-term cabinet and chart […]
Oct 25 2019 — Chantal Hébert — Toronto Star — In the cold light of morning and with the dust settling on the federal election results, it is becoming clearer that the vote has landed Justin Trudeau’s Liberals in a much better place than it did their Conservative rivals. Short of winning the majority he coveted, the Liberal leader has been handed as workable a […]
Oct 22 2019 — Chantal Hébert — Toronto Star — Under the guise of a minority victory for Justin Trudeau’s Liberals, Canadians have given themselves a Parliament that better reflects their deepening divisions than a common national purpose. If anything, the election stands to exacerbate rising tensions between parts of the federation.
Oct 18 2019 — Chantal Hébert — Toronto Star — For the NDP, the Greens and the Bloc Québécois, the big prize on offer in Monday’s vote is the balance of power across from a minority government. A hung Parliament would offer the third parties the opportunity to yield more influence on federal policy than the majority alternative, regardless of whether it is the Conservatives […]
Oct 17 2019 — Chantal Hébert — Toronto Star — Under Justin Trudeau and Andrew Scheer, the Liberals and the Conservatives have consistently failed to thrive on the campaign trail. With little more than a weekend to go, neither of the leaders currently going toe-to-toe for the job of prime minister has managed to earn the support of more than a third of the electorate.