Sep 13 2019 — Chris Selley — National Post — “Now with 25 per cent fewer leaders.” That was Maclean’s writer Paul Wells’ very apropos quip to introduce the first leaders’ debate of the 2019 federal election campaign. Despite what Liberal partisans might tell you, Justin Trudeau’s absence is neither justifiable nor a good look. On Aug. 6, 2015, Stephen Harper, Trudeau, Thomas Mulcair and […]
Sep 11 2019 — Chris Selley — Postmedia — As Canada’s federal politicians head to the campaign trail, climate scientists warn we are at the precipice of global disaster. The governing Liberals echo said warnings. Yet neither they nor the Conservatives have a plan to achieve our existing emissions targets, never mind the more ambitious ones the boffins insist are necessary. Green Party leader […]
Aug 30 2019 — Chris Selley — Postmedia — Pre-campaign books about politicians are always interesting when the author gets significant access to the subject, because it gives the subject a chance to offer a well-thought-out and carefully considered case for his election or re-election to an impartial reporter. It’s not a press conference full of headline-hungry hacks marinating in Red Bull; it’s a […]
Aug 21 2019 — Chris Selley — Postmedia — Many Canadians have been understandably flummoxed, with gusts to outraged, by news that Elections Canada has warned organizations advocating for more forceful action against climate change that they may have to register as “third parties” for the upcoming election, and be subject to limits on advertising expenditures during the campaign. “The climate crisis is objectively […]
Aug 20 2019 — Chris Selley — Postmedia — On Sunday we learned that Jack Letts, known in the British press as Jihadi Jack, is no longer a British subject. Then-home secretary Sajid Javid and then-prime minister Theresa May reportedly approved stripping the alleged ISIL fighter of his citizenship as one of their administration’s final acts and it seems they didn’t even send a […]
Aug 1 2019 — Chris Selley — Postmedia — When it comes to Canadian politicians and money, it might be difficult to explain to a foreign visitor exactly what’s kosher and what’s not. Ontario Premier Doug Ford got some bad press this week for having promoted the Pelee Island Winery in one of his impossibly cheesy “Ontario News Now” propaganda videos, just weeks after […]
Jul 23 2019 — Chris Selley — Postmedia — It takes some chutzpah, perhaps, for the Conservatives to accuse the Liberals of dropping the ball on fixing the crumbling, asbestos-ridden hulk that is 24 Sussex Drive. “The renovation costs … are a failure that Justin Trudeau has been unable to fix in four years,” alleged Daniel Schow, spokesperson for Conservative leader Andrew Scheer, in […]
Jul 19 2019 — Chris Selley — Postmedia — Part of the standard Liberal narrative about Conservative leader Andrew Scheer is that he’s beholden to social-conservative party members who supported Brad Trost for party leader but wound up picking Scheer over Maxime Bernier on the final ballot. This explains to many Canadians why Scheer is likely to legislate on abortion despite vowing not to, […]
May 17 2019 — Chris Selley — National Post — Whatever other adjectives might describe the 2019 federal election campaign, “novel” is unlikely to be one of them. Four years ago, Justin Trudeau asked us to look past a dozen positive economic indicators and instead interrogate our feelings: “Are you better off now than you were 10 years ago when Stephen Harper became prime minister?” […]
Apr 27 2019 — Chris Selley — National Post — Robert Kokonis, president of the aviation consultancy AirTrav, told the Financial Post this week that by 2030, a family of four could “easily” be paying $600 in carbon tax for a flight from Toronto to Vancouver. That’s based on predictions and best guesses as to where the tax rate goes and how it applies after […]
Apr 3 2019 — Chris Selley — National Post — Not surprisingly, Jody Wilson-Raybould’s two-page letter on Tuesday asking to remain part of the Liberal caucus proved unsuccessful. At 5:44 p.m. EST, she announced on Twitter that she had been turfed. Luckily, perhaps not accidentally, the letter works just as well as a giant middle finger aimed backwards. “We committed to break old and cynical […]
Mar 26 2019 — Chris Selley — National Post — In recent weeks, former deputy prime minister Sheila Copps’ Twitter account has operated as a sort of museum of partisan excess. On Monday evening, hours after Manitoba Chief Justice Glenn D. Joyal got dragged into the mess for no good reason — pending further excavations — she finally hit rock bottom. Joyal is a highly […]
Mar 19 2019 — Chris Selley — National Post — Ahoy there, relatively young and middle-class Canadian! Did you vote Liberal in 2015? And are you, shall we say, somewhat less enthused about that prospect four years later, for various reasons we needn’t go into here? Now, what if Justin Trudeau were to offer you a down payment on a shiny new condominium? Well, that’s […]
Mar 12 2019 — Chris Selley — National Post — The NDP is officially on the offensive in Quebec. On Monday in Montreal, newly minted deputy leader Alexandre Boulerice promised the party’s “environmental plan … will put an end to half-measures.” Brigitte Sansoucy, chair of the NDP’s Quebec Caucus, suggested they would offer “concrete solutions for Quebecers (on) issues like employment, agriculture and support for […]
Mar 4 2019 — Chris Selley — National Post — Recent Canadian political history has seen more than one person leave a very successful life for politics, only to stagger back out of it considerably poorer, thoroughly discredited and covered in egg. Perhaps most spectacularly, David Livingston left a 30-year career as an executive at TD Bank to become CEO of Infrastructure Ontario. Seven years […]