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Eleanor Wand

While National Newswatch does not keep an archive of external articles for longer than 6 months, we do keep all articles written by contributors who post directly to our site. Here you will find all of the contributed and linked external articles from Eleanor Wand.

Carney clinches slim majority in byelections, but ‘lacklustre’ Conservative showing makes time ripe to ‘hunt’ floor crossers, say politicos

Carney clinches slim majority in byelections, but ‘lacklustre’ Conservative showing makes time ripe to ‘hunt’ floor crossers, say politicos

Prime Minister Mark Carney has turned his minority government into a majority with two seats to spare after sweeping two Ontario byelections and narrowly winning a Quebec contest, but the Liberals are likely pushing for a “four- or five-seat cushion” while their popularity lasts and Conservatives pull fewer votes, says a Liberal strategist. “A one or two seat majority today...

  • 2026-04-14
  • — Hill Times
NDP tent ‘big enough’ to manage differences, Lewis says as some Prairie leaders add distance after resounding win

NDP tent ‘big enough’ to manage differences, Lewis says as some Prairie leaders add distance after resounding win

A crowd of tearful supporters joined Avi Lewis as he took the stage as NDP leader for the first time to address the party faithful after a resounding electoral victory at the party’s convention on Sunday morning. “Canada, mark your calendar: the NDP comeback starts now,” Lewis said to raucous cheers. Lewis, 58, held hands in a chain that included...

  • 2026-03-29
  • — Hill Times
NDP has ‘huge door’ on the left to claim in ‘bold’ rebuild, say current, former MPs

NDP has ‘huge door’ on the left to claim in ‘bold’ rebuild, say current, former MPs

Reports of the NDP’s death have been greatly exaggerated. That’s according to current and former politicians and party supporters at the NDP’s three-day convention in Winnipeg, Man., ahead of the crowning of a new leader. They say their path forward with a new leader will include door-knocking, winning seats, bold platforms, and hard work as the Carney Liberals leave an...

  • 2026-03-28
  • — Hill Times
Climate advisers ask feds to put Net-Zero Advisory Body on ‘pause,’ say they can’t fulfill mandate in ‘skeleton state’

Climate advisers ask feds to put Net-Zero Advisory Body on ‘pause,’ say they can’t fulfill mandate in ‘skeleton state’

The Net-Zero Advisory Body is asking Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin to publicly pause the advisory group until she appoints six new members and agrees to regular meetings, part of an effort to get the body “functional” again, says Karen Ross, one of only four remaining members. “We cannot continue in a state in which we are, functionally and operationally, unable...

  • 2026-01-09
  • — Hill Times
Next year ‘an important one for Quebec’ as possibility of referendum looms, say Bloc MP, politicos

Next year ‘an important one for Quebec’ as possibility of referendum looms, say Bloc MP, politicos

Ottawa is likely preparing for the next year of Quebec politics with some “anxiety,” say politicos, as 2026 could see the province revisiting a referendum on separatism with the sovereignist Parti Québécois continuing to lead in the polls.

  • 2026-01-04
  • — Hill Times
Chief says feds’ engagement with First Nations ‘needs to improve,’ after ‘very limited’ contact on major projects

Chief says feds’ engagement with First Nations ‘needs to improve,’ after ‘very limited’ contact on major projects

On the heels of adopting a resolution against Ottawa’s new energy deal with Alberta at an annual meeting of First Nations chiefs, a Manitoba grand chief says engagement with the government is “very limited” on a major project proposed in that province. “There’s a lot more work that needs to be done in terms of consultation; duty to consult; free...

  • 2025-12-06
  • — Hill Times
Meeting feds’ ‘ambitious’ RCMP hiring pledge will require ‘imaginative’ ideas, says advisory board chair

Meeting feds’ ‘ambitious’ RCMP hiring pledge will require ‘imaginative’ ideas, says advisory board chair

The federal budget’s $1.7-billion investment to hire 1,000 RCMP personnel is being met with optimism from the union and the RCMP advisory board, but the chair says meeting that pledge will require “iconoclastic ideas” from leadership as the force faces an officer vacancy rate that nearly doubles the numbers the government is tasking them with hiring in the coming years.

  • 2025-11-06
Questions loom over Liberals’ environment plans with Canada ‘off path’ to meet emissions targets

Questions loom over Liberals’ environment plans with Canada ‘off path’ to meet emissions targets

A House committee’s recently concluded study of the government’s 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan is shedding little light on the Liberals’ forthcoming climate focus, with Liberal MPs championing clean energy transitions amid climate policy backtracking from Prime Minister Mark Carney. “Electricity has been demonstrated to be up to three times more efficient than fossil fuel, and is increasingly affordable and accessible...

  • 2025-11-01
  • — Hill Times
‘Bridge is not burnt’: suspension of trade talks over Ontario ad just another Trump tactic, says former negotiator

‘Bridge is not burnt’: suspension of trade talks over Ontario ad just another Trump tactic, says former negotiator

With United States President Donald Trump declaring another pause in trade talks with Ottawa, a former Canadian negotiator says the move is just a tactic being used by the American leader to advance his trade agenda. In a late-night post on Truth Social on Oct. 23, Trump announced that “all trade negotiations with Canada are hereby terminated” in response to...

  • 2025-10-24
  • — Hill Times
‘No ordinary Parliament’: Senate leaders prepare for ‘new era’ of quick legislation, pledging collaboration as fall sitting begins

‘No ordinary Parliament’: Senate leaders prepare for ‘new era’ of quick legislation, pledging collaboration as fall sitting begins

A slate of new leadership means the tone in the Senate has shifted with an eye to efficiency, says Senator Scott Tannas, as his colleagues champion collaboration while they gear up to tackle the government’s ambitious legislative agenda and hotly-anticipated fall budget. “There’s a new tone being struck,” said Tannas (Alberta), the leader of the Canadian Senators Group. “There’s a...

  • 2025-09-26
  • — Hill Times
Canada recognizing Palestinian state a ‘notable’ foreign policy shift with potential U.S. fallout, say ex-UN envoys

Canada recognizing Palestinian state a ‘notable’ foreign policy shift with potential U.S. fallout, say ex-UN envoys

Canada is joining nearly 160 United Nation members in recognizing the state of Palestine—a move that marks a “significant” foreign policy shift, say two former UN ambassadors, marking a departure from the American approach as Republican politicians warn of repercussions. “I think, from a Canadian perspective, it’s about time that we get there,” said Gilles Rivard, a former deputy permanent...

  • 2025-09-23
  • — Hill Times
Bloc eyes provincial PQ win, but says it won’t affect strategy in the House: ‘our goal has always been the same’

Bloc eyes provincial PQ win, but says it won’t affect strategy in the House: ‘our goal has always been the same’

The Bloc Québécois is less likely to collaborate with the governing Liberals while backing the staunchly sovereigntist Parti Québécois ahead of next year’s provincial election, says one political scientist, but the federal party insists strong provincial ties won’t alter their actions in the House. “It’s just natural and normal that because it’s a brother—PQ and Bloc are two brothers—we work...

  • 2025-09-19
  • — Hill Times
Calls mount for the Arctic to make national-interest list with launch of Major Projects Office: there’s an ‘Achilles heel in the North’

Calls mount for the Arctic to make national-interest list with launch of Major Projects Office: there’s an ‘Achilles heel in the North’

The Liberals’ Major Projects Office is now up and running, and two Nunavut project proponents are eager to make the cut for the prime minister’s prized national interest list, but one executive is raising concerns about minimal communication from the government as it eyes a port project in northern Manitoba.

  • 2025-08-30
  • — Hill Times
A defeated NDP means labour, progressive movements have to ‘fill that void,’ says CUPE head Hancock

A defeated NDP means labour, progressive movements have to ‘fill that void,’ says CUPE head Hancock

Former NDP staffer Cam Holmstrom says New Democrats need a moderate leader who can ‘counterbalance’ the further-left bent of the party and speak to Canadians’ everyday issues.

  • 2025-08-29
  • — Hill Times
Candidates ‘unchallenged’ and ‘uncovered’ in federal election as a fallout of dying local media: report

Candidates ‘unchallenged’ and ‘uncovered’ in federal election as a fallout of dying local media: report

The author of a recent report is sounding the alarm on the lack of candidate coverage in the 2025 federal election, where she said some MP hopefuls escaped scrutiny from local media outlets, pointing to the need for more funding, innovation, and data collection to revitalize the shuttering news scene. “I think we can officially say that in some communities...

  • 2025-08-22
  • — Hill Times
Return of P&P Cabinet Committee signals Carney’s ‘government by cabinet’ with an ‘inner circle,’ say strategists

Return of P&P Cabinet Committee signals Carney’s ‘government by cabinet’ with an ‘inner circle,’ say strategists

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Priorities and Planning Cabinet Committee—what strategists are calling his “sounding board” and “inner circle”—is under pressure to produce results and successfully orient cabinet to deliver on the Liberal leader’s campaign pledges in a minority Parliament.

  • 2025-06-06
  • — Hill Times
Carney benches Trudeau’s ‘Hallmark card’ mandate letter format, opts for broad priority list for all ministers

Carney benches Trudeau’s ‘Hallmark card’ mandate letter format, opts for broad priority list for all ministers

Prime Minister Mark Carney is striking “the right balance” with his single public cabinet mandate letter, departing from his predecessor’s “unfocused,” “rambling,” public relations approach that observers say neutralized the priorities meant to direct ministers and keep them—privately—accountable. In a break from former prime minister Justin Trudeau’s tradition, Carney (Nepean, Ont.) released a sole letter to his 28 ministers on...

  • 2025-05-28
  • — Hill Times
‘Never say never’: NDP MPs Kwan and McPherson don’t rule out leadership bids, but say that’s not the focus right now

‘Never say never’: NDP MPs Kwan and McPherson don’t rule out leadership bids, but say that’s not the focus right now

With the fewest seats ever won, the NDP is destined for a leadership race—something some political players say presents an opportunity for the party to reposition itself in light of a devastating election defeat.

  • 2025-04-30
  • — Hill Times