Eleanor Wand

Eleanor Wand

‘We’re not even part of the discussion,’ says transport union after Carney opens airports to private investment

The Union of Canadian Transportation Employees says it wasn’t consulted on the prime minister’s plan to open Canada’s airports to private investment, and is “concerned” about the approach, with observers highlighting that privatization could open the feds to “political risk,” depending on the model’s details. “We’ve been reaching out for months now to the transportation minister to get some insights...

Eleanor Wand

Liberals clinch three byelections in a ‘very bad’ night for Poilievre: politicos

The Liberals held onto their slim majority in the House after sweeping three byelections on Aug. 31—something strategists say is “no surprise” as two of the seats were Liberals strongholds, with the loser of the night being the Conservatives, who decreased their vote share across all three ridings. “Pierre Poilievre had a very bad night,” Brad Lavigne, former NDP national...

Eleanor Wand

Discussion papers aren’t accessible consultation, say non-profits: ‘the general public really knows nothing about this’

With the window for the public to give feedback on widespread changes to environmental regulations and impact assessments for major project developments now closed, non-profits say most Canadians aren’t aware of the ongoing consultation, despite the government intending to table new legislation in the fall. “We were made aware of this simply because we have some level of engagement with...

Eleanor Wand

Senate approves changes to ethics code and guidelines to allow political fundraising, loosen gifting rules

As part of a series of changes to the Senate’s ethics code and guidelines that came weeks before Prime Minister Mark Carney appointed a longtime Liberal insider and a Conservative MP to the Upper Chamber, Senators are now permitted to directly partake in political fundraising, among other changes. “This is in line exactly with the fact that there’s now going...

Eleanor Wand

Carney seeks a ‘quarterback’ in the Senate with Pitfield but partisan shift a ‘warning sign,’ say observers

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first-ever Senate appointments tap two partisan picks from both sides of the aisle—a sitting Conservative MP and the Prime Minister Office’s principal secretary—signifying a return to a more partisan Upper Chamber, says one former PMO staffer. “This signifies … a realization from Mr. Carney and his team that they needed more certainty in the Senate, and...

Eleanor Wand, Aidan Raynor

Clarity Act architects Dion, Chrétien call legislation ‘perfect’ and ‘very important’ as Bloc moves to repeal it

Former Liberal cabinet minister Stéphane Dion says he would not change a word in the Clarity Act—which he wrote and tabled in 2000—as the legislation is once again in the spotlight over separatist movements in Alberta and Quebec. Speaking to The Hill Times on June 3, Dion, the intergovernmental affairs minister under then-prime minister Jean Chrétien, called the legislation “perfect,”...

Eleanor Wand

‘It’s sad’: former minister Dion says project approval revamp pitch latest in ‘trend’ of climate policy backlash

Former Liberal environment minister Stéphane Dion says Ottawa’s recent proposal to streamline major project reviews—which some environmentalists say could result in “the most consequential change to the fabric of Canadian environmental law in a generation”—is the latest in a trend of “backlash against climate policies.” “There is the sense that we went too far,” said Dion in an interview with...

Eleanor Wand

Alberta MPs, Senators call for stricter privacy laws in wake of ‘egregious, horrific’ Alberta data breach

'It’s a security concern for people like me who are in the public eye and who deal with angry constituents all the time,' says Alberta Senator Paula Simons of an Elections Alberta data leak that exposed the personal details of nearly three million people.

Eleanor Wand, Marlo Glass

Carney’s new cross-partisan Canada-U.S. council a good strategic move, say political players

Prime Minister Mark Carney is a 'better political practitioner' than he’s given credit for, and the committee’s makeup could be another 'proof point' of that, says Conservative strategist Cole Hogan. The Liberal government’s new Canada-United States economic advisory council brings in corporate and industry heavy-hitters with “very powerful Rolodexes” who are most impacted by American tariffs, note observers, who add...

Eleanor Wand

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...

Eleanor Wand, Marlo Glass

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...

Eleanor Wand, Marlo Glass

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...

Eleanor Wand

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...

Eleanor Wand

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.

Eleanor Wand

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...

Eleanor Wand

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.

Eleanor Wand

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...

Neil Moss, Eleanor Wand

‘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...

Eleanor Wand

‘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...

Eleanor Wand

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...

Eleanor Wand

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...

Eleanor Wand

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.

Eleanor Wand

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.

Eleanor Wand

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...

Eleanor Wand

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.

Eleanor Wand

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...

Eleanor Wand

‘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.