Nov 26 2019 — John Ibbitson — Globe and Mail — Leading the fractious Conservative Party of Canada is a challenge for any leader. Andrew Scheer does not appear up to that challenge. Within the party, people are asking whether he will step down now or draw out the agony until April’s leadership vote. Mr. Scheer’s supporters have good reason to be upset by this lack […]
Nov 17 2019 — John Ibbitson — Globe and Mail — Do you favour activist progressive government? Well you’re about to get one whether you like it or not. After cordial meetings with Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau clearly has a green light to move on an agenda centred on fighting climate change, spending heavily […]
Sep 13 2019 — John Ibbitson — Globe and Mail — While Jagmeet Singh and Elizabeth May fought for the title of Chief Progressive Alternative at the first leaders’ debate of this election campaign, Andrew Scheer focused on the phantom menace who wasn’t even in the room. The Maclean’s/Citytv national leaders’ debate, Thursday night, was defined by who wasn’t there: Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau. And the […]
Sep 11 2019 — John Ibbitson — Globe and Mail — Did Justin Trudeau threaten to demote Jody Wilson-Raybould from the role of attorney-general unless she intervened to protect SNC-Lavalin from prosecution on corruption charges? The RCMP would like to know, and so would every Canadian. But this government refuses to release those involved from their oath of secrecy, frustrating the police inquiry and the public […]
Sep 4 2019 — John Ibbitson — Globe and Mail — On Monday, Maxime Bernier sent out a string of tweets attacking Greta Thunberg, the student environmental activist. The leader of the new People’s Party seeks to bring to Canada a poison afflicting many democracies: the collapse of convention. That approach is working for politicians in other countries. We can only hope it fails here. Mr. […]
Aug 12 2019 — John Ibbitson — Globe and Mail — It is deeply wrong for any government to prohibit a previously legal and legitimate practice out of nothing more than unfounded fear. That is what the Liberals would be doing if they banned handguns. In the wake of a spate of shootings in Toronto – 14 during the August long weekend and another five last […]
Jul 16 2019 — John Ibbitson — Globe and Mail — Sometimes Liberals act for the best possible reason and the worst possible reason at the same time. Their move to criminalize conversion therapy is a case in point. Conversion therapy, which is not therapy and converts no one, can be so harmful to LGBTQ patients that some provinces and municipalities have moved to restrict the […]
Jun 12 2019 — John Ibbitson — Globe and Mail — The Canadian Senate should be credible, independent but subordinate. Thanks to Justin Trudeau’s reforms, the Red Chamber today is closer to that ideal than at any time in its past. If Andrew Scheer becomes prime minister, the Conservative Leader should build on these improvements rather than scuttling them, as he has threatened to do. For […]
Jun 10 2019 — John Ibbitson — Globe and Mail — A bond has been broken between Justin Trudeau and the voters of Mississauga Centre. If he is to remain prime minister after Oct. 21, Mr. Trudeau must reforge that bond. Mississauga Centre is a typical 905 riding, which is why I spent time here before the last election and returned to it recently. The suburban […]
May 22 2019 — John Ibbitson — Globe and Mail — Alberta Premier Jason Kenney will campaign in Ontario during this fall’s general election in an effort to convince new Canadians living in suburban ridings that Andrew Scheer’s Conservatives are a safe choice for their votes. Mr. Kenney’s journey to the Ontario heartland is a remarkable intervention by a premier in a federal campaign, a move […]
May 13 2019 — John Ibbitson — Globe and Mail — Justin Trudeau was not present for Question Period on Monday, delaying by another day questions from the opposition about the Mark Norman case. Mr. Trudeau’s sudden shyness reinforces suspicions of political meddling that the Conservatives are exploiting to the hilt. “Why did the Prime Minister try to weigh in on the scales of justice and […]
May 7 2019 — John Ibbitson — Globe and Mail — An important eve-of-the-general-election-by-election has delivered the Greens a powerful victory, while shaking both Liberals and New Democrats to the core. And the result offers further proof that Canada continues to resist the tide of intolerance sweeping the rest of the democratic world. Paul Manly will join Elizabeth May as Canada’s second Green Member of Parliament, […]
May 1 2019 — John Ibbitson — Globe and Mail — Love and Courage is a political memoir like no other. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has written a harrowing tale of growing up in a world blighted by physical and sexual abuse, blatant racism and his father’s addiction to alcohol. But there was also love: for family members struggling to navigate chaos, for friends who rescued […]
Apr 9 2019 — John Ibbitson — Globe and Mail — On its face, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s decision to threaten Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer with a defamation lawsuit is needs-to-have-his-head-examined foolish. The threat adds fresh fuel to the SNC-Lavalin bonfire. The only question seems to be: What on earth were the Liberals thinking? To understand that thinking, it may help to go back to June […]
Mar 26 2019 — John Ibbitson — Globe and Mail — The core question in the SNC-Lavalin affair is whether Justin Trudeau and his advisers respect the rule of law. The answer appears to be that they have no respect for it at all, after an unnamed source, in an effort to smear former attorney-general Jody Wilson-Raybould, fed reporters a story about a dispute over choosing […]