Apr 2 2020 — John Ibbitson — Globe and Mail — In Canada’s history, great crises have invariably led to the concentration of power in Ottawa. It’s happening again. Decades of decentralization have been reversed in a matter of weeks. Provincial governments are in desperate straits. Newfoundland and Labrador, the weakest of the lot, teetered on bankruptcy last month, unable to find anyone willing to lend […]
Mar 30 2020 — John Ibbitson — Globe and Mail — When the pandemic subsides, priorities will change, creating winners and losers in both the private and public spheres. The losers could include schools and landlords, while incumbent politicians may emerge as winners. Canada’s reputation may emerge as a winner as well. Provincial governments spend about twice as much on health care – about 40 per […]
Mar 25 2020 — John Ibbitson — Globe and Mail — If U.S. President Donald Trump gets his way, North America may soon embark on a massive, life-and-death medical experiment with hundreds of millions of people as guinea pigs, including you and me and our American friends and relatives. Unwilling to bear the economic pain of shutting down businesses and keeping people at home to fight […]
Mar 19 2020 — John Ibbitson — Globe and Mail — Everything is political, even – especially – national emergencies. This is true of the coronavirus pandemic, which has left the federal Conservatives in desperate straits. This could change with time if the Liberals fail to deliver on their promise to protect Canadians from what could be a savage economic downturn. But it won’t be lost […]
Mar 19 2020 — John Ibbitson — Globe and Mail — In the 1930s, the United States raised tariffs on goods coming in from Canada, which retaliated with new tariffs of its own, worsening and lengthening the Great Depression for both countries. Wednesday, in an effort to limit the spread of the coronavirus, President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau agreed to partially close the […]
Mar 16 2020 — John Ibbitson — Globe and Mail — We’re going to learn a lot about ourselves, this week. We’re going to learn whether we have the discipline to temporarily cut ourselves off, each from the other, to prevent a contagion from killing us by the thousands. If we succeed, the new coronavirus outbreak in Canada will have a profile similar to that of […]
Mar 13 2020 — John Ibbitson — Globe and Mail — Those who crave efficiency sometimes complain about the cumbersome nature of Canadian federalism, with power divided between a relatively weak central government and strong provinces. Those critics should take note of how well the system is working during the coronavirus emergency. And the events of recent weeks prove another point: that in times of crisis, […]
Feb 21 2020 — John Ibbitson — Globe and Mail — As the Trudeau government struggles to resolve the impasse with Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs and their supporters over a gas pipeline, the federal Conservatives stand to reap the political benefit. Outgoing leader Andrew Scheer and front-running leadership candidates Peter MacKay and Erin O’Toole are hammering their message: They support the elected Wet’suwet’en chiefs and the band […]
Jan 14 2020 — John Ibbitson — Globe and Mail — The Queen announced Monday that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex plan to spend part of the year in Canada. Very nice for them, I’m sure, but there are laws in this country. If the Sussexes want to live here, they’ll have to apply. If they’re smart, Meghan will be the one filling out the […]
Jan 8 2020 — John Ibbitson — Globe and Mail — There have been too many nights like this since Sept. 11, 2001: tense hours waiting for confirmation of how bad things are, how much worse they might get. But one thing made Tuesday night different: On this night, the world could not trust the American president. Reports said Donald Trump was in the situation room, […]
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. […]