Apr 24 2019 — John Ivison — National Post — The anger was to be expected; the hurt, less so. A new study of public opinion in Alberta by communications firm Navigator, based on eight post-election focus groups, suggests Albertans want premier-designate Jason Kenney to get very aggressive very quickly when it comes to taking on the federal government, environmentalists, intransigent provinces and anyone else […]
Apr 23 2019 — John Ivison — National Post — Political predictions are generally lucky or wrong. Anyone handicapping the 2015 Canadian election six months out might have given short odds on the Conservatives, who were eight points clear of the Liberals and 12 ahead of the NDP at the end of April. But those poll numbers masked deep unhappiness with the Harper government and […]
Apr 17 2019 — John Ivison — National Post — Jason Kenney saved his vitriolic interventions in the Alberta election campaign for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau rather than his opponent, NDP Premier Rachel Notley. This made sense — political attacks rarely work when the target is more popular than source and many voters held Notley in greater esteem than Kenney. But there was an edge […]
Apr 15 2019 — John Ivison — National Post — I have spent much of the past month in the U.K., watching the roof cave in on a Westminster House of Commons divided against itself. Canada has its own divisions but they pale by comparison. However, there are common attributes between the SNC Lavalin affair and the British parliament’s civil war over Europe — the […]
Mar 7 2019 — John Ivison — National Post — Justin Trudeau offered up a mea culpa over the SNC Lavalin affair that was more mea than culpa. The prime minister visited the National Press Theatre early Thursday before leaving for Iqaluit, where he was to apologize to northern Inuit residents for the federal government’s behaviour during the tuberculosis epidemics of the 1940s and 50s, […]
Mar 6 2019 — John Ivison — National Post — Gerald Butts’ testimony at the justice committee did not present any exculpatory evidence that would exonerate the Trudeau government from allegations that it engaged in a pattern of interference in the independence of the attorney general. But he may have placed doubt in the minds of the jury. Justin Trudeau’s former principal secretary made clear […]
Mar 5 2019 — John Ivison — National Post — The Liberal Party’s impulse to form a circular firing squad has created a moment in Canada’s political history that could change everything. What John Stuart Mill called “the deep slumber of decided opinion” has been disrupted and the public roused. The sense that Justin Trudeau was pre-destined to be prime minister for as long as […]
Mar 4 2019 — John Ivison — National Post — Jane Philpott just gave Justin Trudeau a lesson in doing politics differently. Resigning from cabinet on a matter of principle is so old-fashioned it evokes images of monocles, pocket watches and top hats. For many career politicians, their occupation is a substitute for a private life. They have accomplished little beyond politics and cannot contemplate […]
Feb 28 2019 — John Ivison — National Post — Contrary to what you might have read in all newspapers, the country is not going to the dogs — it’s going to the moon. We are assured that Justin Trudeau did not arrange for Canada to join the U.S.-led lunar mission just to deflect attention from Jody Wilson-Raybould’s testimony at the justice committee. But the […]
Feb 27 2019 — John Ivison — National Post — Jody Wilson-Raybould’s testimony was so much worse than the opposition could have hoped, or the government might have feared. Justin Trudeau has been hoist by his own petard, and it may cost him his job. Trudeau appointed as justice minister someone who said she is a “truth-teller,” an Indigenous person who said she has witnessed […]
Feb 26 2019 — John Ivison — National Post — The morning after three federal byelections was like an elementary school sports day, with all the party leaders wearing their participation medals — “If you had fun, you won” — and claiming victory. In the B.C. riding of Burnaby South, the NDP’s Jagmeet Singh celebrated a win that paves his way, after 16 months as […]
Feb 25 2019 — John Ivison — National Post — There is no calm for the Liberals as the storm of Jody Wilson-Raybould’s upcoming appearance at the justice committee rumbles towards them. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told the House of Commons Monday he has waived solicitor-client privilege, freeing the former justice minister to talk about “relevant matters” as long as she does not touch on […]
Feb 21 2019 — John Ivison — National Post — Michael Wernick wandered into the justice committee like a sun-struck madman and gave real answers to the questions he was asked by MPs not used to such transparency. After two weeks of politicians citing “solicitor-client privilege” in the SNC Lavalin case, we finally got somewhere. The public service generally operates on the principle that if […]
Feb 20 2019 — John Ivison — National Post — The self-preservation instinct has kicked in for members of the governing Liberal party. Prior to the regular caucus meeting Wednesday, MPs warned darkly of a potential riot by unhappy backbenchers. But after former justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould addressed the weekly gathering, MPs emerged to proclaim themselves satisfied with the situation. “It was immensely respectful,” said […]
Feb 20 2019 — John Ivison — National Post — A Liberal MP said that when a parliamentary colleague from any side of the aisle is in trouble, he flips them a note of support. He said he planned to do the same when he saw Jody Wilson-Raybould sitting on the government front-benches before question period on Tuesday. “But what would I say? I’ve never […]