Mar 21 2023 — Jaime Watt — Toronto Star — Should governments be in the business of picking winners and losers? Well, for many conservatives, including this one, the answer was always no. And the answer was no for a very good reason: governments are very bad at it. But here’s a news flash: in today’s economic climate, the debate is over and our governments […]
Mar 12 2023 — Jaime Watt — Toronto Star — Its funny how some things take on the ability to solve all kinds of problems. The Ontario Liberal Party’s decision to adopt a one-member-one-vote system is one of those things. Talking to Liberals, one member, one vote will single-handedly usher in an electrifying new era for their party. Like a snake shedding its worn skin, […]
Mar 8 2023 — Jaime Watt — Toronto Star — If the headline didn’t already give it away, well then — spoiler alert — this column takes a wide turn from the politics I usually write about, to the personal, which I seldom do. A year ago I had a kidney transplant. Since then, my life has changed in ways I never dreamt possible. To […]
Feb 26 2023 — Jaime Watt — Toronto Star — This past week, disturbing revelations were made painstakingly clear to Canadians: the People’s Republic of China and its intelligence apparatus threaten our nation’s security and our democracy. On the evidence, the authoritarian dictatorship in Beijing has interfered in our elections to the benefit of Trudeau’s Liberals and the detriment of Canada’s democratic foundations. While their […]
Feb 19 2023 — Jaime Watt — Toronto Star — More valuable than any of the signals it intercepted or military assets it observed, the Chinese spy balloon uncovered something else: a snapshot of the flaws and vulnerabilities in our public discourse. Somewhere in Beijing, someone is saying the risk was worth the reward. The official narrative on both sides of the Pacific is that […]
Feb 13 2023 — Jaime Watt — Toronto Star — Gee, Tucker, you’re always saying the stuff most Americans are afraid to say. Like this invading Canada idea you’ve floated. Dude, this time, you’ve hit the nail on the head. I’m so glad that before you got back to your obsession with the sex appeal of M&M characters, you turned to our northern neighbour. I, […]
Jan 31 2023 — Jaime Watt — Toronto Star — Saints, it has been said, are the sinners who kept on trying. For first ministers across Canada, their road to redemption may well run through Feb. 7. That’s when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and premiers will gather to start negotiating a new deal on the federal government’s funding for health services. Hope, for this reason, […]
Jan 25 2023 — Jaime Watt — Toronto Star — A fearlessly pragmatic intervention or a desecration of our national fabric and everything we hold dear? A slippery slope certain to trigger a mass exodus of public health care workers or an innovative plan to boost collaboration and ease the burden across a strained-to-the-breaking point sector? Or, finally, rerouting water away from the dam (to […]
Jan 17 2023 — Jaime Watt — Toronto Star — If you sat across the table from him on a date, you would run away before your drinks arrived. If you were his employer, you would fire him before he had his coat off. And yet, try as you might, you simply cannot un-elect him. By now, you know I am talking about none other […]
Jan 5 2023 — Jaime Watt — Toronto Star — A federal election in 2023? Though far from a certainty, more and more, it feels like one. Federal minority governments have seldom endured more than a few years and the current Liberal-NDP agreement is unlikely to be an exception to this rule. If the plug is pulled and the current Parliament Hill tone continues, the […]
Dec 31 2022 — Jaime Watt — Toronto Star — The warmth of this year’s festive period was undeniably dampened by horrific incidents of violent crime that rattled Canadians to their core. A shocking mass shooting at a condo building in Vaughan, an appalling tale of young girls allegedly stabbing an unhoused man to death in downtown Toronto, and a spate of increasing random attacks […]
Dec 19 2022 — Jaime Watt — Toronto Star — Former Ontario finance minister Charles Sousa’s win over his Conservative opponent, Ron Chhinzer, was decisive. Victorious by 14 points, Sousa more than doubled the margin of victory his Liberal predecessor secured in 2021. No doubt, an impressive feat, but not altogether shocking for a candidate of Sousa’s prominence and community ties. As ever in politics, […]
Dec 11 2022 — Jaime Watt — Toronto Star — Before the internet, opposition research in the political war room was characterized by a common activity: the frantic search for ammunition. It didn’t matter where the room was, or what the people in it were fighting for — the hunt for that blatant lie, classic “flip-flop,” problematic position or elusive photograph was a common pursuit. […]
Nov 13 2022 — Jaime Watt — Toronto Star — Tuesday’s midterms turned in more than a few surprising results, with some races so close they’ve yet to be finalized even as I write this. But one thing is clear: the widely anticipated “red wave” did not materialize. In U.S. conservative circles, this outcome has already produced a range of impacts for the 2024 presidential […]
Jul 25 2022 — Jaime Watt — Toronto Star — It’s the stuff political dreams are made of. A resounding mandate born of a strategic and methodical campaign. A headless opposition — divided in allegiance, confused in direction, adrift. A feeling, perhaps even a certainty, that it is the very best of times. And yet, in the political world, it takes precious little for the […]