Oct 25 2021 — Kelly McParland — National Post — A recent event in Ottawa planted a silly image in my head: members of three of the parties in Parliament — the Liberals, New Democrats and Bloc Québécois — setting a trap for the Conservatives and then watching, stifling giggles, as Erin O’Toole happens along.
Oct 12 2021 — Kelly McParland — National Post — Perhaps it’s time for the Conservative party to part ways with Alberta. Sit down on the couch, engage in a frank discussion about the relationship, and agree that it’s no longer working out the way both parties had hoped. While they enjoyed many happy years as partners, the sad fact is that their interests have […]
Jun 23 2021 — Kelly McParland — National Post — China’s approach to crushing Hong Kong is really very simple. First, take away individual rights by introducing a national security law to protect the state rather than the people. Second, declare it a threat to national security to question, criticize or object to the new law. Third, jail anyone who disagrees. The effectiveness of this […]
Mar 22 2021 — Kelly McParland — There can only be one reason why Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is thinking of calling an election. That would be the Conservative party, which spent the weekend displaying its wares to a doubting audience. I feel for Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole. I watched his big address to the Tory party convention, and the guy put […]
Jan 20 2021 — Kelly McParland — National Post — When I first read Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole’s assertion that “there is no room for the far right” in his “modern, pragmatic, mainstream” Conservative party, my plan was to write a column indicating it wasn’t good enough. Words are just words. He’d have to do more than that. He should start by dumping Derek Sloan, […]
Dec 21 2020 — Kelly McParland — National Post — Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole has a number of natural advantages as he works to win hearts and votes among Canadians who still know little about him. Unlike Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, he is a bona fide middle-class Canadian, raised in the small town of Bowmanville an hour east of Toronto, not far from Oshawa where […]
Oct 13 2020 — Kelly McParland — Postmedia — Something significant didn’t happen last week in Ottawa. It was right there for everyone to see, the thing that didn’t happen. It involved Erin O’Toole, the new Conservative leader. After his victory in the leadership race, it was almost universally agreed by those in the know that O’Toole would face a tricky task as he […]
Aug 24 2020 — Kelly McParland — CBC — One thing the new leader of Canada’s official opposition will never have to worry about is the danger of being hacked by Russian evil-doers. A party that ends eight months of protracted leader-choosing by feeding mailed-in envelopes into letter-opening machines, removing the torn remnants and taping them together by hand needn’t be concerned with cyber-thieves […]
Aug 18 2020 — Kelly McParland — National Post — In recent weeks, bad things began appearing in print about Bill Morneau. Canada’s finance minister had somehow missed a bill for $41,000 for trips hosted by the WE charity, and had neglected to mention the fact until appearing before a Commons committee looking into WE and its ties to the government. He had also failed […]
Feb 3 2020 — Kelly McParland — National Post — If you were making a movie out of the Conservative leadership race, it would be something like the scene from the classic Marlon Brando film On the Waterfront, in which Terry Malloy, the boxer ordered to throw a fight, complains to his mobster brother, “I coulda’ been a contender. I could’ve been somebody.” The Tories […]
Jan 21 2020 — Kelly McParland — National Post — Just in case no one has made it clear to her yet, which seems unlikely, there are compelling reasons Rona Ambrose should quit stalling and seek the leadership of the Conservative party. She has been under pressure for some time, and is obviously torn, given that she hasn’t rejected the idea yet, even if it […]
Jan 13 2020 — Kelly McParland — National Post — Canada, the country that wants so desperately to be liked, once again finds itself caught in a situation over which it has limited control. Justin Trudeau may have the moral high ground in demanding “answers, closure, transparency, accountability and justice” from Iran in the downing of Flight 752, but that’s about the limit of his […]
Nov 28 2019 — Kelly McParland — National Post — Before we get into Andrew Scheer and his future with the Conservative party, let’s just remember one thing: this guy saved Conservatives from choosing Maxime Bernier as their leader. Scheer became leader in 2017 with 50.95 per cent of the vote, compared with Bernier’s 49.05 per cent. It was a close-run thing. Yet in October’s […]
Nov 14 2019 — Kelly McParland — National Post — So far, the net outcome of Justin Trudeau’s meetings with the leaders of opposition parties has been some awkward-looking photo ops of the prime minister gripping hands with disappointed-looking opponents. It’s not clear whether the disconsolate expressions are a holdover from the election results, or the result of meetings that appear to have produced little. […]
Oct 28 2019 — Kelly McParland — National Post — Lisa Raitt thinks Andrew Scheer should get a second chance at defeating Justin Trudeau, which is a nice thing for her to say but perhaps not the best path to victory for a party that notably underperformed in its recent attempt to oust the Liberals. As a non-insider with no affiliation to the apparently endless […]