Mar 18 2019 — Kelly McParland — National Post — Deep down inside, hidden in a spot where conscience seldom goes, even resolute Liberals must feel a tinge of embarrassment at how far and fast the Trudeau government has slid from the ideals that got it elected. If the latest strategy succeeds — and that’s a big question considering how badly previous attempts have failed […]
Mar 4 2019 — Kelly McParland — National Post — Of all the words written or spoken about the crisis devouring the Trudeau government, perhaps the most enlightening were the foolish remarks offered by Jati Sidhu, a Liberal member from British Columbia. “The way she’s acting, I think she couldn’t handle the stress,” he opined in the wake of Jody Wilson-Raybould’s astonishing testimony. “I think […]
Jan 16 2019 — Kelly McParland — National Post — For a country that likes to boast of its 3,000 years of recorded history, China displays a notably crude and unpolished face in matters of foreign relations. Its behaviour since the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou has been, in turns, boorish, threatening and ill-tempered. Its approach has been to unleash a flood of insults, […]
Dec 12 2018 — Kelly McParland — National Post — I doubt Andrew Scheer is old enough to have much first-hand memory of George H.W. Bush, whose death produced a surprising outpouring of U.S. national emotion. Scheer was born in 1979. By my calculation that takes him half-way through his second year on the planet when Ronald Reagan, with Bush as his running mate, clobbered […]
Oct 15 2018 — Kelly McParland — National Post — If you haven’t been reading the business pages, you might not know that Canadian ingenuity has developed a stunning new business model: producing expensive oil and giving it away cheap. The gap between Canadian and U.S. oil is nudging US$50 a barrel. Alberta gets around US$26 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate is in the […]
Aug 20 2018 — Kelly McParland — National Post — Maxime Bernier is a man with obvious political skills, some good ideas and more public appeal than the average backbench member of parliament, but suffers from a gaping hole where his judgment should be. It’s a problem that’s been evident since he lost his job as foreign affairs minister after leaving secret cabinet documents at […]
Aug 13 2018 — Kelly McParland — National Post — Jagmeet Singh’s days as federal NDP leader have been so ill-starred you almost feel sorry for the guy. That’s not a good thing. Politicians want to look bold, decisive and successful, not confused, unlucky and accident-prone. Singh can’t get a break. The last good thing that happened to him was winning the New Democratic Party […]
Jul 9 2018 — Kelly McParland — National Post — After all the talk, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau turns out to be just another man in a position off power who is surprised to learn his behaviour towards a woman was offensive to her, claims he meant nothing by it, and figures a mealy-mouthed apology is enough to absolve him of blame. And — sadly […]
Jan 25 2018 — Kelly McParland — National Post — As political terminations go, the hit on Patrick Brown was close to perfect. It came at 9:45 p.m. when the Ontario opposition leader told a hastily assembled press conference he’d been made aware that allegations of sexual abuse were about to be made against him. He denied the accusations and vowed to fight them, but […]
Aug 21 2017 — Kelly McParland — National Post — Andrew Scheer really has just one key task as he prepares his party, and himself, for the next election in 2019: he has to provide a positive answer to a single question. When Canadians begin to tire of the Liberals and look around for a viable alternative, they’ll eye the Conservatives and ask themselves, “Could […]
Mar 13 2017 — Kelly McParland — National Post — One of the many great advantages of being a member of the Liberal party is that you can get away with stuff other parties can’t. For example, you can decry the Tories as scheming manipulators — remember the uproar over the nefarious “in and out scandal?” ($10 if you recall what it was about) — […]
Mar 6 2017 — Kelly McParland — National Post — There’s trouble in the headlines for Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne. With her Liberals bumping along a solid third among voters, 20 points behind the little-known Patrick Brown’s Tories, Wynne threw her Hail Mary pass last week after suddenly concluding that power rates were too high. She announced a plan to slash them 17 per cent […]
Feb 19 2017 — Kelly McParland — National Post — At some point pretty soon, some high-ranking, thoughtful Tory – if such a thing is out there – has to step back, survey the Conservative landscape and call a halt to the party’s self-destruction. As in: “Hold on, what are we doing here? This is nuts. Let’s try again, from the beginning. All together now: […]
Jan 27 2017 — Kelly McParland — National Post — Even the darkest of clouds come with a silver lining, or so the saying goes. And just as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been battling a particularly overcast period for his young government, along comes a silvery moment to offer some hope: Sid Ryan may yet decide to run for the leadership of the New […]
Jan 7 2017 — Kelly McParland — National Post — After stumbling through the final weeks of their first year in office, the Liberals are seeking a reset, and will turn to the one tactic they calculate is sure to regain their corner in the hearts of Canadians: a national tour focused on Justin Trudeau. Freshly back from the Bahamas, the prime minister is determined […]