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 […]
Oct 16 2019 — Kelly McParland — National Post — If Vladimir Putin were on speaking terms with Chrystia Freeland, the Russian president might be on the phone to Ottawa now, requesting a clarification. For the past three years, Putin has been the object of regular denunciation for alleged attempts to influence the results of the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign. Special Counsel Robert Mueller dug […]
Oct 14 2019 — Kelly McParland — National Post — The Great Almighty — whatever name you might wish to give him or her — obviously likes a joke. With less than a week to go before election day, Canadian voters appear to be the butt of one. The punchline is “coalition government.” Har har har. Get it? One of the bigger promises Liberal Leader […]
Aug 12 2019 — Kelly McParland — National Post — Populism is getting a bad rap in Canada, unjustifiably so. According to my unaffiliated and wholly non-partisan online dictionary, populism is defined as “a political approach that strives to appeal to ordinary people who feel that their concerns are disregarded by established elite groups.” That’s pretty much the whole world, outside a few billionaires, right? […]
Jul 29 2019 — Kelly McParland — National Post — Somewhere in a special nook at his official residence — not the crumbling, toxic mess at 24 Sussex, but the “cottage” across the street — Justin Trudeau should have a little table set aside with flickering candles, burning incense, and a photo of Doug Ford. Passing the little shrine each morning, girding for another day […]
Apr 4 2019 — Kelly McParland — National Post — Andrew Scheer is probably aware that the Liberal party has handed him a gift: it’s the next election, all wrapped up in bright, shiny paper, with ribbon around it and a bow on top. It’s not his yet. The gift is there, alluring in its availability, sitting on a pedestal waiting to be claimed. He […]
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 […]