Aug 2 2022 — Kelly McParland — National Post — In Great Britain the Conservative party has this quaint ritual it goes through when choosing a leader. In the early days of the contest, contenders are expected to appear together on a stage and engage in debate with one another. Later, when the list of hopefuls has been winnowed down to two, the remaining pair […]
Jul 12 2022 — Kelly McParland — National Post — If Pierre Poilievre wins the Conservative leadership race, which Patrick Brown’s departure seems to make even more likely, Canadians should probably prepare themselves for a stepped-up effort to change their understanding of Canada’s favoured few.
Jul 6 2022 — Kelly McParland — National Post — The enduring image of Patrick Brown’s term as leader of Ontario’s Progressive Conservative party is of a shocked and shaken-looking man fleeing down the halls of the legislature, pursued by a crowd of journalists baying for information.
Jun 14 2022 — Kelly McParland — National Post — This is just a guess, but it’s my sense that Canadians waste very little time pondering the mystic realities of Ontario. It’s got most of the population, much of the money, the biggest share of the voting pool and a blank sheet of a personality. The West has character, British Columbia has a vibe, Quebec […]
Jun 3 2022 — Kelly McParland — National Post — Just before the polls closed Thursday in Ontario, a very excited Conservative spinner assured a somewhat skeptical television reporter that Doug Ford “is not a fiscal conservative in the sense of slashing deficits or slashing spending. He’s never going to be that guy, and I don’t think there’s much appetite for it.”
May 13 2022 — Kelly McParland — National Post — Pierre Poilievre’s performance in the first two Conservative leadership debates is a strong argument against his suitability for the job of prime minister. Whether Conservatives nonetheless decide to put him in charge of the party will say a lot about their credibility as a potential alternative to the Liberal government.
Mar 9 2022 — Kelly McParland — National Post — The Tories don’t necessarily have to choose Charest as leader to win the next election, but they need to attract the sort of people who are happy to see him run. Let’s talk about Jean Charest for a moment.
Jan 31 2022 — Kelly McParland — National Post — It’s a strange and perplexing situation when a political party, faced with an eminently beatable opponent, chooses instead to tear itself apart in a public display of self-destruction. That’s where the federal Conservatives find themselves. That the Liberals are vulnerable is plain to see. They have a leader laden with baggage who’s doing his best […]
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 […]