While National Newswatch does not keep an archive of external articles for longer than 6 months, we do keep all articles written by contributors who post directly to our site. Here you will find all of the contributed and linked external articles from Lori Turnbull.
Today was the day when Donald Trump issued the inevitable pronouncement that he’d prefer not to renew the Canada-US-Mexico (CUSMA) agreement at all. While only time will tell how much of that statement was posturing, it raises the question of how Team Canada will approach this new phase in the evolution of the deal. This time last year, many observers...
Prime Minister Mark Carney is riding a political high. He’s more popular now than he was when Canadians went to the polls one year ago, with polling firms showing record-setting approval ratings for the Liberal leader and the government in general. But roughly 10 years ago, similar things were said about Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his government at their...
Of all the floor-crossers who’ve inched Prime Minister Mark Carney closer to a majority in the past six months, Marilyn Gladu won the award Wednesday for generating the most spit-takes. Just in time to attend the Liberal Party National Convention in Montreal this weekend, Gladu — a very Conservative member of Parliament since 2015 — announced that she had defected...
There are three federal by-elections currently underway for voting on April 13; in the ridings of University-Rosedale, Scarborough Southwest, and Terrebonne. If at least two of these go Liberal, which is almost guaranteed, Prime Minister Mark Carney will have successfully performed the political equivalent of the miracle of the loaves and fishes: he’ll have created a majority government out of...
In the final week of the U.S. presidential campaign in 1980, during his only debate with President Jimmy Carter, Republican candidate Ronald Reagan said two things that made history. The first won him the debate, and the second likely won him the election. Reagan had been trailing Carter in the days leading up to the League of Women Voters debate...
At the World Economic Forum in Davos on Tuesday, Prime Minister Mark Carney gave an address that will go down in history as one of the most important and impactful ever delivered by a Canadian leader to the world. At Quebec City’s historic Citadelle on Thursday, he followed it up with a speech to Canadians which, for both its timing...
Prime Minister Mark Carney is on the verge of recruiting his way to the majority government that evaded him back in April. Now that both Chris d’Entremont and Michael Ma have crossed the floor to join the Liberal caucus, all Prime Minister Carney needs is for one more MP to do the same. And if statements Monday by Energy Minister...
In a Budget-Day twist, the member of Parliament for Acadie-Annapolis in Nova Scotia, Chris d’Entremont, announced his decision to leave the Conservative caucus and cross the floor of the House of Commons to join the Liberal government. In the world of zero-sum politics, this was obviously a big win for Prime Minister Mark Carney and the Liberals — on Budget...
The bottom line is that, even in the current moment of significant disruption and uncertainty in the world and in Canada’s relationship with the United States, our political parties are still not seeking opportunities to work together for the sake of the public. As Budget Day looms, there is already speculation about whether the government will survive the vote. In...
The provincial election campaign in Newfoundland and Labrador did not seem seized with a “throw the rascals out” vibe but, in the end, it was a change election. Premier-designate Tony Wakeham and the Progressive Conservatives will form a majority government with 21 seats in the 40-member legislature, having won the popular vote by less than one point – 44.3 per...
In a recent interview on CTV’s Question Period, host Vassy Kapelos talked with Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre about his upcoming leadership review, scheduled for the end of January in Calgary. Kapelos asked Poilievre whether he had a “magic number” in mind in terms of a threshold of support that must be attained for him to continue as leader. He replied...
After a career that was launched from the influence incubator of Oxford and has spanned global-Goldman Sachs, two G7 central banks and the United Nations climate brain trust, Prime Minister Mark Carney has friends in high places. Carney’s work in the public sector might give the impression that he’s a “process guy,” but Carney governs through relationships, not process. As...
As Labour Day looms, the imminent return of the House of Commons on September 15th means Canadians will see a new political dynamic: the question period face-off between Prime Minister Mark Carney and a Pierre Poilievre fighting for his political life. That Poilievre is a polarizing figure is not news. The 46-year-old career politician made his reputation as a slash-and-burn...
For the second time this year, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s name will appear on one of the longest electoral ballots in Canadian history. Poilievre — and nearly 200 other people — are candidates in a byelection in Battle River-Crowfoot following the resignation of Conservative MP Damien Kurek to make way for Poilievre’s return to the House of Commons after his...
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has been in political purgatory since the Conservatives’ loss in the April election, worsened by his own loss in the Ottawa riding of Carleton. Instead of grilling Prime Minister Mark Carney in question period — his longstanding battleground of choice — Poilievre has been making calls to Conservatives around the country, both to gather their thoughts...
Canada’s federal system is a political obstacle course for any prime minister. It is filled with many checkpoints, including 13 provinces and territories, hundreds of First Nations governments, and thousands of municipalities (not to mention the court system). The achievement of functional political harmony that opens the door to meaningful progress and productive collaboration has eluded many a prime minister...
During Prime Minister Mark Carney’s highly anticipated meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House on May 6th, Canadians were on high alert for telling signs of how the meeting was going. Would Trump make disparaging references to Canada as the 51st state? Might we see any sign of relief from the tariffs? What is the power dynamic between...
One of the most impactful results of Election 2025 is that Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre lost his Ottawa-area riding of Carleton. He is still the leader of the party and many Conservatives, both within and outside the party caucus, have publicly indicated their support for his continuation in that role. But some are acknowledging that something needs to change. In...
All in all, both Mark Carney and Pierre Poilievre promise fiscal restraint, but they have very expensive priorities and are planning to run deficits. Time will tell whether how much of a 'change' the next prime minister is from the last one.
Whatever happens in Monday’s federal election, Canada will have a very different political party system when it is over. The Liberal Party has been Justin Trudeau’s party for over ten years; what Mark Carney will make of it, win or lose, is not yet clear. The smaller parties have been struggling to be heard this entire campaign and might end...
Canada’s federal political party leaders took to a Montreal stage on April 16th and 17th to contrast their views, in French and English, on the core issues defining this campaign ahead of the April 28th election. Unfortunately, the exchanges between the candidates had to compete for attention with the drama surrounding the Leaders’ Debate Commission and its (mis)handling of the...
Liberal leader Mark Carney has undone the sizable lead that Pierre Poilievre and the Conservatives held in the polls while Justin Trudeau was the still the prime minister. Carney has done this by responding to voters’ primary concerns and offering a suite of policies that have broad appeal. If voters give him what he asks for — a “strong, positive...
Ever since Donald Trump began threatening to impose tariffs on Canadian goods not long after his election victory in November, Canadians have been speculating about his motivations. Does his claim that “tariff” is his favourite word signify an irrational obsession that relates to tariffs in a vacuum of political and economic consequence? Does he really want to use “economic force”...
Since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on January 6th that he intends to resign, popular support has been moving from the Conservatives to the Liberals. The Conservatives used to be more than 20 points ahead of the Liberals, but Nik Nanos is reporting that the Conservatives are now at 38% in popular support compared to 30% for the Liberals. Mainstreet...
The Liberal Party has announced that close to 400,000 people have signed up as registered Liberals eligible to vote for the party’s next leader. To put this in context, the Liberals say there were roughly 100,000 registered Liberals when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his intent to resign on January 6th. When the Conservatives held their leadership race in 2022...
As Canada braces itself for the possibility of 25% tariffs on all Canadian products going into the United States, we are in the midst of a search for Captain Canada: someone with the authority, charisma, and communication skills to bring provinces and industries together in common defence against a dire external threat. Canada’s economic health and national unity in the...
After an epically cold political December highlighted by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s resignation from cabinet over her planned replacement by former bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s holiday season has been equally chilly. In the absence of a secret-ballot caucus vote on Trudeau’s leadership that the 20-odd MPs openly asking for him...
Though the events of Chrystia Freeland’s resignation were unprecedented in modern Canadian politics, there is a sense of déjà vu to the whole affair. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tells Freeland, then minister of finance and deputy prime minister, he no longer wants her to continue in her current job but he’ll give her another one. She mulls it over, decides...
As the holidays loom and MPs prepare to explain themselves to their friends, families, and constituents back home, there will no doubt be an abundance of yuletide blame deflecting. The fall sitting of the House of Commons has not been a tribute to the health of our democracy, and the fact that there’s enough blame to go around gives everyone...
Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston won big this week. His Progressive Conservatives won 43 of the provincial legislature’s 55 seats. The decisive win is obviously the big story. Here are four compelling and important narratives that risk getting lost in the shuffle. Nova Scotia’s three-party system is over, at least for now. Historically, the Liberals and the Progressive Conservatives took...
With the usual disclaimer that a lot can happen in a week, Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston and the Progressive Conservatives are set to win next Tuesday’s provincial election. If the polls are right, they will form an even bigger majority government than they did following the 2021 election. Houston seems on track to escape the punishment that a number...
The byelection for Cloverdale-Langley City, a riding in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, has been called for December 16th. This is the fourth byelection this year and could be the fourth one the Liberals lose. But – and this might be a counterintuitive thing to say about any election – winning is not the only thing that matters. This...
We are in the middle of election season. British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and New Brunswick have all had provincial elections in the past month and Nova Scotia is currently in campaign mode. Doug Ford is rumoured to be eyeing an early election in the spring of 2025, at least a full year before the scheduled fixed date of June 2026. Justin...
As the Liberal Party processes the potential impact of last week’s caucus revolt against a deadline imposed by the rebels issued to a prime minister who has already answered that ultimatum in the negative, it may be useful to keep in mind what the options are, and are not, for next steps. There are four ways for political parties to...
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is in an abysmal political situation, and the hits keep on coming. Before the House of Commons returned for the fall sitting, the New Democrats terminated the supply and confidence agreement that had inoculated the minority Liberal government since March of 2022. Successive public opinion polls predict Trudeau’s demise in the next election, set for October...
In all likelihood, barring some spectacular shift in our national political narrative, the Conservatives will win the next federal election. What is less certain is who will come second. The Liberals, the New Democrats, and the Bloc Quebecois could all be in this position and, for any of them — based on today’s indicators — it would be a victory...
Justin Trudeau is brimming with confidence. Nothing seems to get him down – not byelection losses, not dismal polling numbers, not the end of the supply and confidence agreement with the New Democrats, and not the departures of key ministers and staff. The Prime Minister insists on leading the Liberal Party into the next election despite the growing sense that...
For months, Canadian public opinion polls have shown such a daunting lead for the Conservatives that a majority government for Pierre Poilievre looks increasingly like a foregone conclusion. As Parliament returns for the fall sitting, Abacus Data‘s September 15th polling (conducted from September 5 to 12) puts the Conservatives a solid 21 points ahead of the Liberal Party with 43%...
Back in 2002, when he was leader of the Official Opposition, Stephen Harper decided to make himself persona non grata in Atlantic Canada. “There is a dependence in the region that breeds a culture of defeatism,” he infamously declared. Atlantic Canada has long been known as a reliable bastion of support for the Liberal Party, which could be one reason...
The supply and confidence agreement that tethered the Liberal government to the New Democrats has now been terminated. It was never necessary to begin with. From a purely political perspective, it has likely done more harm than good – especially to the NDP. By signing an agreement to prop up the Liberals for the past two and a half years...
In an era of celebrity politics, in which brand is everything, a lot hinges on the personalities of political party leaders and their capacity to connect with them on the issues that matter most. These are things that cannot be achieved merely by policy competence, fiscal literacy, or popularity among partisan colleagues. To be a political game changer, a leader...