Aug 21 2020 — Michael Harris — The Tyee — In politics, the end sometimes comes with blessed suddenness. It beats the slow death that the opposition normally inflicts on rival public figures under investigation by the ethics commissioner, the ethics and finance committees or the RCMP. Bill Morneau was dead man walking from the moment he testified in front of a parliamentary committee last […]
Jul 30 2020 — Michael Harris — The Tyee — “When you strike at a king, you must kill him.” Measured against the Ralph Waldo Emerson standard, the political opposition shot and missed, even though the prime minister of Canada was a sitting duck at a 90-minute appearance in front of the House of Commons finance committee.
Jun 1 2020 — Michael Harris — Hill Times — Whatever happened to the America that was on its feet and in the street over grand causes like civil rights or the Vietnam War? These days, the pro-democracy protests are happening in other places like Hong Kong. Good on the protesters. After all, China is threatening their most basic freedoms. Still, it requires courage to […]
May 24 2020 — Michael Harris — The Tyee — Email to CPC members floats ‘trial balloon’ while shooting down Scheer. Could this note be the roadmap to Stephen Harper’s return to politics? “Colleagues: “Many of us were relieved in April when the Conservative Party postponed the leadership ballot until later in the summer. “It was a smart strategic move when the extent of the […]
May 16 2020 — Michael Harris — The Tyee — He’s backing O’Toole, sandbagging MacKay, say sources. The hapless remnants of the Harper Party never learn. Trailing the Liberals by 10 points in this week’s political tracking report from pollster Nik Nanos, the Conservative Party of Canada is once again bungling its way through its latest search for a winner at the box office.
May 11 2020 — Michael Harris — Hill Times — Before Justin Trudeau became PM, when Gerald Butts was still riding shotgun for the hottest political penny stock in Canada, when the Liberals had only 33 seats in the House of Commons, and it looked like it would take dynamite to dislodge Stephen Harper from power, I had a private talk with Canada’s future leader. […]
May 4 2020 — Michael Harris — Hill Times — Poor Peter MacKay. Five years ago, he made the strategic decision not to run in the 2015 election. In the business, it is called keeping your powder dry. MacKay knew that prime minister Stephen Harper had worn out his welcome with Canadians, and that the CPC would almost certainly go down to defeat in the […]
Apr 27 2020 — Michael Harris — Hill Times — Once again, the country is tear-drenched—22 murdered in rural Nova Scotia by a single shooter. There is a special lexicon for abominable acts. Sadly, most of us know it by heart these days. Surreal, senseless, horrifying, unthinkable, unspeakable, confounding, and cowardly. Those words have been used to describe atrocities from Columbine and Sandy Hook to […]
Apr 9 2020 — Michael Harris — Hill Times — This is Easter weekend, COVID-19 style, in rural Nova Scotia where I live. The Red Maple Leaf at the fire station is at half mast. A little further down the highway, a snow-white church sits by the side of the road, silent as an ice-berg. A sign on the lawn has a message on both […]
Mar 5 2020 — Michael Harris — The Tyee — Is the curtain coming down on the Justin Trudeau era in Canadian politics? When the next election rolls around, both the Conservative and Green parties will have new leaders. Even NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is newish. No one should be surprised if the Liberal party follows suit. The case for dumping Justin Trudeau before the […]
Feb 10 2020 — Michael Harris — The Tyee — So far, it’s déjà vu for the French bluffing, macho posturing, Harper-whipped throwback. He can’t speak French, he views the media as either a vanity mirror or the enemy, and a rubber boot has more ideas. So why is Peter MacKay the favourite to become the next leader of the Conservative Party of Canada? Chaos. […]
Jan 13 2020 — Michael Harris — The Tyee — For the second time in just over two years, the Conservative Party of Canada is getting a chance to hit the reset button. The first time they opted for the hapless Andrew Scheer. The choice reflected the mistaken notion that you can have change without change. Here’s why they’ll blow it again and jam the […]
Nov 3 2019 — Michael Harris — The Tyee — BC’s Larry Campbell said to be among group, most with Conservative ties, set to make announcement. While the Trudeau government grapples with its lack of MPs from the West, a new caucus led by western senators has formed to amplify the voice of the region in Canada.
Oct 29 2019 — Michael Harris — The Tyee — It is said that April is the cruelest month. If T. S. Eliot has it right, that’s when Andrew Scheer will realize that only the winner gets the real cigar. April 2020 is the date set for the automatic review of Scheer’s leadership. About that time Scheer will learn that if you want loyalty, buy […]
Aug 21 2019 — Michael Harris — The Tyee — Besides broken promises, there are a lot of things that could hurt Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in this October’s federal election. There is the bratty sense of entitlement, the dubious judgement and the furtive backroom dealings with a company charged with fraud and bribery.