Jan 23 2019 — Michael Harris — The Tyee — What a difference four years and a villain-free political landscape can make. With Election 2019 looming, the Shiny Pony is dappled with a little mud; the Cons still haven’t found the batteries for their Andrew Scheer doll; and Jagmeet Singh, though doggedly rumbling down the runway, shows no signs of liftoff.
Nov 8 2018 — Michael Harris — iPolitics — Though he may not know it, Tony Clement is roadkill on the information highway. This high-ranking, veteran Conservative politician is making the same mistake that Democratic U.S. Congressman Anthony Weiner made: deluding himself into thinking that he doesn’t need to resign from public office after getting caught sexting. He does. It took Weiner a full […]
Oct 29 2018 — Michael Harris — iPolitics — Can Andrew Scheer be serious? Does the Conservative leader really think that the way to energize his base is to attack and demonize the media? Does he think ‘Andrew Trump’ will sell in Canada? Last week the Toronto Star reported that Conservatives are set to go ‘for the jugular’ in the 2019 election. Nothing wrong […]
Oct 5 2018 — Michael Harris — iPolitics — Justin Trudeau, beware. In the wake of Quebec’s second “Quiet Revolution,” all bets are off for the next federal election in Canada. The landslide victory of the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) is a boulder that sends ripples into the furthest reaches of Canada’s political pond. Which is to say, the ascension of Premier François Legault […]
Aug 19 2018 — Michael Harris — iPolitics — Never mind all that scuttlebutt about snap elections. It could happen I suppose, but it would be easier for Justin Trudeau to simply jump off the Peace Tower. More relevant speculation? What will Parliament look like when the next electoral hurly-burly is done? And what might that tell us? Trudeau became prime minister in a […]
Aug 9 2018 — Michael Harris — iPolitics — Kim Don Trump seems to be at it again. No, I don’t mean the president’s attempt to dictate the terms of his interview with Special Counsel Robert Mueller. When you are a suspect in a criminal investigation, you don’t normally get to tell the investigators the questions you will answer. Nor do truthful people worry […]
Jun 28 2018 — Michael Harris — iPolitics — So Stephen Harper, the finger-wagging savant of do-as-you’re-told politics, is back representing Canada on the world stage. Yes, the guy who thinks trickle-down Reaganomics is the way to go and rat lines to report “barbaric” practices are an awesome idea, is living large in the media again. Like a lot of former somebodies, Harper has […]
Jun 24 2018 — Michael Harris — iPolitics — By now, Justin Trudeau must have figured out how the Conservatives plan to come after him in 2019. By hook or by crook, but mostly crook. Their goal? To portray the PM as a trust-fund aristocrat who hasn’t got the foggiest idea of how ordinary people live. Not a man of the people, but of […]
Jun 22 2018 — Michael Harris — iPolitics — For Justin Trudeau, spotty record and all, Donald Trump could be the improbable ticket to re-election. The question is, does Trudeau understand why the Trump card is so important? The domestic political situation facing Trudeau and his Liberal government is increasingly gloomy. Whether he knows it or not, the disappointment amongst the coalition that gave […]
Jan 7 2018 — Michael Harris — iPolitics — Sometimes, being a little bit crazy is what separates the great leaders from the rest. But what happens when someone is a little more than just a little nuts? It has probably been a while since you gave much thought to William Lyon Mackenzie King’s mental stability — or anything else about Canada’s longest-serving prime […]
Jan 5 2018 — Michael Harris — iPolitics — I want to begin my first column of 2018 with a tip of the hat to the only septuagenarian I know who makes his living prancing around in Spandex. You were right, Sir Mick: You can’t always get what you want. That said, here’s what I would like to see happen in the new year […]
Dec 24 2017 — Michael Harris — iPolitics — Sick of all those treacly columns tailored to the cotton-candy emotions of the season? Feel like you’re trapped in a world of elevator music and the off-gassing of baubles made in China? Here, for your pleasure, are some Christmas catcalls from the nearly-empty bleachers of 2017 politics. Let’s start with Justin Trudeau, who now owns […]
Nov 30 2017 — Michael Harris — iPolitics — On the issue of sexual harassment, Canada’s prime minister has been in the vanguard when it comes to protecting women. Long before anyone had connected (publicly, at any rate) the late Roger Ailes, Bill O’Reilly, Harvey Weinstein, Al Franken, Mark Halperin or Matt Lauer with harassing women, Justin Trudeau decided to believe women and take […]
Nov 26 2017 — Michael Harris — iPolitics — For those Americans who have enjoyed their Thanksgiving turkey and college football, but just can’t digest Donald Trump, a message of hope from the Great White North: his days are numbered. I say that because we have seen the same movie in Canada. For nearly 10 years, we had a leader who was neo-conservative, populist […]
Nov 24 2017 — Michael Harris — iPolitics — The only thing that took the Liberals from third-party status to majority government was Justin Trudeau. The only thing that will ever take the federal NDP from third-party status to something better is Jagmeet Singh. That’s the theory, at least. But Singh’s bid to become the real progressive on the block faces a lot of […]