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.
Aug 6 2019 — Michael Harris — The Tyee — “If an election is worth winning, then there is someone willing to steal it.” — Mike Roman, Republican National Committee, and treasurer of the International Democratic Union. “Hi, it’s Sarah from the Conservative Party. Can the Conservative Party count on your support in the next federal election? Reply: Yes No” This text, sent on July […]
Jul 13 2019 — Michael Harris — The Tyee — The Green Party of Canada has hired some muscle for the looming federal election campaign, and it comes in the person of Warren Kinsella. Kinsella was the general in the Liberal war room who took off the heads of the Conservatives in 1993 when they mocked Jean Chretien’s facial paralysis in a political attack ad.
Apr 9 2019 — Michael Harris — The Tyee — Justin Trudeau has hit the panic button. Unicorn sightings during Question Period are down to zero. After weeks of being drubbed by the opposition over LavScam, the prime minister is now threatening a lawsuit against Andrew Scheer, his chief detractor in this misbegotten affair. What’s next? Suing Andrew Coyne?
Apr 2 2019 — Michael Harris — The Tyee — They got Jody Wilson-Raybould, and Jane Philpott too, but this is just the beginning. You know you are in trouble in politics when your damage control is more damaging than what made it necessary. That is where Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Liberals find themselves today, as LavScam passed through its last, masochistic agony […]
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 […]