Michael Harris

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 Michael Harris.

In the last days of his lame-duck presidency, Joe Biden has become Trumpian

In the last days of his lame-duck presidency, Joe Biden has become Trumpian

Joe Biden pardoned two turkeys in advance of Thanksgiving: good for “Peach” and “Blossom.” The president went from pardoning turkeys...

Trudeau stands up for the rule of law on Netanyahu

Trudeau stands up for the rule of law on Netanyahu

Justin Trudeau hasn’t been getting much praise lately, but he deserves more than a little for doing something few politicians...

Trudeau’s reset options dwindle as government puts itself above Parliament

Trudeau’s reset options dwindle as government puts itself above Parliament

As Canada’s parliamentary system sputters into dysfunction, Justin Trudeau’s ability to hit the reset button for his unpopular government has...

Nightmare on Pennsylvania Avenue

Nightmare on Pennsylvania Avenue

And so, two months before the White House officially changes hands, the nightmare on Pennsylvania Avenue begins. If anyone thought...

No process replaces due process in the United States

No process replaces due process in the United States

It didn’t take long for the unsettling reality of a second term for Donald Trump to show up. As everyone...

U.S. presidential election may reveal if the clock strikes 13

U.S. presidential election may reveal if the clock strikes 13

Tomorrow’s American presidential election may reveal if the clock strikes 13, the way it does in the opening line of...

Gang of 24 comes up a dollar short and a day late

Gang of 24 comes up a dollar short and a day late

The cardinal rule of politics and governance is presenting a united front to the public. Rubbing their noses in the...

Trump is off his rocker, and GOP politics is off the rails

Trump is off his rocker, and GOP politics is off the rails

No sense mincing words. For the last year, and with each passing day, it is getting clearer that Donald Trump...

All signs point to a stampede towards Pierre Poilievre

All signs point to a stampede towards Pierre Poilievre

Justin Trudeau is a coach in danger of losing control of the locker room. After losing one Liberal stronghold in...

Trudeau’s motto seems to be ‘more of the same’ after retreat

Trudeau’s motto seems to be ‘more of the same’ after retreat

For a party trailing by a country kilometre in the polls for over a year, the recent Liberal cabinet retreat...

Optimism and honesty are back on the menu

Optimism and honesty are back on the menu

Watching the Democratic convention in Chicago, some numbers came to mind that are telling. The United States has been a...

New phase of Russia-Ukraine war amounts to a big gamble

New phase of Russia-Ukraine war amounts to a big gamble

It is easy to see why Volodymyr Zelenskyy has become an international political superstar. When Russia invaded his country, observers...

Either way, Americans will make electoral history

Either way, Americans will make electoral history

No matter what happens three months from now, Americans will make electoral history. Either the country will elect a Black...

World is holding its breath over events unfolding in the Middle East

World is holding its breath over events unfolding in the Middle East

Once again, the world is holding its breath over events unfolding in the Middle East. With the assassination of the...

Buckle up, U.S. politics is on one wild ride before Americans choose their next president

Buckle up, U.S. politics is on one wild ride before Americans choose their next president

There was a ride at the Canadian National Exhibition that made the roller coaster feel like an outing in a...

Fear ringed by anger defines the new GOP

Fear ringed by anger defines the new GOP

Politics has always had its share of self-interested fakers masquerading as public servants. But never before has a band of...

The Liberals should resolve their leadership issues now, before it’s too late

The Liberals should resolve their leadership issues now, before it’s too late

If the Liberal Party and the Prime Minister’s Office aren’t watching the political train-wreck playing out south of the border...

Call it the revenge of Tricky Dick

Call it the revenge of Tricky Dick

Former U.S. president Richard Nixon once said, 'Well, if the president does it, that means that it is not illegal.'...

Federal politics has entered a ‘none-of-the-above’ phase

Federal politics has entered a ‘none-of-the-above’ phase

Federal politics has entered a “none-of-the-above” phase. And that means that predicting how people will vote a year from now...

NSICOP report more than a Pandora’s box of bad news for Canadian democracy

NSICOP report more than a Pandora’s box of bad news for Canadian democracy

The more secretive a society gets, the less democratic it becomes. As The Washington Post’s motto puts it, “Democracy dies...

Trump’s vulgarity fast becoming signature across so much of our politics

Trump’s vulgarity fast becoming signature across so much of our politics

How did gross incivility take over so much of the public square in both Canada and the United States? There...

Stormy Daniels could be American democracy’s only hope

Stormy Daniels could be American democracy’s only hope

Can an adult-film actress save the republic from King Donald? Given what is happening in the U.S. justice system these...

Pam Damoff’s departure a canary in the coal mine on polarization

Pam Damoff’s departure a canary in the coal mine on polarization

It wasn’t the biggest story coming out of Ottawa last week, but make no mistake about it, Pam Damoff’s decision...

Beware of the ‘everything-is-broken’ crowd

Beware of the ‘everything-is-broken’ crowd

There is a limit to how far Conservative politicians can carry the demonization of Justin Trudeau. Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe...

Who can stop Benjamin Netanyahu?

Who can stop Benjamin Netanyahu?

The staggering death toll of Israel’s war of rage and vengeance demands an answer before the region is knee-deep in...

God save us all: Trump’s selling Bibles now

God save us all: Trump’s selling Bibles now

Even the most pumped-for-Trump MAGA-fool must have had a queasy moment when they saw the king of grifters on TV...

Being real is still most powerful attribute for politicians, especially today

Being real is still most powerful attribute for politicians, especially today

On the face of it, altering a photograph—even if you are a princess—is small potatoes. With two major wars raging...

Tackling humanitarian disaster takes guts, not words

Tackling humanitarian disaster takes guts, not words

Political leaders who can no longer hear the people are usually on their way to defeat. That is one of...

One Man’s March to Beat Poilievre in His Own Riding

One Man’s March to Beat Poilievre in His Own Riding

If anyone in Canada needs to fasten ice cleats to his boots, it’s Bruce Fanjoy. No matter how cold the...

There’s no guarantee that what happens in America, stays in America

There’s no guarantee that what happens in America, stays in America

Living next to Russia requires watching very closely what happens in that country. As Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has found...

Changing leaders will not save the Liberals

Changing leaders will not save the Liberals

Ask not for whom the polls toll, they toll for thee. That is the message Canadians are giving these days...

Obvious loser in ArriveCan scandal is Trudeau government

Obvious loser in ArriveCan scandal is Trudeau government

Apart from the Canadian public, the obvious loser in the ArriveCan scandal is the Trudeau government. After all, it takes...

U.S. Republicans, Canadian federal Conservatives give Zelenskyy the shaft, and that’s a crying shame

U.S. Republicans, Canadian federal Conservatives give Zelenskyy the shaft, and that’s a crying shame

To the utter disgrace of what is left of the United States’ international reputation, another “ally” is getting the shaft...

‘Authenticity’ must be Trudeau’s word of the year

‘Authenticity’ must be Trudeau’s word of the year

Could a good dictionary help Justin Trudeau refurbish his tarnished image? I think it could. Allow me to explain. Since...

Who would be the best Canadian leader to ‘manage’ a Trump presidency?

Who would be the best Canadian leader to ‘manage’ a Trump presidency?

I am the first to admit that the transformation of American politics into a lost episode of The Three Stooges...

Trudeau should proactively release all details he submitted to ethics commissioner prior to Jamaica trip’s approval

Trudeau should proactively release all details he submitted to ethics commissioner prior to Jamaica trip’s approval

Politics used to be a contest of ideas between parties with different visions of the country. At election time, that...

Why Poilievre doesn’t deserve the 17 per cent lead in the polls

Why Poilievre doesn’t deserve the 17 per cent lead in the polls

“All things are subject to decay and when fate summons, monarchs must obey.”—John Dryden, 17th century Augustan poet. Is it...

Biden should stop financing an unconscionable war

Biden should stop financing an unconscionable war

Events unfolding in the Middle East are showing just how right Canada was to call for a ceasefire in the...

Canadians on cusp of most consequential election in our history

Canadians on cusp of most consequential election in our history

Canadians are on the cusp of the most consequential election in our history. The heart and soul of the country...

Anger, apathy, and despair drive democracy to the brink

Anger, apathy, and despair drive democracy to the brink

Is democracy becoming a form of hope in which people no longer believe? A hint of that has surfaced in...

Poilievre continues to place Trudeau on Canada’s ‘most unwanted’ list and his strategy appears to be working

Poilievre continues to place Trudeau on Canada’s ‘most unwanted’ list and his strategy appears to be working

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre continues to place Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Canada’s “most unwanted” list. Poilievre’s usual modus operandi...

Poilievre’s cheap shot at CP journalist has not gone unnoticed

Poilievre’s cheap shot at CP journalist has not gone unnoticed

So the man who wants to be prime minister had his Pinocchio moment in front of the cameras last week...

On Trudeau’s future, Conservatives should be careful what they wish for

On Trudeau’s future, Conservatives should be careful what they wish for

No matter what nonsense goes in Question Period—that orgy of bragging, slagging, and attempted sand-bagging that tries to pass for...

Circles of sorrow emerge from the grim arithmetic of war

Circles of sorrow emerge from the grim arithmetic of war

While Prime Minister Justin Trudeau grapples with the public request from 23 of his own MPs to advocate for a...

The negotiating table, not the battlefield, is where the bleeding stops and peace begins

The negotiating table, not the battlefield, is where the bleeding stops and peace begins

When it comes to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, few have more expertise than Thomas L. Friedman. The New York Times opinion...

Trudeau’s dreaming if he thinks he can get New Delhi to co-operate in Nijjar investigation

Trudeau’s dreaming if he thinks he can get New Delhi to co-operate in Nijjar investigation

I am one of those people hoping that justice will be done in the June assassination of Sikh activist and...