Feb 15 2023 — Philippe J. Fournier — Politico — Remember Wexit? The movement from Western Canada — well, mostly Alberta and Saskatchewan — was primed to fight Ottawa on everything from pipelines to provincial autonomy, backed by threats it would exit Confederation in the wake of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s reelection in 2019.
Jan 25 2023 — Philippe J. Fournier — Politico — It’s rare for a provincial election to grab national attention, but Canadians should be dialed in for the battle of Alberta. On May 29, if not earlier, Premier Danielle Smith and her incumbent United Conservative Party will face off against former premier Rachel Notley and the Alberta New Democratic Party.
Aug 26 2022 — Philippe J. Fournier — The Conservative Party of Canada has hundreds of thousands of new card-carrying members. And early next month, it will boast a new leader. All it needs now is momentum. Consider these less-than-stellar recent polls: A Léger survey earlier this month had the Liberals with 33 percent nationally, while the Conservatives took second with 28 percent.
Aug 10 2022 — Philippe J. Fournier — Politico — Premier François Legault and his Coalition Avenir Québec are certain to win the next provincial election. Less clear is what the race will do to his competitors. By every empirical indicator — voting intentions, government approval, party financing, favorability ratings — Legault and the CAQ will win a second straight majority in Quebec on Oct. […]
Aug 2 2022 — Philippe J. Fournier — Politico — Is the Conservative leadership race tightening? Short answer: Yes. Long answer: Yes, but it may already be too late for Jean Charest. New data on the Conservative Party of Canada leadership contest was unveiled last week. While Carleton MP Pierre Poilievre remains the unquestioned favorite, former federal Progressive Conservative leader and Quebec Premier Charest has […]
Jul 11 2022 — Philippe J. Fournier — Politico — On Canada Day, Shirley Dorismond handed out mini Canadian flags in her Quebec riding, an activity that earned the newly elected Coalition Avenir Québec politician much scoffing from some pro-independence supporters. Days later, newly nominated CAQ candidate Pascale Déry was called to account for her past as a candidate for Stephen Harper’s Conservatives in the […]
Jun 17 2022 — Philippe J. Fournier — Politico — Is Quebec Premier François Legault secretly planning a referendum on independence, as some media commentators have been hinting? Fresh numbers suggest he should not. Why? First, he would lose. Second, his coalition party — which has governed Quebec since 2018 — would probably implode. The arrival of Bernard Drainville (former PQ cabinet minister) and Caroline […]
Jun 13 2022 — Philippe J. Fournier — Politico — A lesson from Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s landslide for the federal party. Where you stand on child raising offers clues to where you sit in the swirl of Canadian politics. Consider these questions: When raising children, which do you think is more important to emphasize: Strength or wisdom? Morality or reason and evidence? Creativity or […]
Jun 1 2022 — Philippe J. Fournier — Politico — With a day to go, the 2022 Ontario campaign appears poised to end where it started. Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative Party entered its reelection campaign with a sizable lead against vulnerable opponents, and although some individual polls did suggest some tightening in mid-May, polling during the past month never really steered away from preelection trends.
May 25 2022 — Philippe J. Fournier — Politico — Doug Ford is heading toward a second majority at Queen’s Park — not that anyone is paying attention. In the unlikely scenario all the polls released in Ontario ahead of its June 2 election turn out to be wrong, or if tens of thousands of voters do indeed vote strategically to deny the premier his […]
May 11 2022 — Philippe J. Fournier — Politico — Canada’s Conservatives often boast about the size of their tent, though its capacity is being tested by wildly differing viewpoints on the Freedom Convoy protest. Questions about the trucker convoy took center stage last week when five of six leadership candidates met to debate in Ottawa — not far from where hundreds of trucks and […]
May 5 2022 — Philippe J. Fournier — Politico — When non-conservative politicians bring up abortion on Parliament Hill, critics are quick to accuse them of using scare tactics, fear mongering and political opportunism. There has been no avoiding the issue since the leak of a U.S. Supreme Court draft opinion on overturning Roe v. Wade. The blockbuster news from the U.S. is stirring the […]
Mar 27 2022 — Philippe J. Fournier — Maclean's — The June 2 Ontario general election is fast approaching (only 67 days, but who’s counting). Opinion polls over the past months have shown little movement in voting intentions, meaning Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative Party remains, at this point in time, the favourite to win the most seats. And while the Ontario Liberal Party and Ontario […]
Feb 14 2022 — Philippe J. Fournier — Maclean's — The Conservative Party of Canada is (once again) entering a leadership race after Erin O’Toole was precipitously expelled by his own caucus last week. The favourite candidate at the starting line of this race is Carleton MP Pierre Poilievre. According to the latest Leger poll released on Tuesday, Poilievre is by far the preferred candidate […]
Jan 30 2022 — Philippe J. Fournier — Maclean's — The Conservative leader’s latest personal popularity numbers are bleak, inside and outside his party. Erin O’Toole has been leader of the Conservative Party for close to 18 months now, and during his leadership the only time his favourability numbers showed any sign of improvement was the two-week span between the Prime Minister calling an election […]