Dec 4 2018 — Susan Delacourt — Toronto Star — All fingers are pointing at the RCMP for the security lapse in Justin Trudeau’s disastrous trip to India this year. But it’s the “MP” part of the report’s findings that also deserves some closer scrutiny — specifically, whether individual members of Parliament are increasingly the weak links in Canada’s national-security chain.
Nov 29 2018 — Susan Delacourt — Toronto Star — First it was Tony Clement and sexting. Now it’s Raj Grewal and gambling. They are two, sad sagas of Canadian MPs gone rogue this fall — political careers in tatters thanks to some dangerous habits that escaped the notice of bosses and colleagues until it was too late.
Nov 28 2018 — Susan Delacourt — Toronto Star — Canadians who have been looking for a Donald Trump of the north may want to cast their eyes left, not right. Union leader Jerry Dias is unabashedly channelling Trump’s political brand to fight the General Motors shutdown in Oshawa, and urging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to take some pages from the Trump playbook as well.
Nov 25 2018 — Susan Delacourt — Toronto Star — Hamish Marshall, the man who will be heading the Conservative campaign in next year’s federal election, does not have an account on Twitter. This doesn’t mean Marshall is uninterested in what’s going on with social media or its potentially corrosive effects on traditional politics. Actually, it was a big topic of discussion at a panel […]
Nov 21 2018 — Susan Delacourt — Toronto Star — A tale of two economic statements has been told to the citizens of Ontario in the past week. And while neither statement was written by Charles Dickens, they tell the story of the best of times or the worst of times, depending on which one you read. Last week, Doug Ford’s new government in Ontario […]
Nov 15 2018 — Susan Delacourt — Toronto Star — Canadians are worried about a lot of things these days, according to a new survey, but they’re not the things dominating the current political debate. The results of this new Public Square Research poll, made available exclusively to the Star, are a wake-up call to those plotting next year’s federal election campaign. There appears to […]
Nov 12 2018 — Susan Delacourt — Toronto Star — The year is not quite over, but 2018 may well come to be known as the year of buyers’ remorse when it comes to politicians and social media. Justin Trudeau came to power three years ago as arguably the most digitally savvy prime minister Canada has ever seen.
Nov 7 2018 — Susan Delacourt — Toronto Star — Political trouble often arrives in threes. It’s rare, though, for one politician to get in three kinds of trouble all at the same time. Tony Clement, the now-former Conservative, the long-time MP from Parry Sound-Muskoka, has somehow pulled it off. With the revelation this week of Clement’s confessed, sexting adventures with a would-be extortionist, this […]
Nov 6 2018 — Susan Delacourt — Toronto Star — While Americans were rendering their verdict on Donald Trump’s politics on Tuesday, Justin Trudeau was on CNN, talking about the “elephant and moose” relationship between Canada and the United States. Canada is still “massively outweighed” in that metaphor, Trudeau told CNN interviewer Poppy Harlow, but “will stand securely in our own strength and our own […]
Nov 2 2018 — Susan Delacourt — Toronto Star — Over the past few days, Ontario Premier Doug Ford has called for the defeat of the prime minister, while members of Trudeau’s cabinet have called out the Ontario government for peddling false facts and the “politics of cruelty.” Trudeau and Ford must really be looking forward to the first ministers’ conference due to be held […]
Oct 31 2018 — Susan Delacourt — Toronto Star — The prospect of Statistics Canada collecting Canadians’ personal financial data is the latest cause of burning outrage in the daily political drama in Ottawa — with some justification, it should be said. Privacy is a hot-button issue in a digital age. But another large data collection exercise, which has been taking place for years in […]
Oct 24 2018 — Susan Delacourt — Toronto Star — It’s turning into a season of setbacks in the great Canadian fight against income inequality. Just kidding. There actually is no great Canadian fight against income inequality, as recent developments are illustrating. Premier Doug Ford didn’t come to office with any promises to narrow the gap between rich and poor in Ontario, and that’s probably […]
Oct 23 2018 — Susan Delacourt — Toronto Star — Justin Trudeau and Andrew Scheer seem to be agreed on one prediction for the next year in Canadian politics — things are going to get nasty. The prime minister offered that forecast on Toronto radio on Tuesday, cast in the form of battle-hardened wisdom he’d acquired over his past three years in office.
Oct 18 2018 — Susan Delacourt — Toronto Star — There is something undeniably satisfying about blocking a troublesome person on Twitter. One click, and the noise is over. But that simple act, if carried out by a government official, could end up being unconstitutional in Canada if a newly launched court challenge is successful against Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson.
Oct 16 2018 — Susan Delacourt — Toronto Star — Kelly Coulter, the woman who helped change Justin Trudeau’s mind about cannabis legalization, says she is expecting to be “a little bit emotional” on Wednesday. Coulter, who is in the midst of launching her own marijuana farm in Nelson, B.C., will be thousands of kilometres away from Parliament Hill when cannabis becomes legal in Canada.