Sep 28 2017 — BJ Siekierski — iPolitics — With the first round of voting in the NDP leadership closing this weekend, a new Mainstreet Research poll of members — 70 per cent of whom have already voted — shows Jagmeet Singh has widened his lead, with some help from Quebec and New Democrats under age 50. In the field on Wednesday, Mainstreet polled […]
Feb 23 2017 — BJ Siekierski — iPolitics — O’Leary now last choice for 33 per cent of decided members. The three frontrunners for the Conservative leadership — Kevin O’Leary, Kellie Leitch and Maxime Bernier — have seen their support slip in the latest iPolitics CPC Leadership Tracker, powered by Mainstreet Research. And Andrew Scheer is on the cusp of making it a four-way […]
Feb 17 2017 — BJ Siekierski — iPolitics — Kellie Leitch is now the first choice for over one-fifth of Conservative party members, passing Maxime Bernier and nipping at the heels of an increasingly polarizing Kevin O’Leary campaign, according to the latest iPolitics CPC Leadership Tracker — powered by Mainstreet Research. Mainstreet reached 804 members between February 9 and 12 and found — with […]
Jan 20 2017 — BJ Siekierski — iPolitics — Conservative leadership contender Kevin O’Leary donated $458.62 to the Durham federal Liberal riding association in 2004, according to Elections Canada data — the only federal donation he appears to have ever made. O’Leary’s campaign acknowledged a request for comment Thursday, but hadn’t provided one by the time of publication on Friday. The donation, which was […]
Jan 1 2017 — BJ Siekierski — iPolitics — Conservative leadership candidate Maxime Bernier says his campaign has now raised over $1 million. “Thanks to all of my supporters, we’ve beat our own targets and raised more than $1 million this year,” the MP for the Quebec riding of Beauce posted on his Facebook page Saturday. “I’m unafraid, unapologetic, and uncompromising in my pursuit […]
Dec 29 2016 — BJ Siekierski — iPolitics — Conservative leadership candidate Steven Blaney took a shot at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Wednesday for responding faster to the death of actress Carrie Fisher, who played Princess Leia in the Star Wars movie franchise, than to the deaths resulting from the December 19 Berlin Christmas market terrorist attack. “When Princess Leia passed away, the prime […]
Dec 28 2016 — BJ Siekierski — iPolitics — Conservative leadership candidates Lisa Raitt and Kellie Leitch denounced the Liberal government’s lack of a response Wednesday to outgoing U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s criticism of Israel. “At a time when Justin Trudeau has made it a priority to seek a seat on the UN security council. Silence on Israel. At a time when […]
Dec 22 2016 — BJ Siekierski — iPolitics — Bernier has welcomed ‘Prince of Pot”s endorsement and encouraged his network to donate. Conservative leadership candidate Maxime Bernier has welcomed pot activist Marc Emery’s support of his campaign, but has avoided commenting on his recent arrest and drug trafficking charges — as have Bernier’s leadership rivals. Emery, nicknamed the “Prince of Pot” for his once-thriving […]
Dec 20 2016 — BJ Siekierski — iPolitics — The husband of the prime minister’s director of communications launched a new public affairs advertising firm earlier this month. Perry Tsergas, husband of Kate Purchase, unveiled Spark Advocacy on Dec. 2, which is partnering with the well-known Ottawa GR firm Summa Strategies, communications consultant Bruce Anderson — Purchase’s father — and Abacus pollster David Coletto.
Dec 16 2016 — BJ Siekierski — iPolitics — Conservative leadership candidate Kellie Leitch has said she shares “common interests” with Donald Trump. Kevin O’Leary says he would’ve voted for him. In an interview with Mark Sutcliffe on 1310 News Friday, the celebrity businessman — who has all but entered the Conservative leadership race — said he’s been very open about his opinion on […]
Dec 15 2016 — BJ Siekierski — iPolitics — Leitch says her proposal would counter elites’ ‘shadowy backroom deals.’ Borrowing from the old Canadian Alliance playbook, Conservative leadership candidate Kellie Leitch’s latest policy proposal is a system of citizen-initiated referendums that would allow Canadians to regularly hold referendums to amend existing legislation and demand the introduction of new legislation. In a Wednesday post on […]
Dec 14 2016 — BJ Siekierski — iPolitics — At the request of the Government of Canada, Google repeatedly took down grisly YouTube videos showing the beheading of a Canadian in the Philippines, iPolitics has learned. Global Affairs Canada made five requests to Google to delete videos posted on YouTube by the Islamist terrorist group Abu Sayyaf that the department said violated YouTube’s terms […]
Dec 13 2016 — BJ Siekierski — iPolitics — Conservative leadership candidate Maxime Bernier attacked Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz Tuesday for championing the Liberals’ deficit spending. “The Governor of the Bank of Canada, Stephen Poloz, agrees that there is little more he can do to stimulate the economy and that we should use other means than monetary policy. He is right in […]
Dec 8 2016 — BJ Siekierski — iPolitics — In the latest twist to its electoral reform narrative, the Trudeau government said Thursday that people who are not Canadian citizens — and therefore can’t vote — should have a say in the process of changing how it’s done. Liberal MP Kevin Lamoureaux, parliamentary secretary to Government House Leader Bardish Chagger, argued in a debate […]
Dec 7 2016 — BJ Siekierski — iPolitics — Nothing that transpired on stage at the second official Conservative leadership debate in Moncton Tuesday evening has hastened Kevin O’Leary’s decision on whether to run for the party’s top job. If anything, he said late Tuesday, he’s now more inclined to wait. “There are other candidates, including me, looking at this saying, ‘I’m going to […]