Tim Powers

Tim Powers

Conservative complaints at cross purposes with success - When the working response is that it’s always somebody else’s fault, it starts to come across as pathetic.

Last week, the Conservatives saw yet another Member of Parliament cross the floor to join Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberals. Marilyn Gladu, the Sarnia, Ont.-area MP and—briefly—a former Conservative leadership candidate, was the one who made the move. Gladu, who had previously chastised fellow floor crossers and is someone seen as being a far-right leaning Conservative, was an unexpected departure...

Tim Powers

Conservatives warming up to the political marathon

Except for the ill-conceived public campaign to get well-known commentator Don Cherry installed as a member of the Order of Canada, the Conservatives look like they have carved out a few positive weeks for themselves. It’s better than the abysmal fall and early winter that left many Conservative supporters in a foul mood, and Leader Pierre Poilievre constantly having to...

Tim Powers

What happens after the convention dust settles?

Credit to Pierre Poilievre: he worked hard to retain the leadership of the Conservative Party, and was rewarded with more than 87-per-cent support of those who attended the Calgary convention last weekend. Like the political opponent he long battled against—former prime minister Justin Trudeau—Poilievre has shown he is a political fighter. True, there were no current challengers for his job...

Tim Powers

Will Poilievre find the right thread to pull, or will his coalition unravel in 2026?

It was one year ago that federal politics changed dramatically. Then-deputy prime minister and finance minister Chrystia Freeland wrote her poison pen letter to then-prime minister Justin Trudeau, stepped away from cabinet, didn’t deliver the planned fall economic statement, and set in motion a chain of events no one could have foreseen. Within a few weeks, Trudeau announced he was...

Tim Powers

In-house relief: new Conservative campaign manager a positive signal

Pierre Poilievre and the Conservatives have earned themselves some positive public relations with the announcement that Steve Outhouse will serve as the next federal election campaign manager for the party. After a few difficult weeks of news for the party, the Outhouse appointment is being heralded as a good thing.

Tim Powers

Poilievre and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week

Last week was an awful one for the Conservative Party. It should have been a time when Leader Pierre Poilievre and his team were critiquing Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first budget and laying out alternatives. Instead, they spent most of the week answering questions about Poilievre’s leadership as one of his Members of Parliament crossed the floor and joined the...

Tim Powers

A message to Conservatives: it’s time to cut the cord with Trudeau

Katy Perry knows Justin Trudeau has moved on. Perhaps the federal Conservatives should clue in, too. They still seem to be fighting the last war, and not living in our current reality. Yes, Trudeau has a high-profile girlfriend and is no longer running Canada’s government, but—like his father before him—he remains a polarizing figure. The Conservatives seem hell-bent on keeping...

Tim Powers

The fall political roadmap has plenty of potholes

The Liberals, Conservatives, and NDP all need to show signs of life when Parliament resumes. Technically, summer doesn’t leave us for another two-and-a-half weeks, but with schools back in session and Parliament set to resume mid-month it’s hard not to feel like we are being dragged back into the normal political rhythms. How many weeks until Thanksgiving? This fall has...

Tim Powers

This year’s Canada Games offer lessons for us all

We could do yet another deep dive into what Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has learned in his summer of seeking re-election to Parliament. But we’ll hold off on that for now. Or we could dive into Prime Minister Mark Carney’s recent decision to pull down a large swath of countervailing tariffs on the United States. Pushing pause there, too. Instead...

Tim Powers

Hurly-burly nonsense around Carney’s assets is standard politicking—and a shame

The federal ethics commissioner recently released information about Prime Minister Mark Carney’s financial holdings, and how he will seek to avoid conflicts related to making decisions around them. The opposition—unsurprisingly—are pouncing, suggesting Carney divest himself of all that he currently has and put it in one blind trust so he can’t consciously or subconsciously make decisions that could benefit his...

Tim Powers

Conservatives could use some outside perspective

When The Hill Times’ intrepid journalist Abbas Rana reports something, it is best to pay attention. He is good at his job, and always on to something interesting. In the June 16 edition of this newspaper, Rana wrote about how Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is reaching out to unsuccessful candidates to get their feedback. On the surface, that is a...

Tim Powers

Will Carney’s moonshot become cannon fodder?

Domestically, the biggest current threat to Mark Carney’s success is tripping over his own heels while trying to keep a blistering pace towards tangible accomplishments. Prime Minister Mark Carney seems to be throwing the practice of conventional political expectation management right out the window, and is shooting for the stars with everything he does. While this may be refreshing, it’s...

Tim Powers

Conservatives need nuanced reflection, not the nuclear option

Conservatives gathered this week for the first time since the April 28 election. Hopefully they had a vibrant, open, and fulsome caucus meeting where nothing was off limits. It need not be, and should not be, about recrimination and settling scores, but more about accountability and the route for the best path forward. Much has been made since the election...

Tim Powers

The West wants out? That’s not how this works

On a personal level, Preston Manning is a good and decent person. He is friendly, insightful, and kind. While I came from the Progressive Conservative wing of the conservative movement, I did not view him as the great destroyer of that once-great party. If anything, I saw him as provocative and an idea disruptor. All the ideas weren’t my cup...

Tim Powers

Poilievre’s predicament: can he wait out the Carney-public puppy love?

The civil war drums are now beating loudly in the Conservative Party. It kicked off last week, and was inflated by a number of stories speaking to the apparent disconnect between the Conservative campaign and where Canadians actually are—worried about United States President Donald Trump. For now, I’ll resist piling on as there are nearly four weeks to go in...

Tim Powers

Don’t count your ballot-box questions before they’ve hatched

There is no doubt United States President Donald Trump is dominating and shaping the current global political discourse. In Canada, his whiplash-inducing pronouncements have us spinning trying to figure out what is next. The main Liberal leadership candidates Mark Carney and Chrystia Freeland have crossed all their fingers and toes hoping that whenever a general election does come, who is...

Tim Powers

Grits’ grasping for anti-Trump bonafides a ‘hail Mary’ tactic in leadership race

Barring any last-minute entries, it appears the field is set for the Liberal leadership race. In the Jan. 6 news conference announcing his impending departure, current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he hoped for a robust race. With more rumoured candidates announcing they won’t be running than those who are running, the thrill of pitched battles among a small candidate...

Tim Powers

Waiting to exhale

While the government certainly has the right to try to extend its useful life until October 2025, Canadians might like to hit the reset button. I am not looking to be the guy who puts the lump of coal in the stocking. But, with some exceptions, it feels like we have all had some of the black stuff thrown into...

Tim Powers

Read the room. Know your audience. Get a grip

Are there any direct lessons from president-elect Donald Trump’s recent win in the United States for Canadian political parties? Perhaps. But let me offer some choice observations because one country’s result doesn’t always slide nicely forward as a comparative for another, particularly when Trump is a central part of the narrative.

Tim Powers

Apocalyptic or appealing? Conservative policies not slotting into Liberal trap

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has survived the Cotton Revolution launched by some members of his caucus—for now. Unsurprisingly—and as predicted in this space last week—the PM did not bow to elements of his caucus who wrote him a “Dear Justin” letter in hopes he might break up with them. Nope. The marriage, as it is, continues.

Tim Powers

Is the Liberal ‘Light Brigade’ following their leader into disaster?

With the Thanksgiving weekend approaching, there really are only a very few weeks—if not days—if Prime Minister Justin Trudeau does want to step down. That would give his party a chance to select a new leader, and then give that leader some semblance of opportunity to compete in a future election. Yes, yes, the prime minister has said he is...

Tim Powers

It’s the prime minister’s ship, and everyone is just along for the ride

As summer winds down and we head into the Labour Day long weekend, there aren’t many signs that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his team have addressed the challenges that have beset them for a year. Maybe they possess a greater foreknowledge than the rest of us about the road ahead, and have that perfectly mapped out, but right now...

Tim Powers

Remembering Chuck Strahl and his lessons of leadership

Chuck Strahl was a good man. An authentic character in a world of pretenders. Someone never intoxicated by Ottawa’s punch bowl of political ambitions, gone from us far too early at the age of 67. His death last week saddened all those who ever had the pleasure of knowing him. I got to know Chuck in the early 2000s when...

Tim Powers

Hold the hypocrisy: Canadian leaders not practicing what they preach on political rhetoric

The aftermath of the assassination attempt on former United States president Donald Trump—officially the Republican nominee for his old job—is sadly reminiscent of what we normally hear following mass shootings. Regardless of your politics, a semblance of humanity and modicum of decency should see us all being relieved that the former president wasn’t felled by a gunman’s bullet in a...

Tim Powers

Snap out of it: hair-trigger elections won’t save you

Strategy can’t outplay the public’s deeply entrenched, times-up temperament. The snap elections in Britain and France are now done. The results may be surprising to only the incumbent governments who called them, as both the United Kingdom Conservatives and French President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist alliance no longer hold power in their respective countries.

Tim Powers

I know what political parties should do this summer

Parliament has recessed and summer finally is upon us. However, with a little more than a year away from an election, the main political parties still have lots to do, with goals to set and a need to methodically lay out the pathway to the next vote. The challenge ahead for the governing Liberals is the starkest. It could get...

Tim Powers

The minister who cried capital gains

The air of desperation around the Liberal government is growing more intense. For once, though, this isn’t another column about whether Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will stay or go. Instead, it’s a rant of sorts about Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s introduction of a ways and means motion on changing our capital gains tax structure...

Tim Powers

Never-changing playlist of political hits growing stale

The Victoria Day long weekend has come and gone. An election is still well more than a year away. To the surprise of everyone but perhaps the prime minister himself, Justin Trudeau remains in both that job and that of leader of the Liberal Party. While he has earned that right, continuing to exercise it doesn’t seem to be to...

Tim Powers

Poilievre’s clarion call to corporate Canada

Something astounding happened last week. No, it wasn’t all the nonsensical shenanigans in the House of Commons. That was performance art more reflective of a playpen than a democratic legislative chamber. But who am I kidding? Parliament has seen bizarre childlike hijinks before, and will again.

Tim Powers

The road to climate hell is paved with muddled messaging

Last week wasn’t a great one on the climate change front. If, like me, you know climate change is real, and recognize that one of the biggest remaining threats is a public discourse that educates, reinforces its legitimacy, and helps build consensus towards solutions, then last week was an epic fail. Ironically, a bulk of the failure came from the...

Tim Powers

Listen to those who’ve fought in the mental-health trenches on MAID

In recent weeks, both the Trudeau government and the federal Conservatives have stated that when it comes to mental health, medical assistance in dying (MAID) will be put on pause. While the Liberals have tabled a bill to delay that provision for three years, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has vowed that should his party form government, there will be no...

Tim Powers

Apples to oranges

Are you tired of all the nasty in politics? Nasty for the sake of nasty, as if somehow that is how problems will get solved: by brutalizing a person’s character and reputation, instead of just a forceful critique of their ideas. Well, even though you, me, and a few others may be fed up to the teeth with nasty, it...

Tim Powers

Readying the spring-sitting scorecard

Parliament returns next week after the holiday break. While the prime minister was apparently crashing on the most expensive friend’s couch in the world, others were also getting recharged for the stretch running between now and June. There will be lots of things to watch for that could shape the fate of the next election. With February just around the...

Tim Powers

New year, old problems for Trudeau

Another new year begins with a controversy about a prime ministerial vacation. What is new is old again as we launch 2024. Yes, there are far more important issues than what our prime minister does on vacation, or the fact that he takes one. But these sorts of stories capture attention because, unlike war, climate policy, or immigration challenges, this...

Tim Powers

Carbon-pricing course change drives Liberals into another self-made mess

Last week, I was fortunate enough to be in France to attend the Rugby World Cup final. While in old Europe, it is not uncommon—if you are inclined—to have a beer or wine during an afternoon meal. So, on Oct. 26, I did just that. Not long after, I saw a news alert from Canada saying Prime Minister Justin Trudeau...