Sep 20 2019 — Hill Times — Moving towards reconciliation and through a “postcolonial door” will require moving past partisanship, and rebuilding Indigenous nations to work with the Crown to overhaul the Indian Act, among other things, says Jody Wilson-Raybould in her new book. Set to be launched on Sept. 20, the one-time justice minister and attorney general-turned Independent MP argues in […]
Sep 20 2019 — Greg Lyle — Hill Times — It is true that campaigns matter—Just ask former Wilderose leader Danielle Smith. It is also true that most campaign controversies, even ones as juicy as the Trudeau Blackface controversy, ultimately have only a limited impact on the election result. Paul Simon told us why when 50 years ago he sang, “Still a man hears what […]
Sep 19 2019 — Peter Mazereeuw — Hill Times — The federal Liberals are planning to press the provinces and territories to help them make good on their election promise to slash daycare fees and create 250,000 new spaces. The Liberals promised last week to create 250,000 new before- and after-school daycare spaces for school-aged children if they are returned to power. They also promised […]
Sep 18 2019 — Samantha Wright Allen — Hill Times — As the world looks on, Kashmir is in the midst of a “humanitarian disaster,” says Pakistani High Commissioner to Canada Raza Bashir Tarar, who is calling on Canada and the international community to be “more forceful” in efforts to push India to ease its crackdown in the disputed region. More than a month has passed […]
Sep 18 2019 — Abbas Rana — Hill Times — The Liberal and Conservative campaign teams are “at war” trying to unsettle each other, and the possible minority Parliament that could result could be dysfunctional, carrying “significant instability,” says a high-profile pollster. “The war rooms are at war with each other,” said Nik Nanos, chief data scientist and founder of Nanos Research. “If it’s a […]
Sep 16 2019 — Peter Mazereeuw — Hill Times — A shift towards even more digital advertising is the most likely change to the way the parties will spend their money during this fall’s election campaign, say veterans of previous campaigns with the Liberals, Conservatives, and NDP. “I suspect digital is going to become more and more the battleground. That’s where more campaigns should be […]
Sep 16 2019 — Abbas Rana — Hill Times — With the SNC-Lavalin controversy back in the news, one of the country’s leading pollsters expects the opposition leaders to go after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the campaign trail and in the leaders’ debates to push his emotional buttons and to get a reaction that will make him look “arrogant,” “out of touch” and “entitled,” […]
Sep 9 2019 — Abbas Rana — Hill Times — While the Liberals and Conservatives are poised for a “quite ugly, bare knuckles” fight and the NDP vote declines across the country, the benefactor could be the Greens, who could win more seats than the New Democrats, says a veteran pollster. But another seasoned pollster says it’s too early to predict the Green Party’s rise […]
Sep 9 2019 — Abbas Rana — Hill Times — None of the national parties appears to be connecting to a majority of Canadians and a leading pollster is predicting the ballot question will be “choose your poison” on Oct. 21. “A lot of this has to do with the fact that people are unhappy with both of the choices [Liberals and Conservatives],” said Nik […]
Sep 4 2019 — Hill Times — Construction on the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project will be underway during the federal election, and while the start of work may steal steam from certain Conservative attacks, observers say it’s overall likely bad news for Liberal fortunes in seat-rich British Columbia. “From the Liberals’ perspective, it’s a big problem. I really, for the life […]
Sep 4 2019 — Samantha Wright Allen — Hill Times — As it trails the other parties, the NDP says it plans to name another 122 candidates—a third of its roster—in the coming days, as some strategists called its nomination pace “big trouble” and questioned whether it could run a full slate or give candidates enough time to be election and campaign ready. The party expects […]
Sep 2 2019 — Hill Times — As Canada exits its peacekeeping mission in Mali, an expert in the field says Canada has only met half of its commitments to re-engage in UN peacekeeping missions, and those that were met are not being sustained. Walter Dorn, a defence studies professor at Kingston’s Royal Military College and Toronto’s Canadian Forces College specializing in […]
Sep 2 2019 — Abbas Rana — Hill Times — With Liberal MP Eva Nassif “pushed out” and the election call only days away, Quebec Liberal insiders are speculating the party will appoint its preferred candidate and not hold a nomination contest in Vimy, Que., to replace her. Veteran Montreal Liberal insiders interviewed for this article said that one key reason the party leadership “pushed […]
Aug 28 2019 — Hill Times — It’s “hard to write simple conclusions when the story itself is changing,” says Aaron Wherry, author of Promise and Peril: Justin Trudeau in Power, one of two new books on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. But John Ivison, author of Trudeau: The Education of a Prime Minister, says the emergence of the SNC-Lavalin affair “more or […]
Aug 28 2019 — Samantha Wright Allen — Hill Times — Senators appointed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are still the most likely to support government bills come voting time, a record the Independents say reflects a philosophy that respects the will of the elected House, and not support of Liberal-specific bills. But Conservative whip Donald Plett (Landmark, Man.) said that record shows what his party […]