That was Harper’s dig on Paul Martin four years ago, after turning down a meeting with Bono. Since then, Harper has been a bit more hot and cold on the issue.
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CalgaryGrit: A Tale of Two Cities
I had some fun last fall comparing the elections of Naheed Nenshi in Calgary and Rob Ford in Toronto. Fairly or unfairly, it appears the two will be forever linked. We got yet another example of that this week with the news that Nenshi will become the …
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: Bart’s Books
The good folks in Samara are hosting a fun contest this summer, asking Canadians to vote for their favourite political books. I for one think this is a great idea, and it’s something I’d considered doing as a bracketed summer contest on this blog in th…
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: The Filibuster Comes To Canada
Last week’s postal filibuster is the first real case study of the new political reality. If it’s a preview of the next four years, I’d say Stephen Harper’s 2015 re-elected chances look quite rosy.Personally, I don’t know who was on the side of the ange…
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: Who says you can’t go home?
Some guy named Michael Ignatieff weighs in on the life of Canadians living outside the country:I was away a long time in Britain and the States, it’s true, but I kept coming back, writing for Canadian newspapers, broadcasting on the CBC, summers teac…
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: Could Have Been Elections: The Liberal-Democrats
In response to my previous “what if” post on running elxn41 under a preferential ballot, a few blog readers wondered how the election would have turned out had there been a Liberal-NDP merger.The challenge with that kind of analysis is that we have no …
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: Change that puts people first
The Ontario NDP release their platform, chalk full of policies that are great news if you own a big house, drive a gas guzzler, or like coal power.Partisan jabs aside, Andrea Horwath could do some serious damage in this fall’s Ontario election – she’s …
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: The Toughest Job in Politics
I won’t say I feel bad for Pauline Marois – seeing the PQ implode a few weeks after the BQ was all but obliterated is Must See TV. But when looking at the problems besieging her, it’s important to remember that Marois has the toughest job in politics.C…
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: What to expect in the Liberal leadership marathon
The best way to think about the Liberal leadership race is like those velodrome cycling races you see at the Olympics. The gun sounds and two cyclists crawl around the track, quietly jockeying for position and looking over their shoulder to see where t…
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: Mark Your Calendars
Liberals have voted to pick a new leader sometime between March and June 2013. I was personally hoping for a shorter timeline but my sense from yesterday’s conference call is Liberals are ready to get to work rebuilding the party in the interim. I thin…
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: Friday Link Grab Bag
A few random Friday thoughts:1. Don’t expect this weekend’s NDP convention in Vancouver to be nearly as exciting as Wednesday night. Still, the possibility for riots and/or make out sessions does exist when delegates begin debating a motion to repeal t…
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: Not a Leader
That was how Stephen Harper described Stephane Dion in 2008, when “unelected” and “unaccountable” Liberal senators blocked Harper’s senate reform legislation.I look forward to the new attack ads:Tory senator questions colleagues’ loyalty to HarperOTTAW…
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: What Could Have Been: Elxn41 Under a Preferential Ballot
One of the democratic reform initiatives that never seems to get much publicity is the preferential ballot. Yet it’s simple, assures the majority of the riding backs the winning candidate, and helps avoid some of the dangerous strategic voting mis-step…
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: Who’s on top?
Macleans updates it’s 1997 list ranking Canada’s Best PMs, and produces the following top 10:1. Wilf2. Johnny Mac3. The Lyon4. Mikey B5. PET6. JC7. Uncle Louis8. Robbie B9. Lyin’ Brian10. The ChiefFrom top to bottom, it’s a well researched and thoughtf…
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: This Week in Alberta – Jumping the Queue
Stephen Duckett (AKA Cookie Monster) has raised a stir by suggesting some politically connected individuals receive preferential treatment in Alberta’s Health Care system, and are able to jump the queue.The PCs have generally shrugged this one off, lik…
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: We must fight this hailstorm of praise!
Oh, the challenges of fundraising when you can’t blame the opposition or Liberal Senators for defeating your agenda:CPC appeals to party supporters to finance fight against media, punditsWith a stable majority government for the next four years and the…
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: "We have to be a national party"
As I mentioned earlier, Mark Holland gave a real barn burner at the ALP convention the weekend before last.What made it such a great speech was that he avoided the usual cliches you get from federal politicians when they come to Calgary – “Alberta Libe…
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: Most Exciting Ridings in Canada
We’ve now had 4 elections under the current 308 riding electoral map, a period over which the Canadian political landscape has completely transformed itself.2004:2011:Still, that doesn’t mean every local election has been exciting – after all, if you l…
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: Rerun Season
For the first time in a long time, we have a budget that can be judged on its content, rather than its electoral implications.So while the opportunity now exists to read the actual document without worrying about who will vote for and against it, there…
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: Au Revoir
The Parti Quebecois have basically been handed the next provincial election if they want it. But much like the BC NDP, all indications are their answer is “thanks, but no thanks”.The latest problem for them is the defection of three high profile MNAs. …
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