…by ALF APPS. As posted on Facebook earlier today:REPORT TO THE MEMBERSHIPfrom the NATIONAL PRESIDENT of the LIBERAL PARTY OF CANADAJune 3, 2011FELLOW LIBERALS:I AM PLEASED TO REPORT TO YOU ON THE RECENT ACTIVITIES OF YOUR NATIONAL BOARD AT THIS EXTR…
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CalgaryGrit: Here for all Canadians
You can read the first Stephen Harper majority government throne speech here. But you probably don’t need to.After all, there are few surprises in it, which is in line with Harper’s “stability” message repeated every day during the election campaign. T…
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: "We need to rip open our party. Think about making it almost open source."
Mark Holland gave a barn burner speech at the ALP convention on Saturday night that had the entire crowd buzzing – I’ll be sure to post it if I can track down the video.Until then, here’s what Mark had to say about the challenges facing the Liberal Par…
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: The Race for Kingsmere
A new-look Parliament resumes today, with the first order of business the naming of a new speaker to replace Peter Milliken.A slew of Conservatives who realize they will never be in Cabinet have put their names forward, including Barry Devolin, Lee Ric…
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: The ever shrinking Liberal shadow
There’s only so much you can read into the critic portfolios assigned to the third party in the house – especially when numbers dictate that everyone gets something. But the Liberal shadow cabinet deserves a bit of attention, if only because it marks B…
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: Election by Numbers
I’ve updated my election spreadsheet, and will be posting some riding-by-riding analysis over the next while. For now, a list of somewhat interesting numbers from the last campaign:1: Ridings the Bloc Quebecois won by more than 3 percentage points, sho…
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: Hidden Agenda?
The Ontario Tories bared more than their…uhh…private members…this weekend, releasing their election platform (summarized by CP here).I’ve always been a fan of parties releasing their platforms early – it gives you time to define yourself, and sho…
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: Real Renewal
I know some will roll their eyes when I say this, but the federal Liberals – and all political parties for that matter – could learn a lot from the Alberta Liberal Party. After all, everyone talks about “renewing” and “rebuilding” but all too often tho…
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: Splitting the Dippers
We finally got a bit of clarity from Jack Layton on an issue he has danced around for the better part of the past decade:It’s official: Layton backs 50%-plus-one rule for Quebec secessionNDP Leader Jack Layton is once again stating that a straight ma…
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: Rae’s Day
As I’ve said all along, this was the obvious choice for interim leader. Rae is a gifted politician, and will keep the party relevent while it rebuilds.Liberals name Bob Rae interim chiefBob Rae says the Liberal Party should look to a new “generation …
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: Putting it off
I’ve held off commenting on Liberal leadership timing because it’s been so hard to figure out what’s going on. If it wasn’t for Jane Taber, I’d really have no idea what was being discussed or debated.For those just tuning in now, the Liberal constituti…
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: Renewal
There has been a lot of talk about Liberal Party renewal since election night. Which is encouraging – after a punch to gut like that, it’s easy to give up, but it sounds like there’s a real appetite out there to change the party for the better.Bellow i…
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: Great Moments in Spin
If there are ever “spin awards”, Tim Powers deserves the statue:PARLIAMENT HILL—Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s inflammatory decision to stuff two failed Conservative election candidates back into the Senate on Wednesday does “boggle the mind,”…
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: ELXN41
This post is just a collection of blog postings on the past election, for the sidebar archives. Consider it a place to visit at any point over the next four years when you’re feeling nostalgic for daily polls, ads, and news stories.POST MORTEMSConserva…
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: Promise Kept
When Jack Layton promised that “I will create more jobs” during the campaign, many scoffed at him. Turns out he was right.In addition to their rookie MPs learning the ropes, one significant challenge facing the NDP will be the number of rookie staffers…
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: Rae of Light
As I said all along, this is really the best solution to the Liberals’ search for an interim leader. Rae is an outstanding communicator and will keep the party relevant during the search for a younger, permanent leader:Bob Rae won’t run for permanent…
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: Welcome Back
For those who thought the new Stephen Harper, free from the shackles of minority government, would be any different from the old Stephen Harper, think again:Harper appoints three defeated candidates to SenatePrime Minister Stephen Harper has appointed …
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: The New Cabinet
Before we look at the new Cabinet, the answer to the question on everyone’s mind:No, Maxime Bernier didn’t bring a date to the swearing in.With that out of the way, a look at the new puppets in the Stephen Harper Theater:Robert Douglas Nicholson: Minis…
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: Killing the Subsidy
Shortly after the 2008 election, Stephen Harper caught everyone off guard with his plan to kill the per-vote subsidy political parties get. The backlash was intense, and this was seen as part of Stephen Harper’s Machiavellian plan to kill the Liberals….
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: Election Post-Mortem: The Conservatives
Previously: NDP, Bloc, Liberals, GreensA lot has been written over the past two weeks about the election that was, but nearly all of it has been about Jack Layton’s victory. This may be a bit unfair to the election’s actual winner, so let’s pause for a…
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