Leadership races are a test of many things within a party. They test the strength of their organization, the strength of the various bases within them and can test the patience of even more. But for some one of the biggest tests that a leadership race can bring is to
Continue readingAuthor: Cam Holmstrom
Magpie Brûlé: The Dishonourable Senator from Northwestern Ontario: The Apology We Can’t Accept
I have to admit that for me personally, this past week in Canadian politics has been hard to stomach. To have seen what happened to NDP leader Jagmeet Singh last week, and the sadly predictable fall out from it, has been hard for me to take. As someone who has
Continue readingMagpie Brûlé: Talking the Latest on the Re-Opening & COVID-19 Among Migrant Workers with Kristy Cameron
Yesterday I joined Kristy Cameron on CFRA’s “Ottawa Now” along with Katlyn Harrison & Lindsay Maskell on the “Political Heat” panel. We talked about the latest developments in Ontario’s re-opening from COVID-19, Toronto moving into Phase 2, how people are reacting to the changes, the outbreaks of COVID-19 in parts
Continue readingMagpie Brûlé: Talking the Politics of COVID-19 & the Conservative Leadership Race on “The Arlene Bynon Show”
This morning I joined Arlene Bynon on “The Arlene Bynon Show” on Sirius XM’s Canada Talks 167, along with Alise Mills. Today we discussed the politics of COVID-19, the examples of how some have turned issues of public health into partisan matters, last weeks Conservative leadership debates & how underwhelming
Continue readingMagpie Brûlé: Dropping the Bomb
I’ve had the chance to take part in a few leadership races in my day and they are unique experiences for sure. Over time I’ve come to accept a few truths about them that seems to be rather universal. First is that while they activate the base, it activates the
Continue readingMagpie Brûlé: The Other Shoe in Kitchener South – Hespeler
It was over a week ago that I weighed in on the case of the Liberal-turned-Independent MP for Kitchener South – Hespeler Marwan Tabbara, his arrest and all the claims that no one knew anything. As I expressed at the time, given my experience from my time working on Parliament
Continue readingMagpie Brûlé: More Reflections on Yesterday’s Events
2020 man, it just keeps doing its thing. Yesterdays incident in the House of Commons between the NDP and the Bloc Quebecois is continuing apace, with the Bloc demanding a “sincere apology” from NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh for saying what he did. There are many things I could say about
Continue readingMagpie Brûlé: Le Bloc Hypocrite
These have been hard days all over and the same is true here at home in Canada. While we’ve seen the protests against racism in the United States, we’ve seen the same here at home. And just as there seems to be a renewed acceptance that there are unacceptable levels
Continue readingMagpie Brûlé: An Election Unlike Any Other
2020 has been a crazy year so far between a global pandemic, mass protests in the United States and more to add to that. There have been so many things that have happened so far and there are many people who are rightly worried about where things may be going,
Continue readingMagpie Brûlé: A Dark Night in Albuquerque
Over the past three weeks the world has been watching the protests against racism that have been unfolding in the United States. The sight of hundreds of thousands of Americans in the streets out there protesting peacefully, calling for their country to live up to its promise to its citizens
Continue readingMagpie Brûlé: Talking the Re-Opening & the Re-Naming of Russell with Kristy Cameron
Yesterday I joined Kristy Cameron on CFRA’s “Ottawa Now” along with Katlyn Harrison on the “Political Heat” panel. We talked about the latest developments in Ontario’s Re-opening from COVID-19, how is it going so far, how much are people going to be willing to do, the proposed extension of the
Continue readingMagpie Brûlé: Of Empty Words and Unicorns
This week we’ll see something happen in Canadian politics that will be as close to a “normal” event as we have in a long time, although being the age of COVID-19, it won’t be that normal. This week we’ll see the first debates of the Conservative Leadership Race, which will
Continue readingMagpie Brûlé: Talking about The Calls for Police Reform on “The Arlene Bynon Show”
This morning I joined Arlene Bynon on “The Arlene Bynon Show” on Sirius XM’s Canada Talks 167, along with Alise Mills. We discussed the growing calls for police reform in Canada, the need for concrete actions, how it is that we spend on policing, what we ask of police to
Continue readingMagpie Brûlé: Dashcam Video as a Rorschach Test
In Canada we have been watching the events of the past few weeks in the United States with many emotions. Most of us have reacted with disgust at the video of the murder of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis Police and most have joined in calls for
Continue readingMagpie Brûlé: A Watershed Moment in the Relationship Between Politics & Sports
We all have our passions and things that we love. Those things aren’t always similar and it’s interesting when those things intersect and how they do. For me, my two biggest passions in life are politics and sports, which I know is the case for many others too. Both have
Continue readingMagpie Brûlé: Disrespect from the Racetrack
Over the past couple of weeks we have seen millions of people come together around the World to march against racism. The fallout from the murder of George Floyd has brought together people from all walks of life, from across the political spectrum, to call for change that’s been long
Continue readingMagpie Brûlé: The Disturbing Case of the MP for Kitchener South – Hespeler
The life of a Member of Parliament can be an interesting one. There are lots of things about the job that are different, new & unique. You get to meet all kinds of people, travel all over the country and further afield and more importantly, get to have a hand
Continue readingMagpie Brûlé: Talking Re-Opening Ontario & Protests During a Pandemic with Kristy Cameron
Today I joined Kristy Cameron on CFRA’s “Ottawa Now” along with Katlyn Harrison and Lindsay Maskell on the “Political Heat” panel. We talked about Ontario’s Regional Re-opening from COVID-19, the Prime Ministers attendance at a protest on Saturday, comments about how one should protest in a pandemic & why our
Continue readingMagpie Brûlé: Talking Tackling Racism on “The Arlene Bynon Show”
This morning I joined Arlene Bynon on “The Arlene Bynon Show” on Sirius XM’s Canada Talks 167, along with Alise Mills. We discussed tackling racism in Canada, what governments need to do to bring true change, the scale of the problem that needs to be addressed & the need to
Continue readingMagpie Brûlé: The Divergence of the Right
The last couple of weeks in the United States has been something to witness and honestly, witness feels like the right word for it. It has been equally disturbing and comforting to see all the things that have happened and honestly, it has been near impossible to keep up. It
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