Author: Cam Holmstrom

As we have been noting here, the Ford Conservatives have been dealing with a lot of blowback from decisions that they have made. We’ve been seeing more and more manifestations of this unhappiness and growing anger about many of these decisions and cuts as they have been trickling out. It’s

Politics can be an amazingly fickle thing and in our history as a country, we’ve seen moments happen that have changed the course of campaigns in ways that we wouldn’t have foreseen. When I think of this, the best example that comes to mind is Brian Mulroney, Solange Denis and

Working in political Ottawa as an Indigenous person can be frustrating and hard at times. Let’s face it, the system that exists here in Ottawa wasn’t created for Indigenous people, and it surely wasn’t made with taking the opinions of First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples into account. Over time

We’ve only reach mid-May and we still have reached the one-year anniversary of the election of the Ford Conservatives in Ontario. I say that because it has felt a lot longer, given the steady stream of news of about cuts, fibs and downright crazy stories that has come from this

What is the future of the NDP? Where is the party going? What should the party do to be more relevant today? Last night I had the chance to talk about that more on TVOntario’s “The Agenda with Steve Paikin” as a part of an esteem panel with former NDP

Last night we saw what should be the last provincial election before the Fall general election take place in Newfoundland and Labrador. The eyes of many political watchers were on the province as voters there went to the polls, with polls showing a tight race. And the night didn’t disappoint,

It can be quite amazing to see how quickly some things can move or change in when it comes to policies or ideas. Sometimes it feels like those policies should have moved faster, because it made so much sense to begin with. Other times, the change surprises because it felt

Today we’re going to see another item on the list to the Fall election get checked off as Canada’s youngest province goes to the polls. In Newfoundland and Labrador, people will be going to vote for the next members of the House of Assembly in what is expected to be

Politics isn’t always all sunshine and rainbows for those elected to serve. Sometimes politicians have to face upset constituents or voters, sometimes for reasons that are beyond there control and other times for reasons that they are the cause of. So in the grand scheme of things, to go to

Our Parliament has many rules, conventions, quirks and traditions. When you work there, you start to learn about all these different bits and some turn out to be quite interesting. As I looked at todays House of Commons agenda, I noticed that one of my favourite ones starts tonight, one

As we get closer to the summer and then the Fall election, the pressure is starting to ramp up on the various parties in Ottawa. For each party, that pressure is very different, from the pressure of potentially forming government to the pressure of mere survival beyond this campaign. And

The Fall election is getting closer and closer and as that date with whatever destiny it turns out to be gets closer, there is a lot to ponder. So, it’s been in that mind set I’ve found myself recently, reading what others are having to say out there. That led

When I first moved to Southern Ontario, I taught in Durham Region. During my time working in that area, I got to know the region well but also what makes the area go. Coming from a city that was built around forestry, I knew the feeling of being in a

Having worked on Parliament Hill for close to a decade, one thing that I gained a huge appreciation for is people who work in the constituency offices of elected officials. Being in Ottawa, you’re not on the front line, dealing with constituents everyday and usually when something from a constituent

Over the past month in this space I’ve had a lot to say about post-budget cuts that have come from the Ford Conservatives in Ontario. Fact is that there have been many cuts to talk about, and many of them that have made little sense, fiscally or morally. But while

Yesterday we saw the last by-election of the 42nd Parliament take place on Vancouver Island in the riding of Nanaimo-Ladysmith. This seat became open when New Democrat Sheila Malcolmson stepped down to run to become MLA, to replace Leonard Krog who stepped down as MLA to become the Mayor of

Since the Ford Conservatives in Ontario released their first budget a few weeks ago, we’ve seen trickles and trickles of news come out about either details from that budget buried deep in the document or about the fall out from the announcements in it. Some of these details have been

In the 2015 Election the Liberals made many promises that would help mark the “Real Change” that they were running on, that would mark a big difference from the Stephen Harper years. Among those promises was better relations with the workforce of the Federal government and better relationships with organized

Yesterday I wrote about how the signs of the Fall election are starting to be seen. Well another sign of an upcoming election is an uptick in polling and the release of more and more polls. All of the firms are in the field more and more and all start

It was eight years ago tonight, one of the most amazing nights of my life. It was the end of a wild weeks long ride, and the start of another. It’s was one of those nights I will never forget for the rest of my life. Watching the #elxn41 results