You might think that, if Pierre Poilievre becomes prime minister, Doug Ford would be ecstatic. Martin Regg Cohn writes that such is not the case: By rights, these two right-wingers should be soul mates. Yet they are anything but. Premier Doug Ford and federal Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre barely know
Continue readingAuthor: Owen Gray
Northern Reflections: The Bond Is Breaking
David Ignatius writes that the relationship between Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu is pretty tense: As the war in Gaza grinds on, President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are locked in a public quarrel about military strategy, political leadership and even casualty numbers. Like past disputes in the
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: The War In Gaza
Protests against the war in Gaza are growing. Michael Harris writes: Political leaders who can no longer hear the people are usually on their way to defeat. That is one of the takeaways from the recently cancelled event featuring Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and visiting Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Caveat Emptor
Groucho Marx used to quip, “Who you gonna believe — me or your own eyes?” These days, believing what you see with your own eyes can be problematic. Consider this story from The Associated Press: WASHINGTON (AP) — At first glance, images circulating online showing former President Donald Trump surrounded
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Easy Marks
Millennials, we’re told, are shifting their votes to Pierre Poilievre. Max Fawcett writes that Poilievre is playing them for fools: Credit where it’s due: Pierre Poilievre has talked a good game about housing ever since he was elected leader of the Conservative Party of Canada. Sure, he keeps fibbing about
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Brian Mulroney
I never voted for Brian Mulroney. The Neo-Conservative Era — which he ushered in with Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan — to me always seemed wrong-headed. I agreed with John Kenneth Galbraith. “Trickle Down,” he said, “is what comes out of the back end of a cow.” That said,
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: The Question
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear Donald Trump’s claim for complete immunity. What’s important, Jennifer Rubin writes, is how the court has framed the question: The court determined that the only question to be addressed is whether a former president enjoys absolute “immunity from criminal prosecution for conduct
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Time For A Walk In The Snow?
Michael Harris has supported Justin Trudeau pretty consistently. Now, he writes, it’s time for Trudeau to go: Nothing is clearer in Canadian politics than that the next federal election is Pierre Poilievre’s to lose. According to the latest Nanos poll, the Conservative Party of Canada has a 13-point lead over
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: A Fraud
Pierre Poilievre is a piece of work. Linda McQuaig writes: So let me get this straight. Pierre Poilievre is going to make life more affordable for Canadians. Yet he’s going to ramp up our military spending wildly, as demanded by Donald Trump. Trump isn’t even yet the Republican nominee
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: More Damage
The damage from the ArriveCan debacle is spreading. Once again, the Trudeau government is paying the price. Michael Harris writes: Apart from the Canadian public, the obvious loser in the ArriveCan scandal is the Trudeau government. After all, it takes a special kind of incompetence to turn an $80,000 project
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Misinformed
Danielle Smith believes that the future is in oil. Maax Fawcett writes that she is misinformed: Alberta’s UCP government may like to pretend it sees the world differently than Saudi Arabia but when it comes to their biggest industry, they speak the same language. Both have said the International Energy
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: They’re Shafting Ukraine
American Republicans and Canadian Conservatives are shafting Ukraine. Michael Harris writes: The politicians whom the Ukrainian president trusted to have his back in his country’s existential struggle against Russian invaders have betrayed him. While European countries have ponied up 54-billion euros for beleaguered Ukraine, the dysfunctional United States Congress
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Proportional Representation Now
This week, the House voted down a resolution to establish a citizens’ council to study proportional representation. Max Fawcett writes: On Wednesday, the House of Commons voted against a motion calling for the federal government to establish a citizens’ assembly to “determine if electoral reform is recommended for Canada and,
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: They’re In Trouble
This week, the American Supreme Court will decide if Donald Trump can be kicked off the primary ballot in some states. Nathan Vanderklippe writes: On Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear an appeal of the Colorado decision, which has been stayed pending the higher court’s ruling. Lawyers for Mr.
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: The Irony Behind Conservatism
Modern Conservatives don’t conserve anything. Max Fawcett writes: Of all Pierre Poilievre’s familiar slogans, there’s one that stands above the rest: Canada is broken. There’s no shortage of irony there, not least because what little we know of his proposed plans and policies revolve almost exclusively around breaking things, whether it’s
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Trump And The World
Where Donald Trump goes, chaos follows. With that in mind, Max Boot speculates what foreign policy would be like in a second Trump term: Every president but one since Franklin D. Roosevelt has believed that the United States should exercise preeminent international influence for its own good and that of
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Lies And Damned Lies
Tucker Carlson came to Alberta because, he says, he wants to liberate us. Timothy Caulfield writes: RIGHT BEFORE he was fired from Fox News last spring, the prime-time host Tucker Carlson was set to release a documentary called O, Canada! The trailer seemed to unironically suggest that the country needs
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: The Perfect Storm
We now have a perfect political storm. Susan Delacourt writes: Two sharply divergent views of those convoy protests, two opposite rulings from judges. Not surprisingly, each side will now be able to claim vindication, as well as grievance. That was evident in the immediate aftermath of the ruling by Federal
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: It’s Ugly
Politics has changed. Michael Harris writes: Politics used to be a contest of ideas between parties with different visions of the country. At election time, that produced a winner and a good loser. Now it is a Texas death-match of ideologies. The other side is no longer just an opponent,
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Trudeau And Trump
Justin Trudeau has made his feelings about a second Trump presidency pretty clear. Susan Delcourt writes: On the one hand, it isn’t surprising that Trudeau would be open about his views on Trump, who came to office determined to tear up the North American Free Trade Agreement and make Canada
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