Canadian Politics ← Progressive Bloggers // Blogues progressistes

Alberta Politics: ‘Foreign influence’ had nothing to do with Tory Joan Crockatt’s Calgary Centre election defeat in 2015

May

24

2017

PHOTOS: Joan Crockatt, during her brief spell as Conservative Member of Parliament for Calgary Centre. Below: Liberal Veterans Affairs Minister Kent Hehr, who beat Ms. Crockatt in 2015; environmentalist Chris Turner who ran against her for the Greens in 2012 and did very well; and environmentalist Harvey Locke, who ran against her for the Liberals ...

Canadian Dimension: How will Jagmeet Singh Shape the Federal NDP Leadership Race?

May

22

2017

Photo by BGM Riding Association About a week ago, Ontario NDP MPP Jagmeet Singh ended months of speculation by officially throwing his hat into the Federal NDP leadership race. While there are potentially more than a half-dozen contenders to succeed Tom Mulcair as leader, Singh instantly upon his announcement has become a favourite. Indeed, the ...

In This Corner: The Return of Stuff Happens, week 18: Will the right united; the ‘I’ word is spoken.

May

21

2017

There was a seismic shift in Alberta politics this week. Only time will tell if it’s a real earthquake that brings down two (or maybe three) parties, or whether it just grunts and groans and nothing happens. On Wednesday, Wildrose party leader Brian Jean and new Progressive Conservative party leader Jason Kenny officially signed a ...

Alberta Politics: Worthwhile Canadian initiative … Rona Ambrose said to be departing politics to help out the Wilson Centre

May

16

2017

PHOTOS: Outgoing interim federal Opposition Leader Rona Ambrose listens seriously to someone in this Government of Canada shot found lingering on the Internet. Below: Ms. Ambrose and her domestic partner, J.P. Veitch, grabbed from her Facebook page, and Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi, plucked from the author’s vast collection of political mugshots. Well, that’s no fun! ...

Scott's DiaTribes: Political Prediction For BC

May

15

2017

The BC Liberals and Greens have been on far more friendly terms with each other – both personally and politically – then the NDP and the Greens. NDP supporters still are attacking Greens as robbing them of winning government when it in fact appears disaffected Liberal voters went to the Greens. That said.. the Greens ...

The Sir Robert Bond Papers: The unbroken machine #nlpoli

May

15

2017

The best little book on Canadian politics and government in a long time. Starting with the basics, Dale Smith describes how the Canadian political system works and why things are like they are. The language is plain and that makes the idea understandable for as wide an audience as possible. Every politician, pundit, and plumber ...

Alberta Politics: Who needs old-time climate change deniers when we’ve got the ‘New Climate Denialism’?

May

12

2017

PHOTOS: Shannon Daub, associate director of the CCPA’s British Columbia office and co-director of the Corporate Mapping Project, at the mapping project’s 2017 Summer Institute at the University of Victoria this week. Below: CCPA B.C. Director Seth Klein (Twitter) and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. VICTORIA, B.C. Just because there are hardly any climate change deniers ...

Canadian Dimension: As B.C. Election Approaches, Greens Get Cozy With Liberals

May

8

2017

From left, B.C. Liberal Leader Christy Clark, Green Party Leader Andrew Weaver and NDP Leader John Horgan • Photo by B.C. Broadcast Consortium Is the Green Party in a tacit alliance with the Liberal Party of Christy Clark in B.C.’s election? A lot of people in B.C. think so and here in Powell River the ...

Alberta Politics: Inclusion of 1905 act in Constitution means Brad Wall’s ‘Notwithstanding Clause’ gambit is no slam-dunk

May

3

2017

PHOTOS: Premier Brad Wall of Saskatchewan (Photo: CBC). Below: Edmonton lawyer Simon Renouf. If Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall thinks he can just snap his fingers and the Notwithstanding Clause of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms will make his Catholic school troubles go away, he may need to think again. In a comment about ...

Alberta Politics: Russia seeks international arrest warrant for former Ukraine PM, reported to now hold Canadian citizenship

May

1

2017

PHOTOS: Arseniy Yatsenyuk, former prime minister of Ukraine, with then Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper in July 2015. (Screen capture of CBC news broadcast.) Below: Alberta Conservative Leader Jason Kenney, federal Conservative leadership candidate Chris Alexander (Wikimedia Commons) and Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, all of whom figure in this story. Earlier this spring, a ...

Alberta Politics: Good news-bad news for Tory candidate Maxime Bernier as Boston Stranger packs up his carpet bag and heads home

Apr

27

2017

PHOTOS: Kevin O’Leary, until yesterday a front-running candidate to lead the Conservative Party of Canada. (Photo: Ontario Chamber of Commerce.) Below: CPC candidates Maxime Bernier and Kellie Leitch (both from Wikipedia); and Ron Paul, the crazy uncle of the American Right, whose economic views are similar to Mr. Bernier’s. The good news for Maxime Bernier? ...

Alberta Politics: Donald Trump helps build the case for Rachel Notley’s social license policy on energy exports

Apr

26

2017

PHOTOS: U.S. President Donald Trump – he’s lookin’ at you, Canada. (Photo by Gage Skidmore, Flickr.) Below: Alberta Premier Rachel Notley. If Alberta’s conservatives imagined U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision immediately after his election last November to push the Keystone XL Pipeline project forward would provide an opening for them to attack the Alberta NDP ...

Alberta Politics: Make American Dairy Farms Great Again! Adopt supply management

Apr

25

2017

PHOTOS: Dairy cows in a mass milking machine at a U.S. farm, a pretty well run one from the look of this photo from the Wikipedia. Below: Not what dairy farming looks like any more; U.S. President Donald Trump, hero to the Globe and Mail editorial board, giving Canada, or someone, the what for. Never ...

Canadian Dimension: The 2016 Ontario NDP Convention: Lessons Learned, Steps Forward

Apr

24

2017

NDP leader Andrea Horwath greets supporters at a campaign rally in Toronto • Photo by Heather McCall In June 2014, The Ontario NDP wrapped up a fairly disappointing election. While the results on the surface were acceptable for Andrea Horwath and the ONDP—maintaining their 2011 seat total, and adding one percent of the popular vote—the ...

Canadian Dimension: The 2017 Ontario NDP Convention: Lessons Learned, Steps Forward

Apr

24

2017

NDP leader Andrea Horwath greets supporters at a campaign rally in Toronto • Photo by Heather McCall In June 2014, The Ontario NDP wrapped up a fairly disappointing election. While the results on the surface were acceptable for Andrea Horwath and the ONDP—maintaining their 2011 seat total, and adding one percent of the popular vote—the ...

Scott's DiaTribes: Gender Equality Forum in Brantford – Ruby Sahota lead panellist

Apr

19

2017

On Thursday, April 20, a gender equality forum is being held in Brantford. Special Guest MP Ruby Sahota and other Brantford-Brant community leaders will discuss how they defied the odds to succeed in their careers and what challenges and barriers still exist for women today. This is a free event; it includes a discussion forum, ...

Canadian Dimension: Trudeau runs risk keeping flawed politician as foreign affairs minister

Apr

15

2017

The irrational has begun to dominate our politics as if the American virus has stealthily moved north to infect our national narratives. It reflects itself in various ways but it seems that wars – old wars, current wars and future wars – have gripped the minds of our political elite and their courtiers in the ...

In This Corner: The Return of Stuff Happens, week 12: BULLETIN: Trump does right thing; world reacts with shock

Apr

9

2017

I guess it was bound to happen — Donald Trump actually did the right thing this week. I never thought we would see the day, but as the saying goes, even a blind squirrel finds a nut every now and then. On Thursday, Trump actually looked decisive and — dare I say it? — presidential. ...

Alberta Politics: Two by-elections, three probes, and plenty more: All the Alberta political news that’s fit to print

Apr

4

2017

PHOTO: The decision desk at AlbertaPolitics.ca calls it for Conservative candidates Bob Benzen and Stephanie Kusie in two Calgary by-elections yesterday. Actual Alberta political bloggers may not appear exactly as illustrated. Below: Mr. Benzen and Ms. Kusie, former Conservative premier Alison Redford, Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall and Wildrose Opposition Leader Brian Jean. Conservatives motor to ...

Scott's DiaTribes: Meeting Iqra Khalid

Apr

2

2017

It was a great pleasure and honour to be in Cambridge last night to hear Iqra Khalid speak. Ms. Khalid is the Liberal MP whose motion M-103 condemning anti-Islamaphobia as well as all other forms of racism, caused unnecessary consternation among most Conservative MP’s in their rush to appeal to the more crass elements in ...

centre of the universe: Fuck Libraries

Mar

29

2017

The Saskatchewan government, in its 2017/18 budget, has slashed library budgets around the province. Its done all kinds of other things too like force civil servants to take a 3.5% cut in pay, shut down the only highway bus transportation service in the province, increase the provincial sales tax, and basically pissed off pretty much…

Canadian Dimension: Second NDP Leadership Debate: With Youth Issues as Backdrop, Differences Start to Emerge

Mar

27

2017

Photo from NDP.ca This past Sunday in Montreal, the Federal NDP held its second leadership debate, with the same cast that was in Ottawa two weeks ago. While that debate served to introduce Canadians to the contenders, the general questions meant that the whole event was an ‘I agree, and’ fest. This time around, the ...

In This Corner: The Return of Stuff Happens, week 10: The beginning of the end for The Donald?

Mar

26

2017

So, what’s the over/under on the Trump presidency? I would have thought two years before he was impeached, but now I’m leaning towards one year. Eighteen months, max. Trump has now lost his first big promise, to repeal and replace Obamacare. His plan alienated his own party to such a degree that he couldn’t get ...

Scott's DiaTribes: Conservative Clown Show – Leadership Race.

Mar

22

2017

It’s been interesting to watch the Conservative Party Leadership Race. It’s definitely more entertaining then the current NDP leadership race. There, the NDP has had trouble finding anyone to run, although the addition of Niki Ashton might liven things up a bit. A lack of candidates is, as you undoubtedly know, not the case in ...

Canadian Dimension: First NDP Leadership Debate: A good introduction, but not a lot of differentiation

Mar

13

2017

This past Sunday in Ottawa, the Federal NDP held its first leadership debate. Four candidates, all sitting MPs, took part in the debate, bringing interesting perspectives to the table. Niki Ashton: The only woman in the race thus far, and the youngest by a stretch, the northern Manitoba MP is building a campaign centred on ...