Parliament resumes and the “we don’t want an election” rhetoric seems to have been dialed down as the NDP and CPC both release campaign-style ads aimed at convincing Canadians they have what it takes to lead this country. Meanwhile at Stornoway, crickets chirp. I’d like to think that the LPC
Continue readingTag: elections
Right of Center Ice: He actually did what?!: Energizing politics and other unacceptable antics
Do not adjust your television set. We are firmly in pre-election mode. The majority of CPC talking-boxes may reject this claim (even though their own fund raising material say otherwise) but Peter MacKay isn’t going to dance to the party tune. Today while speaking to the media in Winnipeg, MacKay
Continue readingPop The Stack: I Believe in Toronto
As a temporary exile from the Centre of the Universe I don’t get a vote in this week’s upcoming municipal election. But I do have a stake. Toronto is my home, it’s where my heart lives and I intend to return and live the majority of my life there. So here’s what I believe about […]
On Rob Ford.
IntroductionI’m not worried about Rob Ford becoming mayor of Toronto. And you shouldn’t be either. Given what he’s presented right now as part of his platform, over at his website, the man seems to be well on his way to becoming another Mel Lastman. Em…
Continue readingOn proportional representation (2): the case against
IntroductionLast week, I argued for the claim that proportional representation (PR) is preferable to single-member plurality (SMP) as a system of electing representatives to a democratic assembly. The central reason for this conclusion was that PR is t…
Continue readingOn proportional representation (1): the case for
This week and next I’ll be writing a two-part series I’ve been intending to write for a while on proportional representation. This first part presents the case in favour of proportional representation, while the second part will present the case agains…
Continue readingPop The Stack: Could Coalition Be Used to Get the Bloc to Stop Being Separatists?
Great point by Chrystal on Lessons on Framing – Coalition Governments As important as the question regarding whether the Liberal Party and NDP would consider being part of a coalition government is whether the Conservative Party would. Why are virtually all media, journalists, other writers and democratic reformers ignoring this? Just because Canadians won’t vote in […]
Pop The Stack: The Simplest Argument for Electoral Reform
Take a look at this simple and clear article on Democractic Reform from Fair Vote Canada. This is what Canadians need, a clear argument why our democracy is broken. There are some great basic arguments here that anyone interested in fixing our democracy should be repeating over and over to everyone they talk to about […]
Akaash Maharaj - Practical Idealism: Red Party Blues, The Liberals in Crisis? – Akaash Maharaj Podcast
TV Ontario’s The Agenda debates the question of how long Stephane Dion and the Liberal Party can, or should, endure the Conservative government’s electoral brinksmanship. Steve Paikin moderates, as Professor Christine de Clercy, Dion biographer Linda D…
Continue readingAkaash Maharaj - Practical Idealism: Power, the People, and the PMO – Akaash Maharaj Podcast
With more than a year of minority government behind us, Steve Paikin and The Agenda assemble a national panel to ask if political power in Canada is still primarily a matter of the proverbial “who do you know in the PMO”. With Jeffrey Simpson, Norman …
Continue readingAkaash Maharaj - Practical Idealism: Public Degradation and Public Discourse – Akaash Maharaj Podcast
A CBC Radio One national debate on the decline of civility in Canada’s public discourse. More than a question of discourtesy, the decay of the tenor of political dialogue diminishes the dignity of the nation itself. Hosted by The Current and Avi Lewis,…
Continue readingAkaash Maharaj - Practical Idealism: Are Canadian Political Parties Afraid of the Dark? – Akaash Maharaj Videocast
CBC Television’s The Hour canvasses Bob Rae, John Tory, Olivia Chow, and me on why Canada has yet to see a visible minority party leader. Ranging from the ridiculous to the sublime, the programme included calls for “affirmative action” and more Americ…
Continue readingAkaash Maharaj - Practical Idealism: Integrity and the Liberal Leadership – Akaash Maharaj Videocast
Sarika Sehgal of CBC Newsworld interviews me on my support for Stephane Dion, and on how the Liberal Party can re-animate Canadians’ passion for politics. With the convention behind us and the election before us, the question of civic engagment in the…
Continue readingAkaash Maharaj - Practical Idealism: Politics and Principles – Akaash Maharaj Podcast
In the wake of the Quebecois Nation issue, TV Ontario’s The Agenda asks if politics and principles are Canada’s true twin solitudes. With Steve Paikin as moderator, Val Meredith for the Conservatives, Robin Sears for the NDP, and I for the Liberals.
Continue readingAkaash Maharaj - Practical Idealism: Politics and Principles – Akaash Maharaj Podcast
In the wake of the Quebecois Nation issue, TV Ontario’s The Agenda asks if politics and principles are Canada’s true twin solitudes. With Steve Paikin as moderator, Val Meredith for the Conservatives, Robin Sears for the NDP, and I for the Liberals.
Continue readingAkaash Maharaj - Practical Idealism: Who Wants to be a Party Leader? – Akaash Maharaj Podcast
Ottawa Morning, CBC Radio One’s news and current affairs programme in the national capital, explores the question of why the field of candidates for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada appears to be contracting. Hallie Cotnam hosted in Ottaw…
Continue readingAkaash Maharaj - Practical Idealism: Interviewing Leadership Candidates, Call-In – Akaash Maharaj Podcast
Host Alan Neal of CBC Radio One’s Ontario Today and I take telephone calls from across Ontario on the people’s choice for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada.
Continue readingAkaash Maharaj - Practical Idealism: The Fall of Paul Martin – Akaash Maharaj Podcast
Former Cabinet Minister Herb Dhaliwal and I review the long road for Paul Martin from his triumphal entry as Liberal leader to his humble departure after the general election.
Continue readingAkaash Maharaj - Practical Idealism: Visionary Politics – Akaash Maharaj Podcast
A feature-length CBC Radio One national debate between Judy Rebick of the NDP, Adam Daifallah of the Conservative Party, and myself on visionary politics in Canada.
Continue readingAkaash Maharaj - Practical Idealism: Visionary Politics – Akaash Maharaj Podcast
A feature-length CBC Radio One national debate between Judy Rebick of the NDP, Adam Daifallah of the Conservative Party, and myself on visionary politics in Canada.
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