Four federal by-elections have been called for Nov. 25th, including in Toronto Centre. While a new poll shows the Liberals comfortably ahead, I think it’s going to be a real battle. And so does NDP candidate Linda McQuaig, judging by the gambit she launched this weekend. McQuaig is challenging Liberal
Continue readingTag: jack layton
Alberta Diary: Strange political bedfellows are conjuring more than entertainment in Alberta
A poster advertising last night’s NDP-Wildrose leaders’ debate at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. Below: Odd couple Brian Mason and Danielle Smith, captured in electrons by Dave Cournoyer of the Daveberta.ca blog. Alberta New Democratic Party Leader Brian Mason and Wildrose Party Leader Danielle Smith debated each other at
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Mason vs Smith: Wildrose and NDP leaders on province-wide debate tour
TweetThree years before the next provincial election, a public debate tour might not be where you would expect to find the leaders of two political parties. Breaking convention, Wildrose Party leader Danielle Smith and Alberta NDP leader Brian Mason are joining forces to bring provincial politics to college and university
Continue readingMontreal Simon: Remembering Jack Layton and the Man on the Bike
At the end of a long day, it's always a welcome sight. The little terminal to the Toronto Islands, and in the summer my escape hatch out of the city. But its new name makes it look even better. Because Jack Layton loved the islands as much as I do. I'd see
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: NDP Convention 2013: New Democrats’ constitution gets a new preamble
By: Obert Madondo | The Canadian Progressive: Perhaps the biggest take-home thing from the New Democrats’ biennial policy convention in Montreal was the adoption of a new preamble to the party’s constitution. With a vote of 960 to 188, delegates approved the preamble, described by leader Thomas Mulcair, as “the way to connect and reach out
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Wicked Witch war of words: ‘Has Thatcher bashing crossed a line?’ Well, er… no!
The Wicked Witch of the West from the Wizard of Oz. Below, Ezra Levant in an orange wig with a can of Orange Crush mocks Jack Layton’s funeral. RIP or give it a rest? Oh my – quelle horreur! – naughty Britons still appalled by the depredations visited upon their
Continue readingEclectic Lip: Douglas, Deng and Diocletian
(originally written May 21, 2012. Part of Great Upload of 2013.) Tommy Douglas I read a bio of Tommy Douglas recently, figuring as a guy with sinister leanings (sinister in the original Latin sense of “left”, that is 🙂 ) I might as well brush up on the father of
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Murray Dobbin writes about the significance of Idle No More as a shift away from the presumption that First Nations’ interests are represented solely by elected officials: There are some fascinating similarities between the Idle No More phenomenon and the Occupy movement.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On open invitations
Jon Worth’s post on the distinction between partisan politics (as generally understood) and movement-based activism is well worth a read, particularly in pointing out how the latter may better express what people actually want to see out of politics: Since first reading Mary Kaldor’s piece at the LSE EUROPP blog
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Canada’s Greatest Losers
Last week, Martha Hall Findlay and Karen McCrimmon declared their candidacies for the Liberal leadership race. This week, George Takach has taken the plunge. I’ve posted one blog interview with David Merner, and will have others with David Bertschi and Alex Burton next week. Deborah Coyne, meanwhile, has already released more fresh ideas than we’ve seen from Stephen Harper during his entire tenure as Prime Minister. These are seven very different candidates with seven very different messages, but the one … →
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Anonymous comments? Dean Del Mastro’s right: there oughtta be a law!
A young member of the Tory Online Rage Machine (TORM) composes a mean Tweet using talking points from Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s office. TORM operatives may not appear exactly as illustrated. Below: The unfortunate Dean Del Mastro. It’s hard not to feel a pang of sympathy for Dean Del Mastro,
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Welcome to Alberta’s Wild West, where the market sets the value of your vote
Drug store billionaire Daryl Katz, right, discusses his plans for a new Edmonton hockey arena with a representative of the Alberta government. Since Wild West hockey barons may not appear exactly as illustrated, a photo of the real Mr. Katz is shown below. (CBC Photo, circa 2008.) Look, people, this
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Victor Toews demonstrates how wedge politics biteth like a serpent
Mennonites in Paraguay. Below: Victor Toews and Omar Khadr as they appear nowadays. Way below: Ron Anders in one of his waking moments. You’d think Victor Toews would have felt a little empathy for Omar Khadr. Mr. Toews is the Paraguayan-born public security minister in Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government.
Continue readingCanadian ProgressiveCanadian Progressive: Conservative MP Rob Anders: Thomas Mulcair Hastened Jack Layton’s Death
Conservative MP Rob Anders is “a politician who isn’t afraid to speak his mind”. Supposedly. He once called South African anti-apartheid icon, Nelson Mandela, a “terrorist“. But this time, the Calgary West MP went too far. During an interview with iPolitics’ Laura Stone, Anders suggested that NDP Leader, Thomas Mulcair, helped push Jack Layton into
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Vote Out Anders – Part 84
Only Rob Anders has this theory, because he pays closer attention to the House of Commons than anyone else. At least when Rob Anders is sleeping, he can’t say anything too offensive: And so, [Anders] has a theory. “I actually think one of the great stories that was missed by
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On political legacies
Ready the fainting couch for Warren Kinsella, because I’ve got a scoop that he’ll find shocking and appalling. The NDP has been fund-raising for years based on appeals to Jack Layton’s public image. In fact, Layton’s face and signature regularly appeared on financial appeals to his party’s supporters not just
Continue reading350 or bust: Take Time To Renew Your Spirit
This is Stephen Lewis’s stirring eulogy at Jack Layton’s funeral, one year ago tomorrow. * “Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.” Arundhati Roy Read the full text on the Globe And Mail.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your weekend reading. – Gerald Caplan weighs in on Jack Layton’s legacy: It seems to me that Jack Layton’s enduring legacy is twofold. First, he set a standard of doing politics that, if followed by others, would change the entire tone of public life for the country.
Continue readingCanadian Progressive: NDP MP Denise Savoie resigns House Commons seat
The Victoria, B.C. MP says her doctor gave her a “health warning” this spring. She plans to leave politics and devote herself full-time to her family.
Continue readingRandom Ranting Raving and Ratings: Remembering Layton by Looking Forward
Jack Layton was not about looking back, he was a forward thinker. “I am running to be the next Prime Minister of Canada” ~ Jack Layton , 2008In 2008, when Jack said those words, it seemed like such a shocking statement to make. The general public and even many NDP
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