There were a few pointers in his speech about his way forward, and where he wants to take the party. Two critical ones leaped out at me. The first is the disengagement of Canadians from what happens in their Parliament: To millions and millions of Canadians, their government has become
Continue readingTag: Justin Trudeau
CuriosityCat: Justin Trudeau: A Political Tinkerer or a man with a Bold Vision for Canada?
Lawrence Martin in today’s Globe & Mail raises a very important question about what Justin Trudeau might do to change the system: Idealism is the currency of the young and, if Justin Trudeau is to succeed and the Liberal Party to have new life, a new sense of it is
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Engaging The Young
Today — when Justin Trudeau formally enters the Liberal leadership race — his mission, Lawrence Martin writes in the Globe, will be to shake up the system: At 40, Justin Trudeau isn’t terribly young, but he has the aura of youth. As such, and given the other marketing advantages he
Continue readingImpolitical: A middle class pitch
There’s a certain dynamic going on in Canadian politics that you may not have noticed. Or, maybe you did because you’re a sharp cookie. A broader angle that gets lost in the daily hurly-burly. You may have noticed two words in particular that jumped out in yesterday’s preview reporting on
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Trudeau’s Challenging Cakewalk
With victory almost assured, Trudeau can work on his form, rather than swing for the knock-out Now that we have confirmation about what we’ve known all summer, and now that we’ve exhausted every conceivable boxing-is-politics metaphor, we can begin speculating about what the Justin Trudeau leadership campaign will look like.
Continue readingCuriosityCat: How Justin Trudeau can leave a legacy as great as his father did
Ask anybody about Pierre Trudeau’s major contributions to Canadian politics, and you will find many who will point to the repatriation of the constitution, and the enshrinement in our new constitution of our now world-famous Charter of Rights & Freedoms. That Charter has resounded throughout the world, and is used
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Justin Trudeau: Well said, Andrew Cohen!
Andrew Cohen reflects in the Ottawa Citizen upon the Trudeau brand, and its impact on Justin Trudeau, in a good summary of what Pierre Trudeau means to Canadians: Andrew Cohen on Trudeau His name is Trudeau. In political currency, his name is a promissory note of hope, expectation and sentimentality,
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Thomas Walkom discusses how the McGuinty Libs are going beyond imposing immediate pay freezes on the public sector, and instead passing what’s better seen as the War on Workers Measures Act – giving Ontario’s government the power to dictate labour outcomes by decree
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Justin’s Time
Justin Trudeau has concluded that it’s now or never. He’s probably right. But we still need to know whether or not he’s the right choice. Andrew Coyne writes: We have no idea what kind of leader he would make for the Liberal party. We don’t know what his plans are
Continue readingScott's DiaTribes: On Justin Trudeau
I thought this might deserve its own blogpost column. I was asked by a Liberal friend (who has been involved with organizing other Liberal leadership campaigns) what I thought of Justin Trudeau if/when he decided to run, and whether I’d support him. It was done in the backdrop of that
Continue readingScott's DiaTribes: Polls on Liberal (would-be) contenders and NDP leads.
You might have seen a poll out in the past couple of days from Forum Research stating that if Justin Trudeau became Liberal Party leader, he’d receive 39% of the vote, Stephen Harper’s CPC getting 32% and the NDP reverting back to their long held 3rd party status with 20%.
Continue readingImpolitical: Mulcair on Trudeau
Best lead in to a Mulcair quote in recent memory: Mulcair interrupts his oyster eating. “You know far too much about Quebec politics, “ he says bluntly “to think that the Trudeau brand carries any weight in the province of Quebec.” Yes, put down that oyster for a moment, man.
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: BC’s Grass Roots Politicians Want To Decriminalize Pot!
Richard ‘Hub’ Hughes This week The Union of BC Municipalities heard from advocates and opponents of decriminalizing BC’s favourite weed. BC’s local government officials called for an end to the phony laws prohibiting its’ use. Good on them. Finally an identifiable group show the leadership needed for so long. For
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Justin Trudeau: The Tide Turneth
The National Post has an exclusive poll that shows that the Liberal Party would win a national election if Justin Trudeau became its leader: In an exclusive poll conducted for the National Post, Forum found if Mr. Trudeau were leader of the Liberal Party and an election were held today,
Continue readingImpolitical: The big news
Should probably say a lot more about this at some point but not right now, it’s been a busy week. So I go with Bruce Anderson’s last paragraph yesterday on the Justin news: Many in the Liberal Party know that the chances of extinction are real, and the consequences of
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Justin Trudeau & The Ibbitson Question: Lessons from George Lakoff
John Ibbitson questions whether Canadians will follow the values that Justin Trudeau represents, and concludes that there is much mushiness which bodes ill for the Liberal Party under the younger Trudeau: The Ibbitson Question Both political strategist Warren Kinsella (Fight the Right) and former journalist Paul Adams (Power Trap) have
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Kay on Justin Trudeau: He’s not just a Pretty Face
Jonathan Kay of the National Post has an interesting reply to those commentators who describe Justin Trudeau as a lightweight politician: Justin Trudeau into the ring? It’s fashionable to write off Mr. Trudeau as a lightweight, and his party as a spent force. But recent events in Quebec — specifically,
Continue readingCuriosityCat: John Ibbitson gives some good reasons for choosing Justin Trudeau
In today’s Globe & Mail Ibbitson sets out some reasons why Justin Trudeau deciding to run for Liberal Party leadership is a good thing for the party. His point about Trudeau’s Quebec roots is especially relevant, in my view: Justin Trudeau There is the storied name, of course. For better
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Unsettled state of voters’ views of leaders good news for Liberals
Especially if Liberal Party members and supporters select Justin Trudeau as their new leader in 2013. Trudeau has lots of room grow and could easily eclipse a much disliked Stephen Harper, as a recent Abacus Data poll shows: Trudeau delivers … But whereas Harper is only marginally behind on favourability,
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Let us hope Justin Trudeau, like his father, can say this in 2015: We beat the bastards. Now it’s possible for us to do things
Like a modern Beverley Hills Cop actor, Newman – the man who would wreck the unmarked Liberal Party of Canada with a banana stuffed into its tailpipe; the man who would wreck the buffet of that party, spread out to welcome its new leader, the Younger Trudeau, by crashing the
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