I agree with Andrew Coyne that the Liberal Party of Canada needs to be the party of bold policy ideas and that on some issues we need to be to the left of the NDP/to the right of the Conservatives. However, I strongly disagree with Mr. Coyne’s assertion that “a party
Continue readingTag: LPC
CuriosityCat: Justin Trudeau: Thomas Mulcair’s worst nightmare
If Justin Trudeau was leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and an election was held today, then three of Thomas Mulcair’s nightmare events would take place Firstly, and most seriously, roughly 1 in 3 NDP supporters would switch their votes to the Liberals. Secondly, the LPC and CPC
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: When I’ll Vote Liberal
Who should lead the Liberal Party? Who cares? To me, and I suspect a great many other Canadians, the Liberal Party is and will remain irrelevant until it speaks to us about things that matter. I have resolved never to support the LPC again until it commits to meaningful policies
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Are pollsters going to muddle the cooperation issue yet again?
It seems that our pollsters have difficulty in appreciating that voters are sophisticated, and appreciate the differences between the choices facing them. Voters understand the differences between (1) an outright merger of the NDP and LPC (under which both parties cease their independent existence and become one entity), (2) a
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: For Liberals, the Way Forward is the Way Back
If the Liberals are ever coming back, and that’s a lot more iffy than many of them want to admit, it will be under a leader determined to reverse the party’s corrosive slide to the right. That would mean a leader willing to take up the cause of malignant inequality
Continue readingPolitical Twitter makes me cry
This is all pretty obvious stuff, but it needs repeating, especially as we head into the Liberal leadership period. I’m not calling anyone out here, but it would be nice if all politicians – Liberal, Conservative, New Democrat, & Green alike – tried to use Twitter in a more authentic
Continue readingThe Leadership Narrative
Way back when, a few months after the last federal election, I replied to the Susan Delacourt’s “Is the Liberal Party dead?” question, echoed ad nauseum in the nation’s press, with a warning to be wary of forcing Canadian politics to fit a certain narrative. That narrative presupposes the inevitability
Continue readingThe Equivocator: Joseph Uranowski and Liam Nichols Endorse Parker Mackay for Riding Director of the Ontario Young Liberals
“I’ve had the pleasure of working with Parker on the 2012 provincial election campaign. As founding members of the Whitby-Oshawa Young Liberals, we have worked closely together over the last number of months to build a strong Young Liberal club in Whitby-Oshawa. Parker is a fantastic choice for Riding Director.
Continue readingThe Equivocator: “Pennies 4 Katimavik” Launches Today!
Pennies 4 Katimavik (a campaign spearheaded by Bismah Haq) is officially launching today in Ottawa at 2:30pm (click here for the facebook event.) When I heard about this campaign I was very excited. Axing the program was one of the Harper government’s most maliciously-arbitrary decisions in the 2012 budget. I
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Abortion: The Liberal Party should respond with a boycott
Stephen Harper promised before the election not to reopen the abortion debate if he was re-elected. Now one of his MPs is tabling a motion to reopen the debate. Harper is using the Woodward motion to slip past his pre-election promise not to reopen the debate on abortion. In doing
Continue readingCuriosityCat: The Liberal Party and the role of Quebec in Canada: Bob Rae’s Views
With the possibility that Bob Rae will soon step down as interim leader of the LPC and so trigger the beginning of the race to select the next permanent leader some time towards the end of this year and early next year, we will find the candidates stumping for support.
Continue readingThe Equivocator: A conversation between Micah Goldberg & Joseph Uranowski on: Progressive Cooperation
Micah Goldberg is one of my favourite people (he has guest blogged for me on a number of occasions.) One of our first conversations together was an argument about some electoral reform proposals I had put forward when I was Education & Government Commissioner on the University of St. Michael’s
Continue readingThe Equivocator: Thomas Mulcair’s flip-flop on cannabis is disappointing but not surprising
On January 25th, 2012, a survey was released on EndProhibition.ca (a pro-NDP anti-prohibition website) where Thomas Mulcair’s campaign stated that he was in favour of decriminalizing cannabis and was very much in favour of medical marijuana. On March 18th, 2012 Mulcair was doing a t.v. interview with Tom Clark (see
Continue readingThe Equivocator: Why Nobody Believes the Conservative Talking Points on the RoboCon Scandal.
Mere days ago the Conservative Party finally admitted their guilt in the “In & Out” election fraud scandal (remember that the Conservative Party headquarters was raided by the RCMP.) Months ago, the Conservative Party admitted that they paid to make phone calls in Mount Royal (saying Irwin Cotler was going
Continue readingRed Tory v.3.0.3: The Real Opposition
Although the Liberals may have been reduced to third-party status in parliament after the last election, there’s little doubt that, largely thanks to the feisty leadership of Bob Rae, they are presently the de facto Opposition to the Harper Government®. If polled, I wonder how many people would even know
Continue readingThe Equivocator: Queer Liberal Caucus Coffee House A Huge Success
On Sunday, January 29th a group of 45+ Queer Liberals, Liberally Curious Canadians and allies of the LGBTQ community (myself included) met at the Church Street Community Centre to talk, drink coffee and build on the momentum of the biennial convention. I was really impressed with the turn out for
Continue readingThe Equivocator: Jonathan Scott: A Progressive & Responsible Party
During and since the Ottawa convention, there has been a lot of soul searching about what it means to be a Liberal. I realise I keep returning to this question. What is the soul of the Liberal Party? And how will the Party fulfill the goals of its soul? It’s
Continue readingThe Equivocator: Sunday, January 15h, 2012: The Day the Crime Debate Changed
“At a time when global competition is growing and our crime rate is falling, it is smarter to invest in education than jails. – Dalton McGuinty After two days of sessions on the economy, health care, foreign policy, the environment and evidence based policy, the 3200 delegates who attended the
Continue readingThe Equivocator: Kelly Patrick: BC Liberal Youth Are Dope In More Ways Than One
There was a beauty to last weekends’ Liberal Party Convention. I know, no one wants to hear or even believe that anything Liberal was beautiful. It is a stretch. However, for all the haters out there this article is not for you. The beauty of the convention had everything to
Continue readingThe Equivocator: Nokha Dakroub: A Family Reunited – And No, We’re Not Dead!
Nokha Dakrou (Delegate Mississauga-East Cooksville.) The convention that took place this past weekend felt like a much-needed family reunion after a period of mourning and grief. With 3200 delegates present, it was more than I had even hoped for or anticipated. It was difficult to find people amongst the crowds,
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