Kumbaya Counter-Terrorism
One of the reasons I keep blogging is that the comments section here tends to breed meaningful discussion rather than the “no you’re Hitler” type of debate you see on…
calgarygrit
Happy Birthday
A year ago Alison Redford triumphed thanks to a lot of hard work, a little luck, and $430,000 from Daryl Katz For a government which has been in power 42…
A Brief History of Stephen Harper Supporting Our Troops
“In 2006, after the Liberal ‘decade of darkness,’ we took action to rebuild Canada’s Armed Forces.” –Stephen Harper October 2010: “Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government is scrambling to contain an…
This Just In: Voters Feel Negative Ads Are “Negative”
Respondents describe the ads as “unfair”, “negative”…and “hawt!“. Trudeau’s predictable win, followed by predictable attack ads, has been followed by an all-too predictable poll: In an EKOS Research Associates survey,…
Justin Trudeau: Too Sexy For His Shirt, Too Sexy For Canada?
The only thing more predictable than Justin Trudeau’s win in the Liberal leadership race was that it would be followed by Conservative attack ads. For those curious what the sequel…
Trudeau’s Win by the Numbers
Over the past year, there have been thousands of articles written about Justin Trudeau, his father, and his leadership campaign. Since it hasn’t been a big secret he was going…
How I’m Voting
Unlike past leadership contests where I’ve been fighting on the front lines for my candidate, I’ve watched the federal race largely as a spectator. Being away from a campaign offers…
Final Power Rankings
There isn’t a lot of suspense surrounding Sunday’s Liberal leadership vote. Pick the metric of your choice – fundraising, endorsements, hair volume – and Trudeau leads his nearest challenger by…
Provincial Unrest
Alison Redford’s approval ratings have fallen to “Stelmachian” levels Angus Reid has released their quarterly Premier approval ratings. As per usual, Brad Wall is more popular than God, and everyone…
Rae’s Day
Every political commentator loves to say “timing is everything in politics”, and every Canadian political commentator loves to say that Bob Rae never had good timing. He had the misfortune…
Showcase Showdown
It doesn’t compare to the high stakes floor crossings and backroom deals that define delegated conventions, but yesterday’s Liberal Showcase still offered the speeches, signs, buttons, and hospitality suites politicos…
Robocon
The first charges in the Robocon Scandal have been laid against Michael Sona. Most interesting in this, is that Sona’s lawyer has signalled they intend to shift the blame to…
Ralph’s World
After the passing of Peter Lougheed last year, another Alberta PC titan is gone, with Ralph Klein passing away at the age of 70. Although it is customary to offer…
Updated Power Rankings Show Trudeau in Control
Karen McCrimmon recognizes the odds she’s facing When I released my first set of LPC Power Rankings in early February, I was a bit surprised to see Justin Trudeau up…
Liberal Leadership Power Rankings
Justin Trudeau is head and shoulders ahead of his closest competitors During the NDP leadership race, I got into the habit of tabulating “Power Rankings” of how the different candidates…
Liberals One-on-One
The moderator failed to ask the tough questions, such as “Mr. Bertschi, why on earth are you wearing that scarf?“ My mind has been on the Ontario Liberal leadership race…
The Wisdom of the Masses
The UBC Election Stock Market proved to be a lot of fun during the 2008 election, as Canadians could bet up to $1000 on the outcome they expected. For some…
You Be The Finance Minister
If Doug Horner can’t get Alberta’s finances under control, he can always look forward to a long career as a Ricky Gervais impersonator. Alberta is facing a bit of a…
Lessons Learned
Goodbye Minister of Finance Takhar. Hello Minister Responsible for Seniors Takhar. You win some, you lose some. Or so I hear. Regardless, win or lose, we can all take home…
As Good as Being There
The mainstream media coverage of this weekend’s OLP leadership convention has focused on backroom deals and electoral implications – but this misses the very human element of leadership conventions, which…