Taking stock of yesterday’s by-elections
The media love a good narrative, and once they decide on a narrative they’ll do anything to force events into their box, whether the events fit inside that box. Right…
Jeff Jedras
Travelling BC & The Yukon with Deborah Coyne
As a BCer I’m always happiest in BC, and that’s where I am right now. I’m with Liberal leadership candidate Deborah Coyne on a 23-day tour of the province. After…
The Liberal Party needs a competitive race
With the rules that will govern the race now in place and more candidates about to put their names forward, the race for the Liberal Party of Canada is about…
Liberal leadership procedure and process update from Mike Crawley
Today was the Liberal Party of Canada (Ontario)’s Toronto region day, where Liberals from the ridings of greater Toronto gathered to talk organization, policy and rebuilding. A few items of…
Liberal Party needs time to do supporter vote right
To paraphrase an old proverb, beware newspaper columnists bearing advice. That certainly applies to John Ibbitson’s column in the Globe this morning, where he takes the Liberal Party to task…
James Moore should give Peter MacKay history lessons
Late last year, as the federal government launched plans to celebrate the bicentennial of the War of 1812, Heritage Minister James Moore was heard to lament the fact that Canada’s…
How does Canada fare in The Newsroom’s “greatest country” rant?
One of the best moments of television I’ve seen in awhile is the rant fictional news anchor Will McAvoy gives early in the pilot episode of Aaron Sorkin’s The Newsroom,…
10,000 Liberal supporters a very real number: Certosimo
Following-up on my post earlier this week about some of my concerns around the Liberal Party of Canada’s supporter sign-up process, I spoke today with Liberal membership secretary Matthew Certosimo…
Michaëlle Jean and memories of prorogations past
An interesting story came out this week offering some insight into former Governor General Michaëlle Jean’s decision to grant Stephen Harper’s Conservative government a prorogation of Parliament in 2008 when…
A Coyne (not that one) enters the race and a BCer (not me) comes close
With summer underway the Liberal Party of Canada leadership race is starting to heat up (yes, I do feel horrible for writing that) with a few recent developments to report.…
Liberals should reconsider supporter opt-in process
While I didn’t support the creation of the Liberal “supporter”category that allows anyone that’s not a member of another party to vote for the party’s next leader without buying a…
Ethics committee talks social media without Del Mastro
I had a few committee meetings to choose from while I was in Ottawa last week, and attending the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics meeting on…
Video: Scrum shopping on Parliament Hill
Every day that the House of Commons is sitting, just before the end of question period members of the press gallery begin to gather in the foyer outside the chamber…
Video: Peter MacKay hears the word plane and runs up the stairs
I was in Ottawa earlier this week and spent some time on Parliament Hill with a media pass, attending a few question periods, a few scrums, and a meeting of…
Liberals mustn’t have any sacred cows, dairy or otherwise
I confess to knowing practically nothing about supply management. I know that people that support it say it’s necessary to keep Canadian farmers competitive and alive, and those that oppose…
It’s so hard to find good help these days…
You know, I’m starting to feel sorry for Conservative MP Dean Del Mastro. I’m sure he wants to do good, but he just keeps being foiled by those around him.…
Will Joe Volpe follow in Borys Wrzesnewskyj’s footsteps in Eglington-Lawrence?
Former Etobocoke-Centre Liberal MP Borys Wrzesnewskyj has won headlines for his legal challenge to force a by-election due to election irregularities, and it appears another former Liberal MP, Joe Volpe,…
Quoted on affairs Liberal
Postmedia’s Lee Berthiaume filed the obligatory Justin Trudeau and the Liberal leadership story yesterday, and I’m quoted. First, in defence of charisma: “Charisma can be seen as superficial, but it…
Canada isn’t a polarized country (yet), but the Liberals need to earn relevance
I wrote a few weeks ago how an increasing and deliberate polarization of the political debate in Canada by the Conservatives and the NDP was having the effect of both…
The case for Justin Trudeau and a two-election strategy
There are a number of interesting names floating around as possible contenders for the Liberal Party of Canada leadership, and many more less than interesting names. While I may or…