Wherever He Goes
With two recent decisions, Tasha Kheiriddin writes, Stephen Harper may have lost B.C — and beyond. His first decision — to approve Northern Gateway and then disappear — has stoked…
Owen Gray
A Nation Of Yes Men
From her new perch at the University of Calgary, former Liberal leadership hopeful Martha Hall Findlay suggests that building the Northern Gateway pipeline is really a nation building exercise. But…
Old Joe’s Advice
Old Joe Kennedy reportedly told his son, the president, “It’s not who you are that matters. It’s who people think you are.” Old Joe was a master of self promotion.…
Following The Weather Vane
Charles Pascal writes that there were several low points in the Ontario election campaign. However, When Horwath said in defence of her non-platform that she “walks in the footsteps of…
The Norwegian Model
As a truly nasty fight takes shape over the Northern Gateway, Mitchell Anderson writes that there was always another way. Call it the Norwegian Model — and it contains of…
Clearing Out The Rot
A number of shibboleths fell with the election of Kathleen Wynne. The most insidious of them was the notion that the words “tax” and “theft” are synonyms. Linda McQuaig writes:…
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
This was supposed to be a banner year for the Harper government. It hasn’t turned out that way. Chantal Hebert writes: Time and time again over the past parliamentary year…
He Can’t Let Go
Lawrence Martin writes that, if logic prevailed, Stephen Harper would be heading for the exit — particularly in the wake of Ontario’s recent election: You don’t have to be a…
It’s Driving Him Crazy
Popular wisdom holds that Stephen Harper’s incandescent hatred of Pierre Trudeau is rooted in the National Energy Program. But, Michael Harris writes, it goes much deeper than that: Stephen Harper’s…
There Is Much At Stake
Kathleen Wynne’s victory, Murray Dobbins writes, offers hope — not just to Ontario, but to the rest of Canada: While the right’s hardliners may be lighting their hair on fire,…
The Politics Of Resentment
Doug Saunders writes, in the Globe and Mail, that the politics of resentment is tearing modern conservatism asunder. The argument is about immigration; and it was apparent last week in…
Let’s Hope They Draw The Right Lessons
Ontario — and Ontarians — are lucky. So writes Gerry Caplan: The Liberals’ luck is also Ontario’s luck. The Conservatives, and a good number of observers, believed Tim Hudak would…
His Cheese Is Slipping
Not long ago, Stephen Harper mused about scoring a hat trick in Ontario — a Tory at Toronto City Hall, a Tory at Queen’s Park and himself — the Big…
Hudak And Zycher
One of the “bright lights” behind Tim Hudak’s one million jobs plan is Benjamin Zycher. Linda McQuaig writes: His sensibilities are closer to the Old South than Ontario; he once…
The Suppository Of All Wisdom
Australian prime minister Tony Abbott visited Ottawa on Monday. He and Stephen Harper got along famously. Abbott called Harper, “an “exemplar” and a “beacon for centre-right parties around the world”.…
A Preview Of Coming Attractions
As the Ontario election campaign runs down, Kathleen Wynne says that a vote for the NDP is a vote for Tim Hudak. And Andrea Horwath says that Ontarians don’t have…
Chicken Hawk
Last week, Stephen Harper bloviated about the evils of Communism and Vladimir Putin, in particular. Michael Harris writes that it was all surreal: Our 1950s prime minister has even taken…
Self Interest Is Their Only Interest
The Harper government is all about politics, all the time. Policy is not about improvement. And it’s certainly not about seeking out expert advice. It’s about exploiting personal advantage. Consider…
A Name That Will Live In Infamy
We once had to wait weeks, Andrew Coyne writes, for a new Harperian abuse of power. Now it happens daily. The latest example is the government’s proposed legislation on prostitution:…
A Living, Breathing Dinosaur
Stephen Harper has always suffered from delusions of grandeur. Linda McQuaig writes: Relatively little has been said about his grandiosity. Only months after becoming prime minister in 2006, he showed…