O’Toole’s Big Tent Dreams.
Federal conservative leader Erin O’Toole is making his intentions clear and prime minister Justin Trudeau can ignore the intent and lose everything. O’Toole is attempting to mix the Harper base,…
Peter Lowry
The NDP want voting reform.
In a letter to Justin Trudeau last week, Jagmeet Singh, leader of the federal new democrats, laid out his plan for the minority government. It seems to be the best…
The perplexed pollsters.
How would you feel if the three times out of 20 you are wrong in your forecasts, and it all happened in the same election? That was the pollsters’ dilemma…
A note to a busy Joe Biden.
It was an impressive speech the other night from Delaware. It was the right tone to take with the Trump supporters. You offered them the olive branch and left it…
To listen and to learn in Ottawa.
Yesterday it was noted how quiet the Ottawa scene has been while history is made in America. But we ignore Ottawa at our peril. You have to listen to buzz…
In the silence of Ottawa.
Our not too silent members of parliament have hardly been ignoring what has been going on south of the border. They are as enthralled as the rest of us with…
It will never be the same America.
Mother was born in Milwaukee, grew up in Chicago and then married a Canadian. It made Chicago a special place, as children, where we visited fun relatives. Two of my…
Colour coding Doug Ford.
A month ago, Ontario premier Doug Ford turned thumbs down on colour coding the severity of the pandemic. Now he tells us the doctors have talked him into doing it.…
“Waiting for the sunrise.”
There was a song going through my mind last night as we were waiting for early returns on the American election. (Yes, Canadians do get excited about American elections. And…
When one black MP is not enough.
There was an amusing political op-ed in the Toronto Star on the weekend. It was by Tiffany Gooch, one of the Star’s ‘Black is Beautiful’ writers. Her point was that…
Emperor Trump is naked.
Does it take a child to recognize what we all know about Emperor Trump? If he parades before the world, naked, unadorned with privilege or power? Will he be the…
The last campaign.
You never know which one is your last campaign. You always look forward to your next until reality says your last was your last. I can no longer climb the…
The ground game has gone south?
In my years in politics, I have taught thousands of people how the political ground game is played. It is basic to politics throughout North America. It takes lots of…
The Good Government.
While Americans remain mired in arguing the seriousness of the rapidly spreading novel coronavirus, Canadians are basking in the benevolence of government largess to help fight it. Seeing finance minister…
The kid who couldn’t.
Sam Oosterhoff MPP, is the youngest person, at 19, to be elected to the Ontario legislature. He might also be the MPP with the most to learn. The member for…
Foregone Conclusions.
A reader asked me recently why I was paying so little attention to the two by-elections in Toronto Centre and York Centre in Toronto. Knowing the two ridings like the…
Will there be a Trump library?
We all know that Donald Trump has not been your traditional president for the United States. Despite his oddities, we should still mark his single-term presidency with more than the…
Understanding ranked ballots.
It looks as though we need to be sure we are on the same side when it comes to understanding ranked ballots in voting. Some people think they are a…
Don’t blame Singh.
If there was ever a guy on the wrong side of the parliamentary ledger, it is Jagmeet Singh of the new democrats. While the rest of the opposition thought they…
Looking for the “kinder, gentler Tories”?
It seemed like such an interesting idea. Erin O’Toole, the new conservative leader, was going to impress the voters with his reason and patience in handling the liberal minority government.…