Who’s paying for the bitumen Trudeau ships?
It struck me, listening to the news from Ottawa on Friday, this whole plan for $170 a ton for carbon by 2030 is bullshit. Who is going to pay for…
Federal Politics
Are any conservatives listening?
It is something of a wonder that Jason Kenney, premier of Alberta, Doug Ford, premier of Ontario, and Erin O’Toole, federal conservative leader, are members of the same political party.…
Decidedly Different Discipline.
Many Canadians are intrigued by the discipline of political parties. Not that it seems to matter within the parties themselves but it does seem to matter in the caucus of…
Please, Spend, Spend, Spend.
This is a skill testing question. How are we going to spend our way back to a healthy economy? I have been doing my best at Ontario’s liquor control board…
Looking mean and meaning it.
That was dumb. Watching finance minister Chrystia Freeland deliver her financial update was more of a tribute to my interest in politics than any immediate need to hear her deliver…
Political leaders get lots of advice.
It is part of the job. Leaders of all political parties get lots of advice—most of it ignored. Maybe the Toronto Star is not aware of this phenomenon. That must…
Blame stupidity and short-sightedness.
We used to have some control in Canada about who bought and sold our industry. If you are smart enough to realize that you might be desperate for a vaccine…
Parsing Pierre Poilievre.
Pierre Poilievre, conservative member of parliament for Carleton electoral district in the Ottawa area of Ontario, has described himself as a political junkie. He was born and educated in Alberta,…
Back to the Bully Pulpit.
It might have been a term coined by U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt but our prime minister Justin Trudeau did the bully pulpit one better. It was living in Rideau Cottage…
See no; Hear no; Speak no solutions.
The three wise monkeys are alive and well and hiding from reality in Ottawa. At a time when a recent Environics poll shows that 64 per cent of Canadians support…
Searching for the real Canada.
There is a Canada out there somewhere that we want to build on. It is a Canada led by those who can really lead. It is a Canada created willingly…
Turkey or turmoil for Christmas.
Do you ever get a feeling that something is off and you are not entirely sure what it is? It has been bothering me for a while. There is a…
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,…
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…
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…
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…