And slowly but surely, we begin to learn a bit more about the international man of mystery: Ignatieff sketches out ‘doable’ Senate reform ideas Liberals present job creation proposals Daycare tops Liberal agenda Yes, the specifics are still missing, but those will come. With voters wholly unimpressed with Stephen Harper, now is the time for […]

More Tory hacks in the Senate, giving them a majority. This should end the whining about the “Liberal Senate” which in recent years has been responsible for everything from stopping crime legislation and setting pedophiles free on the streets, to the Maple Leafs’ on-ice woes. Now let’s see how serious Harper is about Senate reform […]

Two quotes, from two Tories, both posted on Macleans: “We have a government that is focused on the economy, focused on safer streets and focused on research and development,” Clement said. “If you don’t agree with that, which is your right, then you can vote us out of office. That’s democracy.” For [Conservative MP Rob […]

Very interesting, both because of the message and the messenger: Signalling a major shift in the party’s energy policy, the Alberta Liberals unveiled Monday several proposals for revamping the sluggish oil and gas sector, including lowering royalties in some cases. Calgary Grit MLA Dave Taylor, the party’s energy critic, said the province’s main industry is […]

“Anyone can get 20,000 in a Facebook group – call me when they pass the 127,000 in the anti-coalition groups.” (now 214,000) “Oh, that’s just Facebook. It won’t impact the polls.” (Liberals and Conservatives in virtual tie)“But no one really cares. No one will actually show up at the protests.” (most estimates have comparable crowd […]

I was at the Victory Fund fundraiser last night in Toronto. I thought Ignatieff was better than he’s been at past events and he tantalizingly teased us that there would be concrete policy coming from the Liberals shortly. However, the highlight of the night was the Piano Man, Bob Rae, who regaled everyone with “you […]

Another day, another poll confirming the beating the Tories are taking over prorogation. Perhaps an even better political barometer would be Rick Mercer: So, the real question is – how did this happen? Why are Canadians actually giving a damn? It’s not like voters were really up in arms over the Afghan detainee issue, and […]

It’s been a busy week for Cabinet shuffles – first Alberta, then Ontario, now the feds. Assuming this was more than a “hey! look over here!” ploy to shift attention away from prorogation, what should we make of Harper’s moves? Well, even though 10 ministers change jobs, it doesn’t feel like a big shuffle. The […]

Analysis to come later, but for now: -Van Loan moves to International Trade,-Toews takes over the Public Safety portfolio-Day becomes president of the Treasury Board-Lisa Raitt moves over to the Labour portfolio-Rona Ambrose takes charge of the Public Works portfolio-Christian Paradis takes the lead on the Natural Resources file-Diane Ablonczy becomes the Minister of State […]

For a more organized version of these thoughts geared to those outside of Alberta, check out my online column at the Post. I’ll have more analysis later tonight, but the biggest headline grabber in Ed Stelmach’s cabinet shuffle is the move of Ted Morton to Finance. You probably don’t need me to point this one […]