-
Meet Your OLO All-Stars
People voters have never heard of, replaced by DIFFERENT people voters have never heard of – film at 11! Dear Liberal Colleagues, Today is my first day on the job as Chief of Staff in Mr. Ignatieff’s office and I am delighted to be back on the Hill and part of the Liberal Team. As […]
-
Fun With Numbers: 2008 Conservative Breakthroughs
A few weeks back, I posted on the ridings where the Liberals exceeded retrospective expectations in the 2008 elections (how’s that for a Rumsfeldian opening sentence?). Click on the link for a fuller explanation, but the short of it is these were ridings where the Liberal candidate did a lot better than you’d expect them […]
-
From the "it could be worse" files
Are you an embattled Canadian political party leader? Well…it could be worse: Outgoing ADQ Leader Gilles Taillon claims he was the victim of a plot organized by the party establishment and federal Quebec Tories that led to his political downfall only three weeks after winning the leadership.
-
Turnout Last Night
I hate to toss up yet another by election post because we shouldn’t read too much into them. So rather than look at the results, I’ll just add a final word on voter turn-out. Here’s where it was yesterday: Montmagny 36.6%Cumberland-Colchester 35.7%New Westminster Coquitlam 29.9%Hochelaga 22.3% The average turnout of 31.1% isn’t much worse than […]
-
Topp Spin
There’s no positive spin to put on yesterday’s by elections for the Liberals, which may be a good thing, because trying to spin by elections too much can make you look rather, well, like Brian Topp: The Liberal vote in Montreal dropped by about 30 per cent (the Michael Ignatieff-led Liberals got slightly more than […]
-
It’s By Election Night In Canada!
Can you feel the excitement! Early twitter reports have the Tories winning back Bill Cassey’s old riding in Cumberland Colchester. I won’t post this until 10 because, well, Elections Canada seems to think BC by election voters (all 12 of them) will see this shocking win and change their votes accordingly. Since, you know, voters […]
-
By Elections – Should we give a damn?
With four by elections tonight, the party spin machines are in overdrive, playing the expectations game. The best example comes from this article where the parties trip over each other to lower expectations – “we expect to lose all four” says the Tory spokesman with a smile, “if we beat the Marijuana Party it’s a […]
-
Frank McKenna’s Perpetually Ajar Door
With today’s “McKenna keeps door ajar” headline sure to generate some buzz, perhaps it’s time for a stroll down memory lane. 1989: Ontario Premier David Peterson interrupted a brief vacation with Frank McKenna Tuesday to suggest that the New Brunswick premier should run for the federal Liberal leadership. 1990: Whispers about McKenna’s interest in replacing […]
-
How to Ensure your MP Panel is Filled
When the Tories balk at putting up an MP to discuss the gun registry on Question Period yesterday, CTV lets Craig Chandler speak on behalf of the Tories. Safe to say, this will be the last time the Tories refuse a media request from QP.
-
Smitherman Jumps
Ontario’s Deputy Premier will be making a run for the Toronto mayoralty: After months of speculation, George Smitherman is making the move to municipal politics. Ontario’s deputy premier and energy minister confirmed in an interview Sunday that he is leaving Dalton McGuinty’s cabinet to run for Toronto’s mayoralty in November 2010. So far, it sounds […]