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50% + 1
After dancing around the issue for several years, it appears the NDP finally has a clear position on the Clarity Act: On Monday, the NDP introduced legislation to allow Quebec to secede with a simple majority of 50 per cent plus one. The party also wants to impose a tougher question in the event of […]
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2012 Woman of the Year
Every December, I like to name a “Person of the Year” – the individual who left their mark on Canadian politics over the past year. The only rules are that the PM is too obvious a choice, and that lame picks (“You!”) are strictly verboten. The Person of the Year doesn’t need to be someone […]
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Another Argument Against Legalizing Pot Goes Up In Smoke
In the midst of a largely status-quo election, several groundbreaking ballot initiatives passed last night. Puerto Rico voted to apply for statehood. Same sex marriage was legalized in Maine and Maryland, and was upheld in Washington State, snapping a 32 vote losing streak for equal marriage proponents. And both Washington State and Colorado voted for […]
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Who Would Canadians Turn to in the Event of a Cylon Attack?
Last week, Postmedia ran the most awesome headline ever: Conservative government’s order of succession shows Canada isn’t ready for a Cylon attack The article itself isn’t earth shattering, but it does raise an important, albeit often overlooked, question. Earlier this summer, a poll showed Americans trusted Obama over Romney to deal with an alien invasion, […]
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Vote Out Anders – Part 84
At least when Rob Anders is sleeping, he can’t say anything too offensive: And so, [Anders] has a theory. “I actually think one of the great stories that was missed by journalists was that Mr. Mulcair, with his arm twisted behind the scenes, helped to hasten Jack Layton’s death,” he said. “It was very clear […]
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Charest’s Loss May Be Harper’s Gain
Although the federal leaders executed Cirque Du Soleil worthy backflips to stay out of the Quebec election, the repercussions of this vote will be far reaching. Having a separatist attack dog in Quebec City – even one on a minority government leash – undeniably changes the dynamic in Ottawa. So who benefits? The Liberals Traditionally, […]
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Who had June 25th in the pool?
The much-anticipated Thomas Mulcair attack ads have arrived: Other than changing the off-grey colours from red to orange, this doesn’t look to be much more than a recycled anti-Liberal TV spot – torqued policy positions, lots of talk about “risks”, and a cameo by the scary carbon tax. But while the style is reminiscent of […]
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Calgary Centre By-Election
As David Wilks reminded us last week, Conservative backbenchers are “not going to make a difference”. So it’s not at all surprising that Lee Richardson has turned his back on Ottawa to take a job as Alison Redford’s principal secretary. This gives Stephen Harper six months to call a by-election in Calgary Centre, and one […]
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Mulcair Takes on the West
What started out as musings on the health of Ontario’s manufacturing sector has quickly escalated into a full fledged war of words between Tom Mulcair and the western Premiers. It’s an important shift in the dialogue, because going to war with the West is a lot different than going to war with the oilsands – after […]
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The Third Way
The latest Ipsos poll paints a rather dreary picture of Liberal fortunes, with what was once the natural governing party languishing more than 15 points behind both the NDP and the Conservatives. Of course, the NDP are in their post-leadership honeymoon, the Liberals don’t have a permanent leader, and a horse race poll when politics […]