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Les rapports de leur mort ont été grandement exagérées
Daniel Paillé, the man Stephen Harper trusted to investigate the Liberal Party, is the new leader of the Bloc Quebecois. However, the media attention has not been on Paillé, but on the anemic total of 14,000 who bothered to vote in the leadership contest. It’s certainly not a number to get excited about. After all, […]
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The Value of Female Candidates
The NDP may not believe in using financial incentives to encourage environmentally conscious behaviour, but leadership candidate Paul Dewar has come up with a market solution that incentivizes political parties to run female candidates: OTTAWA—New Democratic leadership candidate Paul Dewar wants to bring back the political subsidy the Conservative government axed after winning a majority […]
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Meet Sheila Copps
Having already profiled Alexandra Mendes, my tour of LPC presidential candidates turns next to Sheila Copps. Who is Sheila Copps? I suspect everyone going to the convention is familiar with Sheila Copps. If you’re under 30, you probably remember her as the highest profile casualty of the Martin-Chretien wars, when she lost a nomination battle […]
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Outsiders
Last week, I lamented that kind of dirty tactics we saw in Mount Royal are turning Canadians off politics (as did Bruce Anderson). As luck would have it, the good folks at Samara released a report today looking at why politically disengaged Canadians are disengaged. It makes for a good read, on an important topic.
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Meet Alexandra Mendès
Last week, I provided my initial impressions on the field of LPC presidential candidates. Today, I begin posting posting the candidates’ responses to a questionnaire I sent out to each of them. Up first- Alexandra Mendès. Who is Alexandra Mendès? Mendès won Brossard-LaPrairie after a recount in 2008 – a rare pickup for the Liberals […]
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Speed Dating with the Dippers
Sunday’s NDP debate was a chance to get a first look at the field of candidates, for the 99.9% of Canadians who don’t have the complete collection of Paul Dewar speeches on their Ipod. With nine debaters on stage, it’s impossible to get anything more than a sense of each candidate and what they stand […]
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Peter Goldring Resigns
Edmonton East MP Peter Goldring charged with impaired driving: sources EDMONTON – According to sources within the federal government, Edmonton East MP Peter Goldring has voluntarily resigned from caucus after being charged with impaired driving following a weekend fundraising event. No word yet on whether or not Rahim Jaffer was in the car.
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Demand Better
Conservatives admit they’re behind false byelection phone calls in Liberal riding OTTAWA — The Conservatives have confirmed they are behind a rash of phone calls to Liberal MP Irwin Cotler’s Montreal-riding over the past couple of weeks in which constituents allegedly were told of Cotler’s resignation and a pending byelection. This is completely indefensible, only […]
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Preliminary Thoughts on the LPC Presidential Race
Elections for Liberal Party President have tended to be mundane affairs in recent years. In 2008, Alf Apps was the only candidate – either because the powers-that-be made it known he would win, or because everyone else was too lazy to run. In 2006, the presidency was overshadowed by the excitement of the leadership race. […]
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The Value of Endorsements
Leadership races are notoriously hard to handicap, due to the absence of credible polling data. Asking Canadians who they want as the next NDP leader is pointless, since only 3 or 4% of NDP voters will buy a membership. Despite the best efforts of the Globe & Mail, few Canadians have heard of Brian Topp, […]