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Jim Flaherty (1949-2014)
Stunning news. One of the most influential politicians of his generation is gone all too soon. A death in the family “Tears in the air”: Reaction to the death of Jim Flaherty Jim Flaherty’s personal touch was a rarity on Parliament Hill The respect to Jim Flaherty across party lines was not fake At Issue […]
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Hanging up the shoes
It’s not a huge surprise, but it’s still big news. After 8 years, the only Finance Minister Stephen Harper has ever known and loved is calling it quits: Jim Flaherty steps down as finance minister OTTAWA – Jim Flaherty is leaving the federal cabinet after more than eight years as finance minister to prepare for […]
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Caucus Splitting
By design, Tuesday’s budget was a non-event. The public’s eyes are on Sochi, and the pundits’ eyes are on next year’s budget. So, it should not be surprising that it was the post-budget fallout that grabbed the most headlines, when Finance Minister Jim Flaherty mused that the Tories central 2011 campaign promise of income splitting […]
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The 2015 Tory Playbook
We got a good reminder today of why it would be foolish to write off the Conservatives in 2015: Conservatives’ new surplus forecast: $3.7-billion for election year Ottawa’s fall economic update shows the government is counting on a surplus of at least $3.7-billion in 2015-16, the year of the next federal election. A mix 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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2009 Man of the Year
I’ve picked a “Person of the Year” for five years running now – it’s not always someone I like (see: Klein, Ralph), and it’s not always someone who had a very good year (see: Dion, Stephane). Rather, I like to pick someone who left their mark on Canadian politics over the past 12 months. And […]