Month: January 2013

Welcome to Twitter, Mrs. Harper

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CALGARY – Laureen Harper and her husband, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper at the Calgary Stampede in July, 2010. (Photo by PMO photographer)

Many in the Parliamentary Press Gallery have long known that Laureen Harper, the wife of the prime minister, is much more “plugged-in” than her husband. That’s partly because of his position (PMs generally don’t use BlackBerrys) but also because she is more digitally inclined, if you will. I have it on good authority that she’s long been monitoring various blogs and I’m certain she’s long kept  an eye on certain Facebook, Twitter, and other social media networks, soemtimes for her own interests or the interests of her teenaged children and sometimes for her husband’s political interests. Continue reading Welcome to Twitter, Mrs. Harper

Liberal Leadership Debate in Vancouver

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A picture of Liberal Leadership Candidate Justin Trudeau posted by his campaign manager, Gerry Butts, on Instagram with the caption “I’ve seen a lot of debate prep in my life but [Trudeau’s] method is something new.”
The Liberal Party of Canada held its first debate of the campaign to pick a new leader for that party in Vancouver on Sunday afternoon. And naturally we have a poll here to ask you who you think won the debate. You may select more than one answer in our completely unscientific measurement here. Enjoy! Continue reading Liberal Leadership Debate in Vancouver

BC Liberals continue to push around local riding associations

Every party now and again feels the need to trump the wishes of their local riding association and appoint a candidate to run in a general election. But, with the British Columbia general election just a few months away, the Liberal Party of British Columbia (which should definitely not be confused with the Liberal Party of Canada) seems to be making it more of a normal practice of trumping its local riding association. Continue reading BC Liberals continue to push around local riding associations

Wall to Obama: Approve that pipeline, Mr. President

Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall sends a letter to U.S. President Barack Obama encouraging Obama to approve the Keystone XL pipeline. The letter, below, is signed by 10 U.S. governors but not, notably, by Alberta Premier Alison Redford.

Continue reading Wall to Obama: Approve that pipeline, Mr. President

Pupatello picks up endorsements from 25 riding presidents

Sandra Pupatello

With just over a week to go, the candidates in the Ontario Liberal leadership race are scrambling to line up endorsements from MPs and other notables within the party. Today, Sandra Pupatello — who emerged as the front-runner after last-weekend’s delegate selection process — announced that 25 presidents of Ontario Liberal riding associations — from Thunder Bay-Atitokan on Ontario’s border with Manitoba to Ottawa-Orleans on its border with Quebec — have endorsed Pupatello. Continue reading Pupatello picks up endorsements from 25 riding presidents

Ontario Liberal Leadership poll: Who would you vote for?

There are 2,276 votes available to cast Jan. 26 when Ontario Liberals pick a new leader. The winner will need 50% plus 1 or 1,139 votes to become the next Ontario premier.

Here’s the breakdown of voter classes:

Ontario Liberal Leadership Race voters

Now, although the voters list is already closed, you can cast your vote right here. Who do you think will win? Continue reading Ontario Liberal Leadership poll: Who would you vote for?

Liberal Leadership: Who's got the track record at the ballot box?

Nine individuals are presenting themselves to be the next leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. Should they succeed, they are going to have beat both the Conservatives and the NDP.

So, what kind of track record do these individuals have when they have put their names on ballots in their own constituencies against Conservatives, New Democrats and other opponents?

Justin Trudeau is the only one with an undefeated record (against some tough opponents)  Martin Cauchon and Joyce Murray have each won three times at the federal level, the most of any candidate (If you count Murray’s provincial elections, she’s won four times). Cauchon, though, is the only one to have  actual head-to-head competition with NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair and Mulcair smoked him.  The others have mixed or no records.

Here’s what I’ve been able to pull together from various sources but mostly from Elections Canada (all corrections gratefully accepted and indeed some have chipped it with some corrections and updates — see comments below) Continue reading Liberal Leadership: Who's got the track record at the ballot box?

Video: Gerard Kennedy on how he'll get from third place to the Ontario Premier's Office

Back in 1996 Gerard Kennedy led on the first ballot for the leadership of the Ontario Liberal Party.
The man who was fourth on that ballot? One Dalton McGuinty. He, of course, went on to lead the Liberal Party until late last year.
Gerard Kennedy joined me on Battleground last night to talk about how he’ll go from third among delegate count to the big prize later this month.

Today on Parliament Hill: One Ring To Rule Them All …

nineriders

News item:

New Democrat leaders from across the country, including the premiers of Manitoba and Nova Scotia, will be in Ottawa today for talks hosted by federal NDP Leader Tom Mulcair.
Nine provincial and territorial NDP leaders are confirmed to attend an afternoon of closed-door discussions on Parliament Hill…

Hmmm.

Nine for Mortal Men, doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne Continue reading Today on Parliament Hill: One Ring To Rule Them All …

BC Liberals won't endorse incumbent's nomination papers; paper suggests it's cuz he likes beer

Earlier today, John Slater, the MLA for Boundary-Simalkameen tweeted this:

The BC Liberal Party issued a press release shortly after in which party president Sharon White said: Continue reading BC Liberals won't endorse incumbent's nomination papers; paper suggests it's cuz he likes beer