Between the years 2016 and 2020, Canadians were united in their contempt for Donald Trump. What will the impact on Canada and Canadian politics be if he runs again in 2024?
Andrew Scheer rises to announce he’s stepping down as Conservative leader in the House of Commons in Ottawa.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
The Conservative party’s problems with social conservatism will not be solved solely by electing a new leader. An entirely new approach is required.
The time has come to accept that energy corridors and fossil fuel exports will be a declining feature of Canada’s economic future.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
In the aftermath of the election, what is striking about many of the policy positions of Canada’s federal parties is their timidity, especially when it comes to climate change.
Voters head to cast their ballot in Canada’s federal election in Dartmouth, N.S. The Greens and the NDP need to work together to ensure they do better than just propping up Liberal minorities.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan
The progressive left should not content itself with being a junior partner in Liberal minority governments. In the next election, they should seek to propose a principled, realistic alternative.
Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau delivers his speech in Montreal, on October 22, 2019.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson
The election results could mean a national pharmacare program will happen, albeit slowly. Canadians can also expect more safe injection sites and money invested in the opioid crisis.
Justin Trudeau delivers his victory speech in Montréal. Now that he’s leading a minority government, Trudeau will have a more difficult job.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson
The urgent issues facing Canada during the election are not less urgent now that the election is over. The prime minister is going to have to reinvent himself and commit to some important compromises.
Conservative leader Andrew Scheer speaks to supporters in Trois-Rivieres, Que. on Sept. 11, 2019. Scheer’s non-position on research and innovation is a cause for concern.
Paul Chiasson/THE CANADIAN PRESS
Historically, the Canadian government supported Canadian innovation and discovery. This support will be threatened if a Conservative government is voted in.
Justin Trudeau and Andrew Scheer square off about their climate change proposals and other issues during the recent federal leaders’ debate.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Canada’s first serious attempt, and potentially last opportunity, to implement a national climate strategy hangs in the balance on Oct. 21. The Trudeau government is to blame for its precarity.
Conservative leader Andrew Scheer arrives for an announcement in Toronto on Oct. 1, 2019. Scheer has pledged to combat cabinet secrecy.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
Yan Campagnolo, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa
Politicians often make grand promises of more open government during an election campaign. But when it comes to cabinet secrecy, such promises should be implemented in a thoughtful manner.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is seen at a daycare centre in Toronto in September 2019. His party is proposing a major investment in child care, but why don’t voters care?
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If Canadians want to advance financially, few policy innovations would offer the same boon to voters’ bank accounts than a public child-care program. So why doesn’t it drive votes?
A Canadian aid worker tends to children in a Haitian orphanage in April 2010. Haiti and other impoverished nations would be hurt by proposals by Andrew Scheer and Maxime Bernier to cut Canadian international aid.
(AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Development assistance has its problems. Nevertheless, it’s crucial for reducing extreme poverty. And it fosters important international relations that benefit all Canadians.
Canadian Forces troops assist a U.S. Navy helicopter unload its cargo of aid at the airport in Jacmel, Haiti in January 2010. Canada uses the rhetoric of a global foreign aid leader, but in fact, it’s a laggard.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
Compared to the size of our economy, Canadian aid has been slipping since the 1980s, and we now lag behind most other donors. Our rhetoric is unmatched by action.
Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister manages to keep the red Tories of his caucus happy and appeal to urban voters in Winnipeg in a province where far-right conservatism would not fly.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
Those hoping to see from Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister the fiery right-wing political rhetoric often employed by other Conservative leaders in Canada will walk away disappointed.
Will the tax promises from the Liberals and Conservatives put more money in your pocket?
(Shutterstock)
Given entrenched characteristics of Canadian electoral politics, the 2019 election is unlikely to deal in any meaningful way with concrete solutions to the important problems of our times.
Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer speaks at a news conference in Saskatchewan in August 2019.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Michael Bell
Those who claim that Scheer’s positions on a woman’s right to choose and a same-sex couple’s right to marry are irrelevant so long as he refuses to reopen debate are missing the point.
Protesters take part in a pipeline expansion demonstration in Vancouver in June 2019.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
This election will have a major impact on Canada’s efforts to combat climate change. But how best to approach the available choices on the ballot remains a serious dilemma for Canadian voters.
This image made from a fake video featuring former U.S. president Barack Obama shows elements of facial mapping that lets anyone make videos of real people appearing to say things they’ve never said.
(AP Photo)
Fake videos pose a risk to democratic representation, participation, and discussion. Canadians need to be mindful of their existence as we head towards the federal election.
Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer attends a recent news conference in Toronto.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
Conservatives face challenges this election given issues with Andrew Scheer’s leadership, regressive developments south of the border and a burgeoning populist movement.