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Quebec Votes
The polls have closed across the Nation of Quebec. The campaign started as a truly unpredictable three-way race. It wasn’t hard to imagine a scenario where Jean Charest ran against the students and won. Francois Legault offered a real alternative to Quebecers who were sick of the traditional parties who have offered Quebecers nothing but […]
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Quebec Votes Tonight
Today, Quebecers head to the polls, ready to elect what may be the least scary PQ government in the province’s history. That’s not a commentary on Marois, who is running on a disgustingly xenophobic platform. But even if the PQ gets a majority, it will be a majority built on only a third of the […]
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Your Guess is as Good as Mine
Three parties entered the Quebec election with a chance to win, and while the PQ appears to be stumbling to victory, it’s nearly impossible to predict what will happen on Tuesday. Of course, that’s not stopping anyone. La Presse (thanks to CROP) projects a PQ minority, while the National Post (thanks to Forum) and the […]
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After Sleepy Summer, Liberal Leadership Race Should Heat Up
Bob Rae’s fateful decision to sit out the Liberal Leadership Race was expected to sound the starting pistol for a busy summer of campaigning from a crowded field of candidates. I don’t want to discount the dozens of Liberals who have spent August feeling the effects of Merner-mania, but it’s fair to say the race […]
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Liberal Leadership Races Through History (Part 1): The 19th Century
Previously: Prologue In the 19th Century, political parties still followed the British tradition of having caucus select their leader. At least, they followed this tradition when they felt the need to have a leader. In both the 1867 and 1872 elections, the Liberals ran sans chef. That may seem unfathomable today, but all politics was […]
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The Dog Days of Summer
With politicians away from Ottawa and politics the last thing on the minds of Canadians, the summer news cycle usually slows to a crawl. Short of extraordinary events – war, disaster, or the great Census crisis of 2010 – politicians are content to stay on the back pages of the newspaper, and Canadians are more […]
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Liberal Leadership Races Through History: Prologue
Between now and the Liberal leadership convention next spring, my intent is to draft a series of blog posts recapping Liberal leadership races throughout history. Some of these will be more thorough and more interesting than others – after all, there’s only so much one can say about Lester B. Pearson’s first ballot victory with […]
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Stephen Harper Finds Science on the Road to Damascus
Here’s Stephen Harper doing his best to stay out of the Enbridge pipeline debate – the biggest (non-soccer) controversy in Canada these days: Prime Minister Stephen Harper is defending the independence of the environmental review process underway for Enbridge’s Northern Gateway pipeline, telling reporters in Vancouver the project will be evaluated scientifically and a green […]
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Quebec Votes
Jean Charest has been around forever. He’s the longest serving Quebec Premier since Maurice Duplesis, and has been PLQ leader for over 14 years. Older Quebecers no doubt remember him from his role on the “Non” campaign in 1995, and his time as a curly haired Cabinet Minister in the Brian Mulroney government. So it’s […]
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Godwin’s Law of Alberta Politics
If you’re reading this post, you likely spend a good amount of time online, so I’m assuming you’re familiar with Godwin’s Law: “As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches 1.” This is true enough. However, I’d like to propose an Alberta political variant, as follows: “As […]