New Brunswick

Wednesday August 24, 2022

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday August 24, 2022

So, four premiers go into a bar …

October 29, 2019

Something sadly predictable happens whenever a group of premiers gets together to talk, in particular about health care. We have to do better, a Team Canada approach, equal partners blah, blah, blah. And oh, by the way give us money, Ottawa. Loads more money. But don’t attach any strings, because that would intrude on provincial jurisdiction, which health care is.

All this happened this week when Maritime premiers and Doug Ford got together in New Brunswick. Ford said: “We look forward to having a collaborative relationship with the federal government … This is a Team Canada approach that we need to take.”

“The delivery of health care in P.E.I. and across the country is going to be fundamentally different than it used to be,” said the island province’s premier Dennis King.

Friday April 19, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday April 19, 2019

Historic result for PEI Green Party could mean bigger things coming

For the first time ever, the Green Party has risen to Official Opposition status in a Canadian province.

October 23, 2002

The party, led by Peter Bevan-Baker, won eight seats in Prince Edward Island in a vote that saw the Progressive Conservatives form a minority government under premier-designate Dennis King.  The Tory’s won 12 seats.

“It’s a historic night, and a big breakthrough for the PEI Greens,” says Ontario Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner, “I think it’s really an indication, the fact increasingly more and more voters want to see a new way of doing politics.”

“I think Greens bring a fresh voice and a new perspective, and really a desire as much as possible to work across party lines to solve some of the big challenges that we face.  And do it in a way that puts people first, that puts good policy ahead of party.”

May 31, 2017

He says in the past, people thought success for the Greens were more of “a west coast thing,” alluding to federal leader Elizabeth May, who is MP for a riding in British Columbia, as well as three MLA’s holding seats in the BC legislature.

And then with members holding three seats in New Brunswick’s provincially, some were thinking it was a west and east coast thing.

But with Tuesday’s vote, along with Schreiner’s own successful election bid in Ontario last October, he says we’re seeing a “green wave starting to build across the country.”

Now, what could this mean for future elections?

October 14, 2015

Schreiner says we could see our first indication of it during the fall federal election, and even in the next Ontario election in 2022.

He indicates there were five “high quality” people seeking the Green Party nomination in Guelph last year, along with contested nominations in Waterloo Region.

And he is already fielding calls from people interested in running in the next provincial election. (Source: Kitchener Today) 

 

Thursday October 9, 1997

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday October 9, 1997

McKenna’s decade

Retiring New Brunswick Premier Frank McKenna will be missed. He was a formidable presence in the premier’s office and at the first minister’s conference table. The fact that his absence from the Canadian political arena may only be temporary is a good thing.

He leaves his province a better place in many ways than when he took office a decade ago. He was a tireless champion of New Brunswick; his efforts are in no small part responsible for the measurable improvement in the province’s moribund economy. Yet, New Brunswick’s unemployment rate remains a depressing 12.5 per cent and its economy still too dependent on the volatile natural resources sector. The fact that New Brunswick remains an economic have-not member of the Confederation doesn’t diminish McKenna’s laudable efforts through the years.

McKenna is the first to insist he’s through with politics, at least in a formal way. Maybe, but it’s a safe bet that his earnest, understated statesmanship makes him an appealing commodity, particularly to a certain national party of the centre that is in the market for leadership candidates.

Regardless of his political affiliation in the future, McKenna is sure to play a role in the ongoing unity melodrama, like Alberta’s Peter Lougheed and others have done. The fact that he cares deeply about a united Canada means he will answer the federalist call when it comes, and will continue to be a passionate, pragmatic fighter in the battle against separatism. (Hamilton Spectator Editorial, A12, 10/9/1997)

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