party

Wednesday November 17, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday November 17, 2021

O’Toole kicks senator out of Conservative caucus after she questioned his leadership

Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole has kicked Saskatchewan Sen. Denise Batters out of the national caucus a day after she launched a petition calling for an expedited review of his leadership.

November 9, 2021

“As the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, I will not tolerate an individual discrediting and showing a clear lack of respect towards the efforts of the entire Conservative caucus, who are holding the corrupt and disastrous Trudeau government to account,” O’Toole said in a media statement late Tuesday.

The statement was released shortly after Batters emerged from a virtual meeting of the Senate Conservative caucus. The Conservative leader in the Senate, Manitoba Sen. Don Plett, took no action against Batters on that call.

Instead, Batters said she learned she was out of the Conservative fold through a telephone message from O’Toole.

January 22, 2021

“Tonight, Erin O’Toole tried to silence me for giving our CPC members a voice. I will not be silenced by a leader so weak that he fired me VIA VOICEMAIL,” Batters said in a social media post.

“Most importantly, he cannot suppress the will of our Conservative Party members!”

Batters launched the petition Monday, saying she and other party members have lost faith in O’Toole. She argued the party experienced “significant losses” in the fall campaign after O’Toole flip-flopped on major issues such as carbon pricing, firearms and conscience rights. She said she wants members to have a say on O’Toole’s future prior to the planned 2023 party convention.

September 14, 2021

Party rules require an automatic leadership review at the first national convention following a failed federal election campaign. Batters has said she wants that vote to happen in the next six months.

“Mr. O’Toole flip-flopped on policies core to our party within the same week, the same day, and even within the same sentence. The members didn’t have a say on that, but we must have one on his leadership,” Batters said in a statement announcing the petition.

Under the party’s constitution, a referendum on any matter can be launched if five per cent of Conservative members sign a petition calling on the party to poll the membership on the topic through a referendum. (CBC) 

 

Thursday September 23, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday September 23, 2021

Trudeau didn’t win the majority but still has chance to pass sweeping legislation

Justin Trudeau went into Monday’s federal election with one of the world’s highest Covid-19 vaccination rates, billions spent on pandemic aid and the hope that he could convert the earned goodwill into a majority government.

September 21, 2021

He fell short of that aim: after a 36-day campaign and a C$610m election, the makeup of parliament remained largely unchanged, with the Liberals holding roughly 158 seats – short of the 170 needed for a majority.

The Liberals received a smaller share of the popular vote than any other winning party in the country’s history – suggesting the prime minister’s popularity is waning, despite his party’s electoral advantages. And while the math in parliament remained largely the same, three of Trudeau’s cabinet ministers didn’t win re-election.

Trudeau will be forced to navigate a parliament that he needs to woo in order to survive. But it may yet give him the rare opportunity to pass sweeping, legacy-defining legislation.

When he called the election in mid August, Trudeau was asked about his future as party leader if the Liberals once again fell short of majority government. Trudeau declined to answer, but said that more work was required on crucial issues such as child-care and housing, adding that he is “nowhere near done yet”.

Making his victory speech early on Tuesday, Trudeau showed no sign that he intends to step down, telling supporters that Liberals had won a “clear mandate” from the public to pursue sweeping policy initiatives.

October 23, 2019

“I think retiring from politics would be the furthest thing from Justin Trudeau’s mind right now … it’s a four-year mandate unless the government is bought down,” Gerry Butts, Trudeau’s longtime friend and former adviser told CBC News.

Despite falling short of his goal, Trudeau is unlikely to experience as severe a backlash from his own party as that facing the Conservative leader.

Erin O’Toole ran a centrist campaign, hoping to pick off disaffected Liberal voters who might otherwise be put off by a socially conservative leader.

But the gambit failed, and the party made no electoral gains, prompting questions about how long O’Toole can stay in power.

May 15, 2021

Still, Trudeau – who ran in 2015 as a progressive candidate with promises to upend the status quo – must increasingly contend with the reality of politics: as the incumbent, he bears the weight of his government’s successes – and failures.

“Even if this election hadn’t happened, he’s been prime minister for six years – and there’s only so long you can be in power before voter fatigue sets in,” said Lori Turnbull, a professor of political science at Dalhousie University.

The Liberals pledged big spending initiatives, including affordable, $C10 per day child care across the country – a plan the Conservatives had said they would scrap if elected. And Trudeau’s climate plans have won plaudits from economists and were called “bold and thoughtful” by a former top Green party leader.

Federal Election 2021

While the parliamentary math remains largely unchanged, Trudeau has the opportunity to pass key legislation with the help of Jagmeet Singh and his left-wing New Democrats, who hold the balance of power.

The NDP spent millions on the campaign and has little appetite to head back to the polls, suggesting Trudeau has a cushion of votes to keep him in power for the coming years.

“If he’s willing to work with Singh, he can be prime minister who delivers a national childcare program, and be the one who delivers a real plan in place on climate change – something that has the support of multiple parties,” said Turnbull. (The Guardian) 

 

Tuesday September 14, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday September 14, 2021

On Vaccination and Abortion, Contrasting Conservative Leadership

August 17, 2021

Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole says it’s OK for candidates who aren’t fully vaccinated to campaign in seniors’ residences and retirement homes as long as they follow other public health measures. 

One of his candidates — Michelle Ferreri in Peterborough–Kawartha — posted photos of herself on Twitter campaigning in a retirement home despite not yet being fully vaccinated. 

“We will be following all measures, including vaccines, daily rapid testing, masking and social distancing to keep people safe,” O’Toole said during a campaign stop on Saturday in Whitby, Ont. “That’s not only an expectation, but a commitment that all members of our team have to keep people safe.”

Ferreri posted a picture this week of her campaigning at the Princess Gardens Retirement Residence in Peterborough, Ont. Ferreri’s campaign manager, Mike Skinner, told MyKawartha.com that Ferreri has received only one shot of the COVID-19 vaccine but is taking a daily rapid test. 

The Liberals say only one of their candidates — because of a medical exemption — hasn’t had two doses of vaccine. 

The Conservative campaign has also cited Trudeau’s campaign appearance last weekend at a Toronto hospital, where the Liberal leader met with health-care workers in apparent violation of the hospital’s own rules. The Liberal campaign told CBC news that the hospital made an exception for the leader, and noted that Trudeau — who is fully vaccinated — didn’t visit any wards.

August 14, 2021

O’Toole has promised to get the national vaccination rate up to 90 per cent while rejecting the idea of vaccine mandates because he believes vaccines are a personal choice. He has also refused to say how many of his candidates are fully vaccinated. 

The Conservative leader repeated his criticism of Trudeau for calling an election while the country contends with a fourth wave of COVID-19 cases. 

“No party wanted him to call this election,” O’Toole said. “We had a vote in Parliament to not have an election during the pandemic. Mr. Trudeau ignored that because he will always put his own interests first.” (CBC) 

Earlier in the campaign, O’Toole clearly stated his position on abortion

May 25, 2019

“Hi. I’m not Andrew Scheer.”

That was essentially how Erin O’Toole tried to introduce himself to Quebeckers in a speech Wednesday night. Subtlety is not a virtue in politics, so while Mr. O’Toole did not mention his predecessor by name, he did everything but pull out a picture of Mr. Scheer with a big red X over his face.

Mr. O’Toole, in Quebec City for his first big pitch to the province, said he realized that Quebeckers have hesitated to put their faith in the Tories in the past because the party was unclear on social issues. Then he said he was pro-choice. And that he had always been pro-choice. “Period.” Oh, and one more thing: “I also believe in climate change.”

March 18, 2021

It requires no political genius to see why he distanced himself from Mr. Scheer. In the 2019 election campaign, the Tories were doing fine in Quebec until the first French-language leaders debate, when Mr. Scheer fumbled questions over his personal anti-abortion views. The Conservatives collapsed in the province, and the Bloc Québécois emerged as the main opposition to Justin Trudeau’s Liberals.

So Mr. O’Toole, still relatively unknown, is leading off his Quebec campaign with two main planks: (A) He’s not Justin Trudeau and (B) he’s not Andrew Scheer. As political strategies go, it’s not a bad start.

But this is a Canadian federal election in the 21st century, and he was talking about abortion. The Liberals were waiting.

Federal Election 2021

“Tonight in Quebec, Erin O’Toole pretended to be pro-choice,” Liberal candidate and cabinet minister Maryam Monsef tweeted in a multipart thread she posted in both official languages. “He did the same thing in his platform. But in reality, he’ll let his team bring forward legislation to restrict abortion access. That’s the same position as Andrew Scheer.”

To recap: Erin O’Toole says he is not Andrew Scheer, and the Liberals say he is. (The Globe & Mail) 

 

Friday July 23, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday July 23, 2021

If Justin Trudeau doesn’t win a majority in the next election, Jagmeet Singh may be the reason

Some polls have Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole doing poorly, others have him doing worse. But all agree on one thing: NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is in a political sweet spot.

June 24, 2021

If Justin Trudeau fails to win a majority government in an election that could be called as early as next month, it might not be Mr. O’Toole who brings the Liberal leader up short – it might be Mr. Singh.

Leger and Angus Reid have the Conservatives narrowly trailing the Liberals, while Ipsos and Abacus have the Liberals far ahead.

Canadians believe their governments have, on the whole, managed the COVID-19 pandemic reasonably well, and over the course of that pandemic have rewarded incumbent governments of all stripes with re-election.

The similarities between the COVID-19 pandemic and the Second World War appear strong. Both were traumatic and transformative. As society emerged from crisis, people looked to governments to build a strong recovery. People today are also worried about what appears to be the accelerating impact of climate change. Systemic racism and Indigenous reconciliation are important issues.

The Conservatives have offered no clear plan for how they would have handled the pandemic – and will handle the recovery – differently. They are not a party associated with fighting climate change, combating racism or improving Indigenous relations. We do not live in Conservative times.

March 2, 2021

But Mr. Trudeau is not a terribly popular prime minister. A recent Abacus poll has about an equal number of people saying they have a positive or negative impression of him, and Mr. O’Toole is quite unpopular. The only national party leader with a positive approval rating is Mr. Singh.

All recent polls have the NDP sitting at around 20 per cent, well above the 16 per cent they garnered in the 2019 election. If that number holds, the NDP should pick up seats: in B.C.’s Lower Mainland, in Toronto, elsewhere in Ontario, maybe here and there in the Prairies.

Here’s something else: The accessible voter pool – those who might consider voting for a political party – is now higher for the NDP (48 per cent) than for the Conservatives (41 per cent).

That doesn’t mean there is going to be some Orange Crush, in which the NDP smashes through in B.C. and Ontario, scattering Liberal MPs and sending the Conservatives into third place, which the NDP under Jack Layton did to the Bloc and Liberals in 2011 in Quebec. But the NDP popular vote, combined with its accessible voter pool and Mr. Singh’s popularity, suggests the likelihood of gains.

September 10, 2019

This shouldn’t be all that surprising. In the 2019 election, Mr. Singh was unknown, he was out of his depth and the party was practically bankrupt. Today the NDP has paid off its debt and will be able to finance a respectable national campaign. Mr. Singh is a better-known, more confident and more experienced leader. (Globe & Mail) 

Meanwhile, the Green Party and its associated fund are taking their battle with party leader Annamie Paul to court — ending a tentative truce between Paul and party executives just as a federal election call is expected within weeks.

June 18, 2021

The conflict between Paul and her party hit a crisis point in May when, during an escalation of violence in the Middle East, Paul issued a statement calling for a de-escalation and a return to dialogue.

Fredericton MP Jenica Atwin, who left the Green Party for the Liberals in June, called the statement “totally inadequate.” Her departure left the Greens with just two MPs. (CBC)