Conventional wisdom holds he may win the leadership but not a general election
Pierre Poilievre is making waves. Virtually all of the buzz in the federal Conservative leadership race revolves around him. He’s pulling in crowds, generating headlines and tossing out ideas that intrigue some and unnerve others. Excitement isn’t a word normally associated with Canadian conservatism. But, for better or worse, Poilievre stirs it up. And some…
All the social and justice indicators show that things have only worsened among Indigenous peoples
The March 9, 1988, police shooting of J.J. Harper on the streets of Winnipeg and the much earlier murder of Helen Betty Osborne in The Pas in 1971 led Manitoba Premier Howard Pawley’s government to commission the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry (AJI) on April 13, 1988. This occurred in the middle of the election campaign that…
The country may be falling apart
Canadian citizenship is under attack. Over the past 20 years, the public’s commitment to Canada appears to be waning. With billions of dollars in emergency pandemic assistance and promises of almost free childcare, a targeted dental program, new investments in housing and health care, and a stream of almost “free” social programs, one would think…
Has ordered a purge of documents that “may offend people”
Nikolai Ivanovich Yezhov was not a nice man but, for a time, he was an important one. He was a favourite of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin and was head of the NKVD, the Soviet Union’s secret police. He was responsible for the arrests, tortures and executions during his master’s Great Purge of 1936 to 1938.…
Governments in Canada are violating the Charter relating to individual freedoms
Now is the time for a regroup, a refresh. The fight over the removal of the vaccine mandates is just one battle, not the war. The war is that the mandates were and are unconstitutional. They must be found to have been unconstitutional, that they have all violated the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.…
An important lesson for nation-building in Canada
As a new Canadian, I was fortunate to have had the guidance and mentorship of many outstanding Canadian role models. They helped pave my integration into a new society and provided me with invaluable advice for my professional career. There’s an important lesson here for nation-building in Canada. Bringing immigrants to Canada is only half…
It certainly isn't any sense of national purpose
As long as I’ve been following politics (which is almost as long as I’ve been alive), the question of what defines Canada has provided unsatisfying answers. Polls typically tell us that some combination of the Charter of Rights, our health care system, and the fact that we are not American top the list. Canadians generally…
In all parts of the country
Ted Byfield passed away at his home on Dec. 23 at age 93. Many Canadian conservatives mourn the loss of a great man. Byfield was a giant in Canadian conservatism. He consistently challenged existing orthodoxies and societal norms within modern liberalism and helped create an intellectual blueprint for a political movement that had often struggled…
Christmas was more primitive in the 18th and mid-19th centuries, but it was still Christmas
Turn the clock back to the late 18th century and mid-19th century Alberta, and chances are you’d be eating fish, beavertail, and stewed moose rather than roasted turkey and honey-glazed ham for Christmas dinner. Instead of rockin’ to tunes emanating from audio systems and streaming services, you’re more likely to be dancing the jig to…
But the idea of someone like William Lyon Mackenzie King winning six terms today boggles the mind
This month marks a notable centenary in Canadian political history. On December 6, 1921, William Lyon Mackenzie King won his first federal election and was duly sworn in as prime minister 23 days later. He went on to spend more than 21 years in office over a 27 year span, which makes him the longest-serving…