Elections

BC Premier calls Early Election

On September 21, 2020 / Elections, Institute, Provincial

After days of speculation, BC Premier John Horgan today announced the dissolution of his New Democratic Party’s (NDP) minority government and called an election to take place on Saturday, October 24th, a full year ahead of the next scheduled election. In a plea to voters to choose

Minority report: Can Trudeau recover?

On November 11, 2019 / Elections, Federal, Federal Highlight, Institute

By John Duffy Canada has considerable experience with minority governments. Over the course of 43 elections, our country has had 14 hung parliaments. That’s a big enough selection for some patterns to emerge. By their very nature, minorities are transitional. The entire political system palpably yearns for

Inflamed relations between Ottawa and the prairie premiers don’t even need oil and gas to ignite

On November 4, 2019 / Economy and Jobs, Elections, Federal, Institute, Natural Resources, Our Thinking

By Andrew Steele After Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party won re-election without any representatives from Alberta and Saskatchewan, all eyes are on the potential clash between those oil-producing provinces and the federal government over carbon action. But this is not the only confrontation that looms for Confederation. Behind

What does the Renewed Bloc Québécois Mean for Canada?

On November 1, 2019 / Elections, Institute, Our Thinking, Provincial

By Shiv Ruparell During his speech on election night, Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet declared to an upbeat crowd at the historic Théâtre National in Montréal: “nous revenons de loin, mais nous irons encore plus loin,” roughly translated to “we were off the map, but we’re back,

Federal Election Update for Week 4: Lights, Camera, Action!

On October 10, 2019 / Elections, Federal, Institute, Our Thinking

With just two weeks to go in the 43rd federal election, we are getting down to the final days of what still appears to be a tight two-way race between the Liberals and the Conservatives. The Consortium English debate happened on Monday night and the French debate

Moving Goalposts: Each Party’s Contradictory Stances in Election 43

On October 9, 2019 / Elections, Federal, Institute, Our Thinking

Right before an election begins, most political staffers and commentators can be heard saying “anything can happen in an election.” They say it because it’s true. This election, so far, has been no different – exhibit A, the events popularly known as the Brownface Scandal. However, this

Federal Election Update: Week 3: Another Week Down in the Seinfeld Campaign

On October 4, 2019 / Elections, Federal, Institute, Our Thinking

The third week of the 43rd federal election may prove to be when Canadians finally started tuning in. Coming off a surprising brownface/blackface scandal, the election returned to its prior course of hastily constructed policy proposals and digs at past leaders. The Liberals released their election platform

Forward: A Real Plan for the Middle Class – A Look at the Liberal Party 2019 Platform

On October 2, 2019 / Elections, Federal, Federal Highlight, Institute, Our Thinking

Justin Trudeau used the last Sunday of September to release his party’s election platform at the University of Toronto (Mississauga) campus. The document’s focus is on continuing economic growth and ensuring Canadians in the middle-class share in the benefits through government action. In particular, the Liberals focused

Canada Election 43: Campaigns try to gain a footing. Here’s what you need to know about week one

On September 18, 2019 / Elections, Federal, Institute, Our Thinking

Election 43: Week One The first week of the campaign did not move the dial on public opinion for any of the campaigns, with polling remaining static and within the margin of error. The Conservatives and Liberals remain essentially tied in the mid-30s. The focus has been

Growing Pains: An Analysis of the Green Party Platform