While National Newswatch does not keep an archive of external articles for longer than 6 months, we do keep all articles written by contributors who post directly to our site. Here you will find all of the contributed and linked external articles from Abbas Rana.
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal government has eliminated thousands of positions from the public service, but no cuts have been made to political staff in ministers’ offices or in the Prime Minister’s Office. Some with expert knowledge in the mechanics of government say that, in the interest of fairness, civil service cuts should be matched with reductions in the PMO...
Even if Prime Minister Mark Carney secures a slim majority through more floor-crossings and upcoming byelection wins, the governing Liberals could still call an early election this year in an effort to obtain a stronger mandate to deal with challenges such as the ongoing trade war with the United States, say pollsters. “The longer they wait for an election, the...
In preparation for a potential early election, the Conservative Party recently sent notices to 16 ridings in five provinces informing them that anyone interested in seeking the party’s nomination should file their papers by Feb. 25, according to Conservative sources. Of these, nine are in Ontario, three in Nova Scotia, one in New Brunswick, two in British Columbia, and one...
Nearly all Alberta Conservative MPs are declining to comment on the province's separation talk, saying they do not want to give it more oxygen, and don't want to undermine Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's chances of forming government in the next election. Pollsters say the issue should be taken very seriously. Most Alberta Conservative MPs aren’t talking publicly about a push...
The Conservative Party of Canada has started the candidate nomination process across the country, according to an internal memo. Ottawa is buzzing with election speculation as Elections Canada lines up offices and recruits staff, Liberals poach candidates and MPs from opposition parties, and the Conservatives have formally launched nomination contests. “In a minority government context, the election could be called...
After receiving a “strong mandate” from the rank-and-file party members in yesterday’s leadership review, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre will be making election readiness a top priority in the event the governing Liberals trigger a spring election, says the Conservative Party’s national campaign director. “Right now, the Liberals are looking for an excuse to call a spring election,” said Steve Outhouse...
The more than 2,600 delegates congregating in Calgary for the party’s three day convention will elect the powerful 20-member national council today and the newly elected councillors will elect the party president tomorrow. The Conservative Party’s biennial policy conference, which began on Jan. 29, wraps up this evening after three days of policy debates, a vote on Pierre Poilievre’s (Battle...
Against the backdrop of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberals rise in public opinion polls following his recent Davos speech and ongoing federal election speculation, rank-and-file Conservatives from across the country are gathering in Calgary to conduct Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s leadership review, debate party policies, and elect a new national council, the most powerful elected decision-making body within the party...
Senior Conservative sources tell The Hill Times that current party president Stephen Barber and Christina Mitas have been strategizing and reaching out to potential supporters ahead of the national council election at the end of this month. If re-elected for a second term at the Conservative Party’s Jan. 29-31 biennial policy convention in Calgary, Ontario national councillor Christina Mitas is...
With the ongoing trade war with the United States, frequent annexation rhetoric from U.S. President Donald Trump, and the potential for two separatist referendums at home, Prime Minister Mark Carney is facing some of the most serious challenges confronted by any prime minister. Still, his performance is receiving mixed reviews from some political players who say Carney’s handling of the...
The Conservative Party’s national council chose to pass a motion formally declaring that the riding's former MP would return even though Damien Kurek had publicly stated that he planned to run in his home riding in the next federal election. In an unusual move, the Conservative Party’s powerful national council passed a motion at its December quarterly meeting confirming former...
Conservative MP Chak Au is estimated to be earning a total of $314,757 as both an MP and British Columbia City Councillor. British Columbia Conservative MP Chak Au, the only person in the House of Commons holding two elected offices simultaneously—as an MP and a municipal councillor—is expected to earn $314,757 in his first year in federal office from both...
According to new nomination rules, if a Conservative candidate lost two consecutive elections, they will no longer need a waiver from the party to take a third run, say Conservative sources. It would take the support of 51 per cent of local members to trigger a nomination contest in a Conservative-held riding, according to new nomination rules approved by the...
With United States President Donald Trump threatening to end the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement and imposing tariffs on goods and services from this country, Prime Minister Mark Carney’s high-stakes decision to sign a memorandum of understanding for an oil pipeline with Alberta is risky. It could also give a political opening to the federal NDP and Green Party in British Columbia...
In a break from its tradition, and for the first time in its history, the Conservative Party’s national council has authorized the party leader to appoint eight candidates in ridings across the country for the next election, say Conservative sources. “The council has agreed to eight appointments [by the leader],” a senior Conservative told The Hill Times. “Basically [there is]...
The Conservative Party must release the findings of its internal investigation, including how the data breach occurred, who was responsible, and what accountability measures have been taken, say some victims of last month’s cyber security incident. Conservative sources say that a data breach initially reported to have impacted 15 MPs could actually extend to hundreds of potential nomination candidates and...
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s cabinet and senior ministerial staff ranks include a significant number of women, but there aren’t any women in the prime minister’s inner circle on whom he relies for top-level, day-to-day strategic advice, say some Liberals. “It’s not as though there aren’t any women with senior-ish titles in the Prime Minister’s Office—of course [there are],” said Supriya...
MPs are in the House of Commons to represent their constituents, and if they believe their party's positions run counter to those interests, they should speak up, even if it means leaving the party or being kicked out, says former Conservative-turned-Liberal MP Bill Casey. Crossing the floor, or even voting against one’s own party, is one of the hardest decisions...
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet’s colourful characterization of the government’s strategy on last week’s budget vote was inappropriate and not suitable for a professional work environment, says the government House leader. “That’s not suitable for work, is it?” said Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon (Gatineau, Que.) in an interview with The Hill Times.
David McLaughlin says building and maintaining trust requires two-way communication. It's also political capital that leaders can draw upon in tough times. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre needs to reach out to his MPs individually, rather than through the House leader and the whip.
It’s more economical for the Speaker to live at a hotel than at the official residence in Gatineau Hills, says spokesman Olivier Duhaime. Liberal MP Francis Scarpaleggia, who was elected as House Speaker in May following the last general election, has chosen not to reside at “The Farm,” the Speaker’s official residence in the Gatineau Hills in Quebec, opting instead...
In a stunning upset that has left the Liberal caucus “kicking ourselves,” the Conservatives have ousted a senior Liberal MP as co-chair of the powerful Canada-U.S. Inter-Parliamentary Group. At the Oct. 29 meeting held to elect a new co-chair, Conservative MP Richard Bragdon (Tobique-Mactaquac, N.B.) defeated four-term Liberal MP and cabinet minister Terry Duguid (Winnipeg-North, Man.) for the position. The...
If the Liberals were to gain majority status amid the ongoing floor-crossing speculation, it would spell bad news for Pierre Poilievre’s leadership review, says Keith Beardsley, former deputy chief of staff to then-prime minister Stephen Harper. With one MP already gone to the Liberals, another one resigning, and more rumoured to be leaving the Conservative fold, the rapidly shifting political...
To stop outside sniping, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre will have to get more than 80-per-cent support in the upcoming leadership review, says Keith Beardsley, a former high-level staffer in Stephen Harper's PMO. If Pierre Poilievre is ever forced out of his role as Conservative leader, it won’t be due to internal caucus dissent, but rather mounting criticism from outside the...
There’s no ‘appetite’ for a Christmas election, says Liberal MP Kevin Lamoureux. With election speculation intensifying, some Liberal and Conservative MPs are preparing for the possibility that a vote could be called in the coming days if the government loses the confidence vote that will follow the reading of the budget on Nov. 4. “We can go into an election...
The survey, launched three days after Pierre Poilievre’s controversial remarks, is ‘Just to confirm the support that I know is already there,’ EDA president James Barlow told The Hill Times. Amid criticism from both within and outside Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s caucus following an interview with a YouTube channel, the Conservative electoral district association of Abbotsford-Langley South in British Columbia...
Ottawa lobbyists say ministerial staffers aren’t returning their calls, but Liberal sources say it’s because ministers and their political aides are still trying to find their footing and determine how to survive in the new prime minister’s cabinet. But if lobbyists want meetings, they should focus on the economy and the Canada-U.S. trade war. Five months after Mark Carney won...
Every new prime minister eventually faces turbulence, and that’s when a strong and trusted palace guard is ‘essential,’ says political historian and former Liberal MP John English. But at a critical time in Canadian history, Carney’s team is going to have to learn fast. Like other prime ministers before him, Mark Carney needs a loyal ‘palace guard’ within his office—a...
Barely seven months after the last federal election, it would be politically unwise for any party to topple Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government over its first budget, say Liberal MPs. “It would be idiotic for any party to try to bring down the government at this stage,” said Liberal MP Marcus Powlowski (Thunder Bay-Rainy River, Ont.), in an interview with...
Former eight-term Liberal MP and chair of Canada-U.S. Interparliamentary Group Wayne Easter says he’s unsure if he will ever set foot into the U.S. ever again. United States President Donald Trump’s more recent comments last week about Canada being the 51st state, coupled with his envoy’s controversial remarks at a business conference in Banff, Alta., are drawing sharp criticism from...
In a minority government, it is critical to have a senior strategist with regular, direct access to the prime minister, says Greg Lyle, president of Innovative Research. In this minority government and with the budget confidence vote approaching, Tom Pitfield has chosen to remain in the Prime Minister’s Office to steer political strategy, say some top Liberals. Between July and...
With at least three safe Liberal ridings expected to open soon, any byelections after this fall’s “austerity budget” will serve as the earliest measure of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s standing with voters, say political players. “If we think back to it, where did Justin Trudeau’s situation really start [to take a serious threat] when he lost the Toronto-St. Paul’s byelection?”...
Marco Mendicino, John Tory Jr., Mark Wiseman, and Liam Olsen are seen as some potential names to claim nominations in ridings soon to be vacated by Liberal MPs, say party sources. With at least three safe Liberal seats expected to become vacant in the coming weeks and months, prominent political figures are positioning themselves for the nominations and upcoming byelections...
Kicking off the Sept. 11 meeting, Ontario national councillor Christina Mitas invited all EDA presidents to share things that went well in the nomination process and there was silence, according to Conservative sources.
'Carney still hasn't defined himself in the House of Commons. His style, it's going to be interesting,' said one Liberal MP. With Pierre Poilievre returning to the House as official opposition leader and challenging Mark Carney and the government for the first time since the last election, the fall sitting of Parliament will mark the first real test for prime...
Francesco Sorbara is expected to start his new job in Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne’s office this week, according to Audrey Milette, Champagne's director of communications. Former three-term Ontario Liberal MP Francesco Sorbara has joined Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne’s office as a senior exempt ministerial staffer. “His role is caucus relations and investments,” wrote Audrey Milette, director of communications to Champagne...
After skipping two national council meetings, Jenni Byrne attended the Aug. 17 meeting where delegate selection rules were passed. Conservative campaign director Jenni Byrne spoke about the party’s April election campaign loss and her future plans in a podcast interview last month, but has yet to brief the national council or the caucus about the same subject. Some senior party...
Saskatchewan Conservative MP Warren Steinley is a non-voting member of the national council’s subcommittee on nomination rules, say Conservative sources. Amid widespread criticism of the 2025 election cycle nominations, the Conservative Party’s national council has set up a seven-member ad hoc committee to recommend new rules for the next election cycle, say Conservative sources. Those recommendations will be submitted next...
The national Liberal caucus retreat in September will offer a clearer picture of how caucus members are responding to their party’s shift from a progressive to a centre-right party, say Liberal MPs. Following Justin Trudeau’s exit as party leader and prime minister, Prime Minister Mark Carney has reoriented the Liberal Party, steering it from the left toward the centre-right, a...
The Conservative ‘movement is bigger, stronger and more energized than ever’ under Pierre Poilievre’s leadership, says Conservative MP Arpan Khanna. While Pierre Poilievre is preoccupied with his August byelection and with “grumbling” about his leadership getting “louder,” Conservative MP and national outreach chair Arpan Khanna is reaching out to his party’s unsuccessful candidates from the last election, urging them to...
Multiple Conservative EDA members in Mississauga-Erin Mills, Ont., want the party’s national council to annul the results of the June 25 AGM after they say a regional organizer disqualified an entire slate of board of directors candidates on an unfounded technicality. Some Conservative Party members in the Greater Toronto Area are calling out a regional party organizer for “unfairly” blocking...
The national council has reduced itself to a mere ‘housekeeping’ role and has allowed itself to be ‘bullied’ by senior party and campaign officials. If the national council is unwilling to lead, it might as well ‘disband,’ says Marilyn Elliott. A former and prominent three-term Alberta national councillor is considering coming out of retirement to run for the Conservative Party’s...
Former Manitoba Conservative Senator and party president Don Plett says he’s “very, very unhappy” with his party’s conduct of nominations in the 2025 election cycle, and is not absolutely ruling out a bid for a seat on the party’s highest-elected governing body at the January 2026 biennial policy convention in Calgary. “I don’t think anybody ever says, ‘Nothing will ever...
The Conservative campaign team ‘missed the moment’ rather than rising to meet it—ultimately losing the 2025 election, says an unsuccessful Conservative candidate. Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre is reaching out to unsuccessful candidates from this year’s election to get their feedback and to gauge the level of support for him within rank-and-file party members ahead of the mandatory leadership review...
The Conservative Party's national council is scheduled to meet on June 14 for its quarterly meeting, where it will decide, among other issues, the timing and venue of the next policy convention, say Conservative sources. Incumbent Conservative national councillors seeking re-election at the party’s upcoming policy conference should expect to face tough questions from shut-out nomination candidates from the most...
At last week’s national caucus meeting, staffers were barred from attending, and Liberal MPs discussed ways to improve the structure of future weekly meetings, Liberal MPs told The Hill Times. The current 169-member Liberal caucus is largely made up of seasoned MPs who have recently experienced political upheaval in ousting Justin Trudeau, and for Mark Carney to succeed as prime...
The governing Liberals want to work with both the Conservatives and the Bloc in committees, say Liberal MPs Judy Sgro and Kevin Lamoureux. With only three parties holding recognized party status in the current Parliament—down from the usual four—both the governing Liberals and the opposition Conservatives must depend on the Bloc Québécois to advance any work in House committees, which...
Gerald Butts and David Lametti hold no official roles in the Liberal government, but Prime Minister Mark Carney informally seeks their advice on key political matters, say Liberal sources. The federal Liberals owe their surprising comeback to Mark Carney who officially entered in the political arena just five months ago. A former central banker who led both the Bank of...
If Pierre Poilievre wants to lead the party in the next election, he should resign and seek a fresh mandate through a new leadership race, says former Calgary Conservative MP Devinder Shory. To limit the time Pierre Poilievre’s critics have to organize ahead of his leadership review by party rank-and-file members and to eliminate uncertainty, some senior Conservatives are considering...
The Conservative Party began its post-election review last week and talked about what happened in the April 28 election, with the process expected to continue in the coming weeks, says Rob Batherson, former Conservative Party president. The federal Conservative caucus held a full-day meeting on Parliament Hill last week—their first since the election—to discuss what went right and what went...
The Conservative Party is scheduled to hold its convention in Ottawa next spring at the Rogers Centre, where the party membership will vote on Pierre Poilievre’s leadership. Until early January, Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives were widely expected to win a commanding majority in the 2025 election, with projections topping 200 seats, but their April 28 defeat has stunned the party. The...
Pollster Greg Lyle says this election will likely be remembered as the greatest turnaround in Canadian political history. The “historic” and “substantive” election on April 28 is shaping up to be one of the most consequential in Canadian history, serving as a referendum on which party leader is best suited to manage Canada–U.S. relations and tackle the pressing cost-of-living crisis...
Ranbir Parmar, who hoped to represent the Tories in Calgary McKnight, has joined the Liberals after not being allowed to contest the nomination. Minesh Patel, who faced a similar experience in Calgary Skyview, is running as an Independent.
As the election campaign enters its final stretch and advance voting begins, some Conservatives are voicing concerns that the party’s messaging of focusing heavily on the cost of living and not enough on the pressing American trade war reflects a troubling disconnect. They warn that this misalignment is putting the party at risk in key strongholds, and opening the door...
With just nine days until election day and advance polls already open, the two leading federal parties are pulling out all the stops to get out the vote in the crucial 905-swing riding of Burlington North–Milton West. “This election is extremely close,” said Conservative candidate Nadeem Akbar in an interview with The Hill Times yesterday on the first day of...
The ongoing trade war with the United States and Justin Trudeau’s exit as prime minister have significantly altered the political landscape for Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, but some believe his path to victory lies in a sharp focus on the cost of living and trade tariffs, placing their hopes on the upcoming leaders’ debates—where they expect him to “wipe the...
As one of the “most consequential” election campaigns enters its third week, the Liberals are leading in the polls, and if the Conservatives hope to win, they will need to seriously undermine Mark Carney’s credibility—much like Brian Mulroney’s Tories did to John Turner’s Liberals in the 1988 campaign.
The Mark Carney Liberals could be competitive in three seats in Calgary and two in Edmonton, says political strategist Stephen Carter. Alberta has long been a stronghold for the federal Conservative Party, but political insiders say the Liberal Party’s rapid surge in the polls over the past two months has put at least five of the province’s 37 ridings into...
Some shutout Conservative nomination candidates in the Greater Toronto Area, Calgary, and some British Columbia ridings say they have been unfairly denied the right to contested nominations by backroom party operatives. Some say they were led to believe that meeting fundraising targets would significantly boost their chances, but even after raising tens of thousands of dollars they were ultimately denied...
