James Moore

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 James Moore.

When leadership matters: Former cabinet minister James Moore on why we should applaud Danielle Smith

When leadership matters: Former cabinet minister James Moore on why we should applaud Danielle Smith

Across Canada, at all times, we are an appropriately judgmental people when it comes to holding our political leaders accountable. This is particularly true when we think our leaders have failed us, disappointed us or misled us. Whether it is a municipal politician caught in a scandal, a provincial cabinet minister who makes a terrible decision, an opposition backbencher who...

Imagine if this fragile Parliament shrinks down to a 1-seat margin

Imagine if this fragile Parliament shrinks down to a 1-seat margin

Andy Rooney once said that “numbers are the most certain things we have.” That can absolutely be true, and the one certainty about the numbers of the current Parliament is the baked-in uncertainty given the events of the past week. Some numbers to consider:

Pipeline political theatre

Pipeline political theatre

Recently I reconnected with a high school friend of mine who I long ago lost touch with. Turns out, about 15 years ago, Dave moved from Coquitlam, B.C. to go work in the energy sector in Alberta. He was always a builder. He is the guy who aced every woodshop project and metal works project in high school and fixed...

Canada Post, leadership and tough choices

Canada Post, leadership and tough choices

If Mark Carney is to succeed as prime minister – with success being broadly described as helping to make Canada more united, prosperous and secure through responsible leadership and policy – he has one of the great political balancing acts to engineer that we have seen in modern times. He has demonstrated an admirable willingness to be an agent of...

Carney’s ambitious ‘major projects’ is what Canada needs, but come with big risks

Carney’s ambitious ‘major projects’ is what Canada needs, but come with big risks

In Edmonton, Dawn Farrell, head of the new Major Projects Office (MPO) for the Government of Canada took to the podium to introduced Prime Minister Carney and summarized her mandate and the mission of the government thusly: “To get to one project, one review, one decision in a two-year timeline, (that) will set Canada apart globally and attract enormous inflows...

The astonishing collapse of the NDP

The astonishing collapse of the NDP

It is very hard to overstate how disastrous the leadership of Jagmeet Singh was for Canada’s NDP. I really don’t mean to be cruel or cheap more than four months since the April election campaign by kicking a former leader and party while it is down, but it really is astonishing how thoroughly Mr. Singh cratered almost every aspect of...

Pierre Poilievre and an effective Opposition

Pierre Poilievre and an effective Opposition

Pierre Poilievre is back as a member of Parliament and as the leader of His Majesty’s Loyal Opposition, and all Canadians will benefit from an energized, humbled and refocussed official Opposition. It has been over five months since Mark Carney became Canada’s 24th prime minister and while he has faced enormous challenges – principally President Trump, but also the weight...

A reaction plan to the Trump tariffs

A reaction plan to the Trump tariffs

When observing governments and political leaders, it is always wise to heed the counsel of the great poet and wordsmith Maya Angelou when she suggested that “When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.” Regarding President Trump and his belief in tariffs, we must never forget that his belief in tariffs is not a bug of...

Three Trudeau-era policies Prime Minister Mark Carney should reverse

Three Trudeau-era policies Prime Minister Mark Carney should reverse

Since his election as Canada’s 24th prime minister, Mark Carney has enjoyed sustained strong approval ratings from Canadians, according to public opinion research. Among the reasons for this has been his willingness to reverse course on Trudeau-era policies that he either disagreed with, the public had demonstrated a clear dislike for, or policies that have been objectively proven to be...

Marc Garneau was my opposition critic, and a special kind of leader

Marc Garneau was my opposition critic, and a special kind of leader

Canada, and the world, lost the Honourable Marc Garneau this week. He was a truly great Canadian in every sense of the word. In the coming days much will be said about his achievements and legacy, and it will be a challenge to sufficiently summarize a life so well lived. With that said, I offer here a story about the...

Carney’s ambition to aim high and be a nation builder is a welcome departure from Trudeau

Carney’s ambition to aim high and be a nation builder is a welcome departure from Trudeau

James Moore is a former federal cabinet minister under prime minister Stephen Harper, and a columnist for CTVNews.ca. Perhaps the three most important words spoken by Prime Minister Carney during the campaign came after all the ballots had been cast and the results were known. During his victory speech on election night in Ottawa he said to Canadians: “Build, baby...

Leaders’ debates have come to mean less and less

Leaders’ debates have come to mean less and less

Do leaders’ debates matter? Will these coming debates matter? Yes, but no. First, Canadians should watch the debates with an open mind and keen eye for sincerity of presentation, signs of depth and credibility, and try to decide which of these candidates has the strength and substance to sit across from Donald Trump in the chair occupied not long ago...

5 reasons Canada should keep calm and carry on amid Trump tariff chaos

5 reasons Canada should keep calm and carry on amid Trump tariff chaos

In late June 1939, the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Information produced three posters to boost domestic morale and focus the public anxiety about the war around them and the anticipated coming invasion. One poster read “Freedom is In Peril / Defend It With All Your Might.” A second poster read “Your Courage, Your Cheerfulness, Your Resolution Will Bring Us Victory.”

Internal free trade is crucial for Canada, but tricky. Here’s how to get it done.

Internal free trade is crucial for Canada, but tricky. Here’s how to get it done.

As is appropriate, election campaigns are about differences and divisions. Wedging your opponents against the voting cohorts they are seeking, pointing out their flaws and inadequacies, and dragging them into policy fights that are accretive to you politically with the groups of voters you aspire mobilize. That is politics; that is campaigning. Wading past the torqued divisions, however, lay a...