Janice Kennedy

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The King’s throne speech is supposed to reinforce Canadian sovereignty. What it will actually do is quite different

The King’s throne speech is supposed to reinforce Canadian sovereignty. What it will actually do is quite different

Nothing says “strong sovereign nation” like a foreign figurehead presiding over a government’s launch party. But there it is. Prime Minister Mark Carney has invited King Charles III to deliver the new Parliament’s throne speech. Apparently, the honour of the monarch’s attendance sends a message about Canadian sovereignty.

I was a longtime Liberal who swore off Trudeau. This is what changed for voters like me

I was a longtime Liberal who swore off Trudeau. This is what changed for voters like me

It was a more innocent time, kinder and gentler. Life in Canada last September was simple and the politics predictable. Jagmeet Singh was ripping up his deal with the Liberals, Pierre Poilievre was still axing the tax, and Justin Trudeau was pondering which pair of socks to wear. Just another day in Ottawa.

I’ve voted Liberal my entire life. Trudeau has made that impossible now.

I’ve voted Liberal my entire life. Trudeau has made that impossible now.

The Liberal party and I have always been close. Inseparable, really. At age 21 in 1968, and freshly eligible to vote, I cast my first ballot for one Pierre Elliott Trudeau, new Liberal leader and MP for Mount Royal. It was immensely satisfying. The night before, I’d been on Sherbrooke Street as the Jean-Baptiste parade grew violent and Trudeau, who...

Forgive Kamala Harris for downplaying the formative years she spent in Montreal. She has an election to win

Forgive Kamala Harris for downplaying the formative years she spent in Montreal. She has an election to win

Smart kids are like sponges. Even as teenagers in worlds both insular and impenetrable, smart kids soak up everything around them. So, when Kamala Harris, United States presidential candidate and historic smart kid, brushes off the five years she lived in Canada as little more than a time of lonely yearning for home, it’s difficult to believe.

We’re losing our ability to hate the sin and love the sinner

We’re losing our ability to hate the sin and love the sinner

On a sultry spring day in Key West some years ago, I interviewed an old fellow named Shine who had boxed in his youth with Ernest Hemingway. The writer, who lived in that seedy beach town and wore machismo like a badge, loved boasting about fighting real boxers. Shine, a lightweight half Hemingway’s size, laughed as he recalled what a...