Here’s why Doug Ford is in no hurry to fire his hapless labour minister
Doug Ford faces a growing political problem with a seemingly obvious solution. That problem is David Piccini, Ontario’s embattled minister of labour.
Martin Regg Cohn
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If Nate Erskine-Smith has become a political punchline, he’s only got himself to blame
Politics can be a blood sport, which is why most politicians learn to roll with the punches. Not Nate Erskine-Smith, who has become a punchline in the halls of power.
For Doug Ford, Mark Carney will always be a better partner than Pierre Poilievre
It’s democratic déjà vu all over again. For the second time this year, Ontario voters are picking a homegrown leader to protect them from a foreign president. Donald Trump served as bogeyman-in-chief for Premier Doug Ford in last month’s vote. And the provincial campaign ended as it began, with Ford far out in front.
Mark Carney is going to fight Pierre Poilievre using Doug Ford’s playbook
The path to victory for Mark Carney’s Liberals starts in Ontario. And that pathway picks up where Doug Ford left off on the campaign trail. The victorious Feb. 27 election by Ford’s Tories was a dry run for the coming federal campaign.
The real difference between Pierre Poilievre and Doug Ford
Politicians always say that campaigns matter. Pollsters know better. In truth, Ontario’s Feb. 27 vote resembled a Holiday Inn election, a “no surprises” campaign from beginning to end — not least because public opinion surveys called it from start to finish.
Alberta’s premier is playing right into Donald Trump’s hands
United we stand. Undermined we don’t stand a chance. The prime minister and all the premiers in the room came together to forge a common front against Donald Trump’s tariff threats Wednesday. But one premier got away from them, sounding a note of division and disunity from afar. Alberta’s Danielle Smith, tuning in virtually on vacation, was the odd Canadian...
Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives look like fools for crying scandal over Ottawa’s purchase of a $9-million luxury NY condo
Mindful of our appetite for real estate porn, Conservative politicians have lost their minds over the $9-million luxury residence purchased for Canada’s consul-general in New York. It has all the ingredients of a juicy summer scandal: sticker shock, private pampering and public malfeasance.
The French just united against the right. Here’s how Canadians could, too
Here’s a unifying thought for a politically divided Canada: Take a page from an even more politically polarized France. I don’t mean import its political culture, which is increasingly intolerant and ungovernable. I’m thinking of the French penchant for improvisation in their hour of desperation.
Whether or not Justin Trudeau should quit now is the wrong question. Just ask Kathleen Wynne
Should Justin Trudeau stay or should he go? Kathleen Wynne has been there, done that — and didn’t go. After a bitter byelection defeat for the federal Liberals in Toronto–St. Paul’s riding this week, Wynne has been asking herself the same question anew. As premier, she stayed to fight another campaign in 2018, paying a high price in the election...
Justin Trudeau and Pierre Poilievre have lots on the line in this Toronto byelection — but there’s one mistake voters might make
Perched beside a church, two petitioners pose two question for passing pedestrians: “Do you live in St. Paul’s? Did you know there’s a federal byelection happening?”
Doug Ford wants to steal Pierre Poilievre’s thunder for his own re-election bid
If you’re wondering what keeps Doug Ford awake at night, how he spends every waking moment during the day, I can now reveal his most frantic and fantastical obsession. No, it’s not the housing crisis, nor the health-care crisis, not even the beer boondoggle — each of which is dragging the province down. None of the above comes close.
Prime Minister Pierre Poilievre? That's bad news for Doug Ford
By tradition, Premier Doug Ford and federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, should be as one. Yet they barely know each and are in no hurry to get acquainted, Martin Regg Cohn writes. By rights, these two right-wingers should be soul mates.
Jagmeet Singh says he's getting 'a lot of heat' for working with the Liberals. Here's how he answers his critics
For Jagmeet Singh, politics is a balancing act that never stops. The federal NDP leader wields the balance of power in a minority Parliament where his party is keeping the Liberal government alive. The idea is to win concessions out of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau — on child care, dental care, pharmacare — before the rival parties fight it out...
Divided progressives are the best friends a Conservative leader could have
Most politicians are in the business of telling voters what they want to hear. But some political parties just want to stay in business — without listening to what voters are telling them. Progressives are a big part of the problem.
Want to see Doug Ford and Pierre Poilievre lose? Then the left needs to get its act together
If you think of Premier Doug Ford as trouble, brace yourself for double trouble if Pierre Poilievre becomes prime minister. Troubling thought? Think of this column as a thought experiment.