Doug Ford’s internal polling paints a grim picture for Pierre Poilievre in Ontario
Ford’s campaign manager warns that unless the Tories “get on it quick, they are going to get obliterated.” Internal polling...
Robert Benzie
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 Robert Benzie.
Polls show Carney’s Liberals have widened their lead over Poilievre’s Tories since election call
Voters in Ontario and Quebec are propelling Mark Carney’s Liberals deep into majority government territory, polls suggest. The Star’s election...
Doug Ford says his ‘absolutely swamped’ MPPs won’t have time to campaign for Pierre Poilievre
Premier Doug Ford is reminding Progressive Conservative cabinet ministers and MPPs they will be too “swamped” with their day jobs...
Insiders say Pierre Poilievre called Doug Ford for help — and the premier turned him down
The premier told him he would be too busy governing Ontario, the Star has learned. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre called...
Doug Ford pledges to work with ‘very bright’ Mark Carney on tackling Donald Trump’s tariffs
As Premier Doug Ford gets set to appoint his new cabinet, the Progressive Conservatives’ top priority is dealing with the...
Doug Ford’s surcharge on exports of electricity to the U.S. remains on the table, sources say
The tone has changed, but the threats remain. While Doug Ford says “the temperature is being lowered” in the trade...
Doug Ford is channelling Canadians’ outrage about Donald Trump’s tariffs — and it’s not just Americans who are noticing
It was a small aside, but perhaps a surprising one given the often contentious relationship between politicians and journalists. In...
‘Canada is killing our people’: Donald Trump, JD Vance demand Canada halt counter-tariffs, increase border security during heated call with Trudeau
Canada offered to delay its second phase of counter-tariffs against the U.S. if Donald Trump drops tariffs on all Canadian...
Bonnie Crombie endorses Mark Carney as federal Liberal leader
Bonnie Crombie is endorsing Mark Carney to be federal Liberal leader, the Star has learned. The Ontario Liberal chief will...
Recording reveals Doug Ford calling for return of death penalty in campaign speech: ‘Send ‘em right to sparky’
Doug Ford took his tough-on-crime talk to new heights in a campaign speech where he pushed for a return to...
Doug Ford under attack in Super Bowl ads
Doug Ford’s campaign fumble is getting the Super Bowl spotlight. Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie will be airing two different 30-second...
Ontario election: ‘Hot mic’ gaffe carries risks but Doug Ford’s Tories still lead, poll suggests
Doug Ford’s ”hot mic” gaffe about wanting Donald Trump to win the U.S. presidency may not have damaged the Progressive...
Crombie, Stiles pounce on Doug Ford’s hot mic admission that he ‘100%’ wanted Donald Trump to win election
Doug Ford‘s hot mic admission that he “100%” wanted Donald Trump to win the U.S. presidential election has jolted the...
Doug Ford overheard saying he was happy Donald Trump became president — ‘then the guy pulled out the knife’
A defensive Doug Ford insists it was not reckless to call a provincial election against the spectre of a trade...
Canada tariffs: Ontario cancels contract with Starlink, global markets in turmoil after Trump announces tariffs over the weekend
The onset of a U.S.-led tariff war with Canada, Mexico and China triggered turmoil in global markets and prompted Ontario...
Doug Ford warns Pierre Poilievre that Ontario’s auto industry must be protected
Doug Ford is taking a veiled shot at federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, saying whoever is the next prime minister...
Doug Ford has strong support as election call looms, survey suggests
Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives are in the poll position as the governing party revs up for a snap election call...
Canada is gearing up to counterattack Trump’s tariff threat, Justin Trudeau says. ‘Everything is on the table.’
Canada would not immediately match any U.S. tariffs with “dollar for dollar” penalties on American products coming into Canada —...
Dominic LeBlanc is Doug Ford’s new ally in Justin Trudeau’s cabinet
When Dominic LeBlanc once confided to Doug Ford that he used to babysit Justin Trudeau as a child, the Ontario...
Doug Ford hosting meeting with premiers to discuss response to Trump trade threat
Canada’s provincial and territorial leaders are meeting Monday to discuss U.S. president-elect Donald Trump‘s threatened 25 per cent tariffs against...
Justin Trudeau takes a swipe at Donald Trump ahead of first ministers’ meeting
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took an indirect dig at Donald Trump ahead of a first ministers’ meeting Wednesday on how...
Doug Ford’s Tories leading as potential election looms, survey shows
As Premier Doug Ford mulls gambling on an early election, a new poll suggests that might be a safe bet...
Ford government launches multimillion-dollar U.S. ad blitz as Trump threatens tariffs
Released Monday, the ad will run throughout the U.S. over Christmas and into the new year ahead of Trump’s Jan...
Trudeau government’s ‘Team Canada’ approach to Donald Trump is already on shaky ground. Here’s why
It’s Show-Don’t-Tell time. The Trudeau government’s strategy in the face of Donald Trump’s latest 25 per cent tariff threat is...
Canada’s premiers want Justin Trudeau to do a trade deal with the U.S. that excludes Mexico, Doug Ford says
Ford, chair of the Council of Federation of premiers, said “there’s a clear consensus that everyone agrees that we need...
Insiders say Doug Ford will use the spectre of Trump to justify an early election
Ontarians are expected to go to the polls this spring in an early election that Premier Doug Ford will contend...
Doug Ford warns of the perils of protectionism on the eve of U.S. election
Ahead of Tuesday’s U.S. presidential election, Premier Doug Ford is warning that protectionism would hurt Ontario, America’s third-largest trading partner...
Doug Ford spending nearly half of Ontario’s tax windfall on $200 ‘rebate’ cheques
Premier Doug Ford is spending nearly half of a $6.9-billion tax windfall on $200 pre-election “rebate” cheques. Bolstered by higher...
Doug Ford poised to send out pre-election cheques to 16 million Ontarians
Premier Doug Ford is poised to send cheques to 16 million Ontarians to offset rising costs as a possible early...
Is Justin Trudeau fated to lose just like Kathleen Wynne’? We asked MPs who were there for the last days of her government
Is it déjà vu all over again? That’s a loaded question for the half dozen Liberal MPs who were part...
Doug Ford has faced controversy after controversy — yet remains as popular as ever. Here’s why Ontarians say they still like him
Premier Doug Ford appears to be the Teflon Tory. In his lucky seventh summer as Ontario premier, Ford is emerging...
Bonnie Crombie embraces prominent critics of Justin Trudeau as she distances her Ontario party from the federal Liberals
Justin who?Bonnie Crombie is distancing her provincial party from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s struggling federal Liberals.
Doug Ford names new education minister after Todd Smith resigns just 10 weeks into the job
Todd Smith’s surprise resignation after just 10 weeks as education minister has forced Premier Doug Ford to shuffle his cabinet...
‘We have nothing to hide,’ Doug Ford says as RCMP interviews potential witnesses linked to Ontario government in Greenbelt criminal probe
RCMP detectives investigating the $8.28-billion Greenbelt land swap scandal are interviewing witnesses linked to Premier Doug Ford’s government. As first...
Doug Ford’s football friend Tim Walz is Kamala Harris’s running mate
Two months ago, Premier Doug Ford was talking trade and tossing a football around his Queen’s Park office with Minnesota...
LCBO strike seems to have given Doug Ford’s Tories a boost, but government’s poor approval rating is a warning sign, survey shows
Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives will drink to that. The first strike in LCBO history appears to have boosted the...
Internal poll for Doug Ford finds strong support for booze liberalization plan — and striking LCBO workers
Ontarians overwhelmingly support more liberalized alcohol sales even though a majority back the LCBO strikers, according to internal government polling...
Doug Ford would upset nearly half of all Ontarians with an early $150M election, poll suggests
Nearly half of all Ontarians would be “unhappy” or “very angry” if Premier Doug Ford called an early $150-million election...
Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives managed to breach Fortress Toronto. Here’s how they did it — and what it might mean for the party
Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives began campaigning for the Toronto—St. Paul’s byelection with the goal of rattling the foundations of Fortress Toronto...
Canada’s EV strategy will cost $6B more than announced, watchdog says
Canada’s EV-building strategy will cost Ottawa and provinces about $6 billion more than announced, the federal parliamentary budget watchdog says...
Tory insiders say fear of a Pierre Poilievre victory has Doug Ford considering an early election call
Premier Doug Ford is considering an early election call before the scheduled 2026 vote over concerns about cuts a future...
Ford’s Tories dip slightly but still lead Liberals and NDP, survey shows
Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives have dipped slightly in the latest Abacus Data poll, but still enjoy a healthy lead...
‘He didn’t need to pick sides’: Behind closed doors, kaffiyeh ban exposes divisions in Doug Ford’s Tory caucus
Premier Doug Ford’s message to Progressive Conservative MPPs was clear. Behind closed doors last week in the second-floor government caucus...
Bonnie Crombie hurt by Progressive Conservatives’ ad blitz, poll suggests
The Progressive Conservatives’ multimillion-dollar advertising blitz is helping Premier Doug Ford and hurting Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie, a new poll...
Queen’s Park and Ottawa caught off guard by Ford’s delay of EV manufacturing in Ontario
Queen’s Park and Ottawa, which have jointly pledged billions in electric vehicle manufacturing subsidies, were jolted by Ford Canada’s move...
Doug Ford criticizes Justin Trudeau's carbon levy — even as Ontario's own levy collects $146M
As Premier Doug Ford rails against the "federal carbon tax," he is quietly collecting more than $146 million annually from...
Pierre Poilievre's popularity is giving Doug Ford's Tories a boost, poll suggests
Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's current popularity appears to be having a halo effect on Premier Doug Ford, a new...
Doug Ford has made 'almost no progress' on pledge to build new homes, Trudeau government charges
Premier Doug Ford's failure to meet federal affordable housing targets is jeopardizing $357 million in funding from Ottawa, Housing Minister...
Bonnie Crombie distances her Liberals from Justin Trudeau's carbon levy
Crombie, who has pledged to not impose a provincial carbon levy if she defeats Premier Doug Ford's Progressive Conservatives in...
Bonnie Crombie promises no provincial carbon tax if her Liberals defeat Doug Ford's Tories
Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie says there will be no provincial carbon tax if she topples Premier Doug Ford's Progressive Conservatives...
Newly elected Tory MP slams 'liberal elites' at Queen's Park, ruffling feathers in Ford government
There appears to be no love lost between Premier Doug Ford's governing Progressive Conservatives and Pierre Poilievre's federal opposition Conservatives...
Doug Ford's Tories are surging at the expense of Marit Stiles' New Democrats, poll suggests
Premier Doug Ford's Progressive Conservatives are riding high at the apparent expense of Marit Stiles' New Democrats, a new poll...
Are Doug Ford's Conservatives obsessed with Bonnie Crombie?
Call it the Conservatives' Crombie compulsion. Premier Doug Ford's Progressive Conservatives have spent the early days of the new legislative...
'Pierre is going to win': PC insiders privately fear more MPPs will abandon Doug Ford for Team Poilievre
Blindsided by Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre poaching one of his provincial cabinet ministers to run federally, Premier Doug Ford is...
Doug Ford's Tories are ahead, but ominous signs are on the horizon, poll suggests
Premier Doug Ford's governing Progressive Conservatives appear to be holding their own, but there are some potentially ominous signs for...
Internal email suggests Doug Ford's office knew Greenbelt land swap details earlier than claimed
A recently discovered internal email related to the $8.28-billion Greenbelt scandal suggests Doug Ford's office "was far more involved" in...
Former Doug Ford cabinet minister in political limbo as RCMP probes Greenbelt scandal
MPP Kaleed Rasheed, ejected from Premier Doug Ford’s cabinet and caucus over the Greenbelt scandal, will be stuck in political...
Canada is fighting to get Honda's massive EV expansion. Here's why it's a tough sell
Are the days of multibillion-dollar government subsidies over in Canada for international automakers making the hot new thing — electric...
Doug Ford's Tories set to abandon lucrative fundraiser in wake of Greenbelt scandal
In the wake of the Greenbelt land swap scandal, Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives are poised to scrap their most...
Bonnie Crombie smashes fundraising target as Liberals collect $1.2M
Rookie Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie has eclipsed her target of raising $1 million in a month for the third-place party...