Stephanie Levitz
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 Stephanie Levitz.
Poilievre could face leadership review as early as March
The Conservative party’s national council is expected to meet mid-June to determine when leader Pierre Poilievre will face a leadership review, but there’s still no sign of an overarching review of the party’s failure to defeat the Liberals on April 28. The election returned a Liberal minority government, and while some Conservatives privately say Prime Minister Mark Carney could govern...
Conservatives to vote against spending bill in early test of Carney’s minority mandate
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says his party will vote against the federal government’s request to spend $486.9-billion on government programs and transfers. Mr. Poilievre’s announcement that his party won’t support what’s called the main estimates will be an early test of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s minority mandate. The Liberals have 169 seats in the House of Commons, three short of...
Conservative caucus will meet to select interim Opposition Leader amid concerns Liberals are trying to poach disgruntled MPs
The Conservative caucus will meet on Tuesday to mull over the party’s election defeat and select an interim Opposition Leader to replace Pierre Poilievre amid concerns that the Liberals are trying to poach some of their MPs. Front-runners for the job of Opposition Leader are former leader Andrew Scheer and deputy Conservative leader Melissa Lantsman, according to a caucus source...
Prominent Conservatives back Poilievre as leader after riding loss
Allies of Pierre Poilievre spoke out in support of his continued leadership after the Conservative Leader lost his own seat in Monday’s election and failed to form government. Among them was former party leader Andrew Scheer, who was forced to step down after his failure to defeat the Trudeau Liberals in the 2019 election despite winning the popular vote and...
Conservative MPs used parliamentary privilege to seek details on DEI initiatives ahead of election
Conservative MPs used their parliamentary privilege to seek details on the scope of the federal government’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in areas that line up with what party leader Pierre Poilievre is now pledging to cut. The efforts to gather information began in March, 2024, with two MPs using order paper questions to probe spending on government and military...
Conservative election platform pledges $75-billlion in tax cuts, referendums before future tax hikes
Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives are promising $34-billion in new spending and $75-billion in tax cuts over the next four years. They would help fund these expenditures with $56-billion in spending reductions over the same period, the Conservatives say. The party’s 2025 election platform, released Tuesday, also shows the Conservatives are betting that economic growth from their policies will generate significant tax...
Pressure mounts on Poilievre to refocus Conservative campaign on Donald Trump
Pierre Poilievre is facing mounting discontent over campaign manager Jenni Byrne’s handling of strategy and operations, multiple sources say, citing what they call her unwillingness to pivot from attacks on the Liberal government record to a laser focus on the trade war launched by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Mark Carney to visit Europe next week on first official trip as prime minister: sources
Incoming prime minister Mark Carney will take his first official trip abroad next week to London and Paris, according to four sources. Mr. Carney is scheduled to be sworn in as the 24th prime minister on Friday. One of the sources, a British government official, said Mr. Carney is expected to meet with Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Foreign Secretary...
Are politics fraying the ties that bind one Canadian MP to the U.S. VP?
Canadian MP Jamil Jivani went to Yale Law School with U.S. Vice-President JD Vance, read a Bible verse at his wedding and has run a fantasy football league with him for the better part of 10 years. But politics may be fraying the ties that bind the two men. Mr. Vance is part of an administration that wants to annex...
Poilievre, citing Carney, promises to change conflict law if elected
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre will change conflict-of-interest law so it applies to leadership candidates if his party forms government in the next election, The Globe and Mail has learned. He’s framing the move as closing the “Carney loophole,” a reference to the criticism of Liberal leadership candidate Mark Carney’s decision not to disclose his financial holdings and potential conflicts until...
Stephen Harper criticizes Carney, says he falsely took credit for financial crisis response
Former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper has accused Liberal leadership front-runner Mark Carney of falsely claiming credit for managing the 2008 financial crisis and linked him to the Trudeau’s government’s failure to build energy projects and increases in the federal deficit. In a hard-hitting fundraising letter to Conservative party faithful, Mr. Harper said the former central banker is not the...
Conservatives say referendum on carbon pricing won’t be central feature of next campaign
Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives are certain they have the money to beat the Liberals in the next campaign: In 2024, they raised $41.7-million, more than double their rivals.
Cabinet heavyweight Anita Anand backs Mark Carney for Liberal leadership
Transport Minister Anita Anand is backing former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney for the Liberal Party’s leadership, making her the latest cabinet minister to turn away from former finance minister Chrystia Freeland. Ms. Anand told The Globe and Mail in an interview that her decision traces back to working with Mr. Carney when she was a visiting scholar at...
Carney cites economic credentials while Liberal rivals promise to end top-down control of party in leadership race
Liberal Party leadership contender Karina Gould has officially entered the race, saying the fact that she could raise the money and get the required signatures in just two weeks is a sign of momentum for her bid. Ms. Gould, an MP and former cabinet minister, submitted her paperwork at party headquarters Thursday morning, joining former Bank of Canada governor Mark...
Carney lines up support from more senior ministers, top Liberal brass in leadership race
Former central banker Mark Carney is lining up more endorsements from senior cabinet ministers from Quebec and top party brass as the Liberal caucus is set to meet Thursday to discuss the leadership race and threat of U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods.
Poilievre pledges to roll back capital gains tax hike, retaliate against Trump tariffs
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre will soon lay out his own strategy to confront U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to Canada as part of a broader economic agenda that, if he becomes prime minister, will include a promise to roll back the capital-gains tax increase. Mr. Poilievre told The Globe and Mail in an inter
Field of contenders for Liberal leadership narrows as MPs throw support to Freeland and Carney
The departures of Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly and Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc from the Liberal leadership contest has seen MPs flock to the camps of either Chrystia Freeland or former central banker Mark Carney, according to party sources. Pressure is also mounting on Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne to either enter the race or throw his support to either Ms...
Chrystia Freeland, Mark Carney poised to enter Liberal leadership race
Chrystia Freeland and former central banker Mark Carney are poised to seek the Liberal leadership while Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly and Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne remain uncertain over whether to join the race, sources say.
Top Liberal MPs to discuss how to amp up pressure on Trudeau to reveal if he will step down
Senior Liberal MPs will meet Friday to discuss how to increase pressure on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to reveal whether he’s staying on as party leader. Two MPs told The Globe and Mail that regional caucus chairs plan to discuss whether national chair Brenda Shanahan should call a caucus meeting. They will also parse over what the rules could be...
Finance Minister LeBlanc’s stay at Irving home puts ties to wealthy N.B. family into focus
Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc, under an ethics screen to shield him from his government’s extensive dealings with J.D. Irving, Ltd, recently stayed over at the home of the Irving family patriarch, highlighting the close and often controversial relationship between Mr. LeBlanc and the wealthy New Brunswick family. Mr. LeBlanc and his wife, Jolène Richard, slept over at the mansion of...
Trudeau won’t step down over Christmas, Freeland considers vying for Liberal leadership, sources say
The Prime Minister has no plans to step down over the Christmas holidays despite mounting calls for him to quit, and Chrystia Freeland is considering a leadership bid that is being spurred on by Liberals who believe she is a strong contender should Justin Trudeau resign. A Liberal insider said the Prime Minister continues to reflect on whether to stay...
Inside the Freeland fallout: How Trudeau’s leadership came under fire
At about 8:45 on Monday morning, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrived on Parliament Hill, his motorcade gliding to a stop in front of the ornate set of wooden doors used almost exclusively by him. But instead of immediately getting out, Mr. Trudeau stayed in the back seat of the black SUV, on the phone. On the other end of the...
Trudeau holding talks with cabinet, party leaders about whether to step down
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is holding discussions with cabinet ministers and senior party leaders about stepping down early in the new year, but close confidants have walked away from these conversations with starkly different conclusions about where he stands.
First Nations threaten to withdraw support of G7 over lack of communication with Ottawa
Two First Nations whose traditional territory west of Calgary is the site of next year’s G7 leaders summit are reconsidering their support for the event over what they say is Ottawa’s failure to meaningfully engage with their concerns. Canada takes over presidency of the G7 next year, and announced in June that the marquee event will be held in Kananaskis...
Pierre Poilievre’s political playbook tested as Trump prepares White House return
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s political focus is being tested by the uncertainty that Donald Trump injects into Canadian and international politics. After two years of Mr. Poilievre pushing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over housing and other affordability issues – and with the Conservatives well ahead in the polls – the U.S. president-elect is changing the stakes, said Ginny Roth, who...
No secret ballot vote so far on Trudeau’s leadership, Liberal MPs say focus should be on defeating Poilievre
A call from some Liberal MPs for a secret ballot vote on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s future shows no signs of being answered. Instead, Wednesday’s caucus meeting ended with MPs emerging to once again claim unity against their common foe, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre. The focus needs to be on how, under Mr. Trudeau, they can defeat him, MPs told...
More Liberal MPs demand secret vote on Trudeau’s future, as cabinet ministers reject request
A growing chorus of Liberal MPs called for a secret vote on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s future after his cabinet ministers tried to shut down the demands and argued it was time their party end the in-fighting. On Tuesday, six more Liberal MPs added their names to the list of people who are publicly demanding their caucus cast a vote...
Liberals MPs leave caucus meeting divided on Trudeau leadership
Liberal MPs left a meeting with the Prime Minister divided on Justin Trudeau’s leadership but saying they are all united in stopping the Conservatives from forming government. “The Liberal Party is strong and united,” a smiling Mr. Trudeau said as he departed Wednesday’s lengthy caucus meeting, one that saw him on the hot seat as MPs gave voice to mounting...
Pierre Poilievre has a housing plan ready for Ottawa’s bureaucrats. Documents reveal some don’t believe it’s ‘grounded in reality’
The Conservative leader’s marquee plan to address Canada’s housing crisis uses targets that would set municipalities up for failure, argues an analysis of the policy drawn up by federal civil servants. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s marquee plan to address Canada’s housing crisis uses targets that aren’t grounded in reality and would set municipalities up for failure, argues an analysis of...
A former Progressive Conservative who calls Pierre Poilievre ‘terrifying’ is launching a new political party
A new political party will appear on the ballot in two upcoming by-elections as the Canadian Future Party seeks to introduce itself officially as a centrist option for voters it argues are growing weary of an increasingly polarized environment. The party, approved by Elections Canada last month, will field candidates in the LaSalle—Émard—Verdun and Elmwood-Transcona races in September, which are...
Elections Canada fines man who voted twice to ‘test the electoral system’
A Canadian with years of experience overseeing elections is being accused of deliberately voting twice in 2019, one of two relatively rare breaches of voting law revealed Tuesday by the elections watchdog. The Commissioner for Canada Elections said David Gilchrist told officials he wanted to “test the electoral system,” when he voted in two different Quebec ridings in the 2019 election.
Trudeau minister shoots down ‘false’ claims from Republican senators about Canada’s immigration program for Palestinians
U.S. Republican senators are making “categorically false” claims about Canada’s immigration program for Palestinians fleeing Gaza, Immigration Minister Marc Miller said Thursday as he pushed back on claims from the senators that the measure puts American security at risk. They urged Mayorkas to take greater precautions at the Canada-U. S. border because of the program, which they allege would allow...
Federal documents reveal what happened behind the scenes with Toronto’s request to decriminalize drugs
Health Canada put dozens of questions to Toronto about the practical implications of the city’s plans for drug decriminalization, newly released documents reveal, a plan ultimately quashed in the midst of a political firestorm earlier this year.
Pierre Poilievre was 20 when he wrote about what he would do as prime minister. Here’s what he said then — and what he says now
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre might be just over a year away from becoming prime minister — but he’s been thinking about what he’d do in the job for more than 25 years. His entry into the “As prime minister, I would” contest in 1999 provides a glimpse into Poilievre’s earliest thoughts on how government and the economy ought to intersect...
Who’s that guy? Pierre Poilievre may not be recognizable to some Canadians, but a lot of them still want to vote for him
About a third of Canadians can’t put a name to Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s face, a new poll suggests, even as his party commands at least a 17-point lead over Justin Trudeau’s Liberals in public support. But Abacus Data CEO David Coletto says that’s not actually a problem for Poilievre, and instead signals one for Trudeau, whose floundering fortunes are...
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: the governing Liberals have held all of the seats in the 416 for years. They finished having knocked a brick out of the wall: Conservative Don Stewart bested the Liberals’ Leslie Church by 590 votes, a result Poilievre described Tuesday...
‘Our democracy is on the line’: The focus on bad-actor MPs misses the bigger problem with foreign meddling, security committee chair warns
The head of an all-party committee whose latest review of foreign interference suggested some MPs are working for the benefit of foreign states is arguing the focus on that narrow segment of the report is missing the mark. National security is not a game, and most certainly cannot be a partisan one, said Liberal MP David McGuinty, the chair of...
Top-secret intelligence alleges some MPs aided foreign interference. This might be a way to publicly name them
MPs named by top-secret intelligence as aiding foreign interference in Canadian politics continue to go unidentified by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government, despite opposition demands to say publicly who they are. But at least one constitutional expert says it’s possible — and entirely in line with long-established rules — for certain MPs to simply disclose the names from the floor...
Behind the scenes, Conservatives are furious with one of their MPs over comments on podcast that defied Pierre Poilievre’s wishes
Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives are furious at a member of their own caucus for going offside the leader’s positions on hot button social issues — but also because Alberta Conservative MP Arnold Viersen spoke out about them at all. Viersen’s decision to discuss his long-standing positions against abortion, same sex-marriage and the legalization of cannabis on a podcast hosted by a...
Patrick Brown still carrying significant debt from failed Conservative leadership bid
Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown remains in significant debt from his failed 2022 bid to become leader of the federal Conservative party, but the status of the investigations into why he was kicked out of the contest ultimately won by Pierre Poilievre remain unknown. Records that Brown filed with Elections Canada 18 months after the race’s end and recently made public...
Pierre Poilievre says he’ll ‘axe the carbon tax’ for consumers — but when it comes to the pricing system for Canadian industries, he won’t say
He would repeal incoming federal electricity regulations. He would scrap Liberal clean fuel standards. And, yes, he wants to “axe the tax.” But it’s less clear where Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre stands on another major piece of federal climate policy: the national requirement for industrial carbon pricing. It’s a significant question mark in his campaign against the federal levy on...
‘One of the biggest mistakes of his political career’: New book details what happened when Pierre Poilievre crossed Stephen Harper
Stephen Harper feared a revolt in his Conservative caucus when, as prime minister, he decided to go ahead with compensation for residential school survivors, a newly published book reveals. That’s part of the reason why Pierre Poilievre got in such hot water in 2008 when he made disparaging remarks about Indigenous people and questioned the point of the payments, writes...
Justin Trudeau’s budget fails to find support from many Canadians, poll suggests
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s latest budget was aimed at making Canadians feel better about their future, but it appears to have made them feel worse about his government, a new poll suggests. The latest Abacus Data survey sought to gauge whether and how the Liberals’ latest budget landed with Canadians at a time when the governing party is trailing badly...
Jewish Canadians can’t be responsible for Israeli government’s actions, MPs unanimously vote
As police link a rise in antisemitic attacks to Israel’s war with Hamas, MPs this week sought to send a message: Canadian Jews cannot be held responsible for the actions of the Israeli government. It was a quiet moment of agreement that nearly went unnoticed and came after months of tension among MPs over the Liberal government’s policy response to...
We listened to all the testimony at the foreign interference inquiry. This is what we learned — and the big questions that still need answering
The Hogue inquiry sought to pull back the curtain on what Liberal politicians, civil servants and Canada’s security agencies knew about attempts by foreign states and actors to interfere in the last two federal election campaigns. But despite efforts by inquiry commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue to get as much of that intelligence as possible into the public domain, a lot of...
Canada’s spy agency collected intelligence suggesting foreign funding following the 2021 federal election
Canada’s electronic spy agency collected a piece of intelligence after the 2021 election deemed so significant it was shared with the RCMP, CSIS and four countries, the public inquiry into foreign interference heard Thursday. The information the Communications and Security Establishment (CSE) had gathered alleged a “distribution of funds,” but where the money came from and who it may have...
Jagmeet Singh was warned about potential threat against his life, inquiry hears
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh was among the Sikh Canadians who were warned about potential threats against their lives after the killing of a Sikh activist in B.C. last year, the foreign interference inquiry heard Tuesday. The warning, which followed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegation that the Indian government was connected to the shooting death of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, surfaced during...
They voted for Justin Trudeau before. Here's why they're choosing Pierre Poilievre now
A federal election is likely more than a year away. It's a sunny weekend afternoon, the first warmish day in well over a week. Across the city, spring recreational programs are starting up, it's prime time for the seasonal Ottawa tradition of going to a maple syrup farm and the stores are packed with pre-Easter shoppers. And yet, a convention...
Liberal MP says he won't run again in battleground GTA riding
The Liberal MP for a GTA riding that's expected to see a fierce fight between the Conservatives and Liberals in the next election campaign announced Monday he's not going to run again.
Email reveals that Ottawa told Canada's top soldier not to call budget changes 'cuts'
Canada's top soldier was told he couldn't use the word "cut" in a memo to soldiers about the federal government's budget plans for the military, newly disclosed documents reveal. The emails late last summer between Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Wayne Eyre's office and the Department of National Defence (DND), obtained by the Star under the Access to Information...
Ukrainians blast Pierre Poilievre's MPs at Toronto townhall meeting: 'You're gonna lose our support'
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's approach to Ukraine will cost the party support among Ukrainians unless things change, a trio of MPs were warned at a recent town hall. At a Feb. 25 townhall in Etobicoke, the MPs — James Bezan, Tom Kmiec and Shuvaloy Majumdar — were confronted by criticism Poilievre is missing in action on the Ukraine file and...
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. Tensions between the two Tory parties, smouldering for months, have flared up in recent weeks.
It's a Conservative stronghold — but here's why Pierre Poilievre's Tories will be closely watching this byelection on Monday
Who wins Monday's byelection in the riding of Durham likely won't set off a political earthquake in Ottawa — but there could be aftershocks. The riding, about an hour from downtown Toronto, has returned a Conservative MP consistently since Stephen Harper took over the party in 2004.
Justin Trudeau's attacks on Pierre Poilievre not working, poll suggests
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberals keep taking punches at Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, but a new poll suggests they aren't landing. The Abacus Data survey, provided exclusively to the Star, suggests a 19-point lead for the Conservatives over the governing Liberals, with the support of 43 per cent of those polled compared to 24 per cent.
Pierre Poilievre is looking to remake his relationship with Indigenous groups. Here's one way he's trying to do that
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre took another step to building a relationship between his party and Indigenous communities, saying Thursday that under his government, First Nations will be able to levy their own taxes on resource development projects — if they want.