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 Stuart Benson.
Since late 2022, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has relied heavily on mansion fundraisers to court billionaires, business dynasties, and television personalities, while Prime Minister Mark Carney and his ministers have drawn developers, investors, and former politicians since his Liberal leadership bid in early 2025.
As six byelections approach, Tory strategists say there is room for 'optimism,' but warn the Conservative Party needs to ‘shake some stuff up.’ Prime Minister Mark Carney’s governing Liberals raising nearly $1-million more than the official opposition in the third quarter of 2026—effectively erasing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s once-formidable quarterly fundraising advantage—adds another “problematic data point” for the opposition leader...
Canadians need to resist the temptation to weaponize concerns about foreign interference and online bot activity to delegitimize their real-life political opponents, says digital misinformation researcher Aengus Bridgman after claims Ukrainian strikes on Russian data centres led to an alleged drop in right-wing activity online earlier this month. “Sometimes these moments can actually be very helpful because they can give...
In the first part of a series on political fundraising, The Hill Times explores eight years of data showcasing that the Liberals have hosted 430 fundraisers representing $40-million in potential value. That's more than twice the official opposition in tally and totals, but Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre ranks No. 1 in both attendance and estimated value since November 2022.
Canada’s new foreign influence registry was supposed to make it easier for the public to see who is trying to influence government on behalf of foreign interests, but more than two months after it was launched, barely any of the expected listings have materialized. Alongside the sparse registry, the rollout has also faced technical issues and privacy breaches, leaving current...
As unions and labour critics loudly decried the Liberals' new Building Canada Strong Act as an attack on workers' right to strike last week, industry sources say their more reserved reaction stems from “frustration” that the bill falls short of providing...
On the eve of last week’s Canada Investment Summit where the prime minister courted investors for over $1-trillion in Canadian project development, the Liberal Party and several Toronto-area MPs hosted an “Evening with Mark Carney” alongside hundreds of top-dollar donors, raising more than $800,000 in a single night and setting another high-water mark for its enhanced fundraising efforts since the...
Although the tariff trade war between the United States and Canada is creating the political tension among the voters who Republicans will need to retain the U.S. Congress in November, this country’s labour leaders are bracing for impacts that will outlast this fall’s American midterms and beyond President Donald Trump’s tenure in office, says Canadian Labour Congress president Bea Bruske...
The collapse of trade negotiations with the United States has the potential to upend Quebec’s political landscape, shifting voters’ priorities from questions of separatism to who can best shield the province’s economy and culture from President Donald Trump. Pollster David Coletto, CEO of Abacus Data, told The Hill Times that the breakdown of talks with the Trump administration last month...
Canada’s first foreign influence transparency commissioner says journalists and media organizations will need to register, but that listings will provide legitimacy to already transparent public communications. “It’s not about the profession … it’s about the activity and making it transparent,” Anton Boegman said in an interview with The Hill Times on Aug. 13, nine days after what he described as...
Former Liberal transport minister Omar Alghabra is defending his inclusion on—and the mandate of—the government’s new anti-hate advisory council after renewed criticism over its perceived lack of urgency from opposition critics and American officials. “If people have criticisms of the council, its function, or even [my membership], that’s fine, but to use slander and falsehoods … it’s beneath the office...
Despite a softening of support, the Liberal government maintains a healthy lead over the opposition Conservatives heading into the second half of the summer recess. But with much of that lead attributable to a significant shift in older voters seeking long-term stability, and a closer split amongst the younger cohorts seeking immediacy and disruption, pollsters say the growing generational divide...
Despite record-breaking fundraising last year, the Conservatives’ $84-million in annual revenue falls over $14-million short of its expenses, as the Liberals' more moderate spending and lower loan balance leaves a rosier financial outlook into 2026. The Conservative Party’s unprecedented spending of nearly $100-million in 2025—roughly one-third of which was shelled out during last year’s general election—may be testing the limits...
As AI-generated content becomes cheaper and more realistic, strategists warn disclosure requirements alone won't preserve public trust. As the third-party advocacy group Build Canada becomes the second politically adjacent organization in as many weeks to publicly experiment with artificial intelligence-generated communications, technology experts and digital strategists say the technology’s rapid evolution demands stronger ethical standards as legislation alone is unlikely...
A confluence of poor timing, cross-border tensions, and competition with the Calgary Stampede could see fewer guests at the 250th anniversary party at the Lornado residence. Attendance at the U.S. Embassy’s upcoming Fourth of July party may not match the expected significance of this year’s 250th anniversary celebrations, as a figurative perfect storm of factors, including the event’s timing and...
First Nations leaders and parliamentarians say the Liberals’ reintroduced clean water legislation is the latest example of what they describe as a “pick-and-choose” approach to the federal government’s duty to consult—invoking constitutional obligations to delay or dismiss action when it’s convenient, and sidelining them when decisions are already made.
Two years and one general election later, Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree says the long-awaited foreign influence registry is “weeks” away from being operational. Yet, as his department is confident it is “very close to the finish line” after repeated missed deadlines and delays, critics say combatting foreign interference and transnational repression is “clearly not a priority” for the current...
The Conservative Party’s first official foray into artificially generated political communications content has sparked sustained debate over whether its use is “good, bad, or ugly” since it was released nearly two weeks ago. But strategists say that whatever voters’ opinions are, the video represents a step into new territory for a technology that, for better or worse, is likely to...
Former Liberal staffer Lisa Kirbie says Steven Guilbeault's resignation and organized caucus dissent have exposed simmering progressive concerns that high polling can't keep a lid on forever.
Even amid a more than two-to-one digital advertising deficit and an ongoing six-figure Conservative campaign, Prime Minister Mark Carney and his Liberal government are maintaining double-digit polling leads heading into the summer sitting break. Yet while some recent polling suggests Liberal support may be softening ahead of looming trade negotiations with United States President Donald Trump and amid growing tensions...
National messaging built around B.C.’s property rights debate risks oversimplifying a complex legal reality, while a failure to communicate has 'ceded the stage to fear and misinformation,' say pundits.
As Canada prepares for another “challenging” fire season, provincial and private-sector wildland and forest firefighters are intensifying their push for federal recognition and respect for the public safety work they already perform. “We know we’re heading into another very dangerous wildfire season, and these firefighters need to head into it knowing that we’ve got their back,” said NDP MP Gord...
Grit MP Nate Erskine Smith says he intends to resign 'shortly' after the provincial nomination for Scarborough Southwest, Ont., is called on May 9 as NDP Leader Avi Lewis passes on the impending Beaches–East York vacancy for his own entrance to the House.
As the boundaries of the Liberal Party’s tent continue to expand, supporters and caucus members are grappling with what the outer limits will mean for the values of the prime minister’s government, and what it means to be a Liberal. Those lingering questions follow a major gathering of Liberals in Montreal last week, kicked off by the announcement of the...
Even though the first few days of the ads' planned six-figure broadcast schedule fall during a 'challenging time' for the party, the new campaign will help keep the Conservatives ‘on the front foot’ and on message, says Harneet Singh. The Conservative Party’s latest $1-million advertising campaign was crowded out at the starting gate by its most recent caucus defector and...
Liberal MPs gathering among 4,000-plus party faithful in Montreal say they are “energized” after the latest floor crossing to their “big tent” puts them in majority territory—and a far cry from the pre-2025 election days when Liberals were “headed to nowhere.” Greeted by a clamouring, cheering group of volunteers and conventiongoers in the upper level of the Palais de congrès...
The policy debate at the Grits' upcoming convention seems intentionally designed to avoid being a distraction from the party’s core messaging as it sits on the cusp of a majority, but it's also not time for a victory lap, say observers. As Liberals from across Canada descend on Montreal this week, observers expect the party’s national convention to be light...
The Liberals have more than 30-per-cent support in the province, but trying to capitalize on those numbers without a good reason for an election would come at a cost, says Liaison Strategies' David Valentin. Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberals are holding steady in Alberta and enjoying a close and historically significant second place in one of the federal Conservatives’ last...
Ahead of the Liberal Party’s national convention next month, members of its youth wing are urging candidates for national chair of their body to remain independent from government, warning against treating the role as a stepping stone to high-profile Hill jobs. Speaking with The Hill Times on a not-for-attribution basis, supporters of the third-party “Young Liberals for Change” pledge say...
The majority-women slate of candidates in the three upcoming federal byelections is an encouraging development for gender equality in politics after a troubling plateau over the past three federal elections, advocates say.
Liberals say there's been a '180-degree' shift in discipline, tone, and policy led by the prime minister, but there are warnings against overconfidence as affordability concerns persist. Over the past year, Canada’s 45th prime minister has fundamentally upended federal and international politics, partisan coalitions, the Liberal Party, and even the mood and atmosphere on Parliament Hill, particularly amongst the parliamentarians...
The Conservative leader’s first international trip last week marked a major shift in his attempts to present himself as a prime minister-in-waiting and promote his brand of free-market “stoicism” to Canada’s allies in Europe, say strategists, who note that whether it signals a messaging pivot or a return to philosophical form, how it’s received by a domestic audience is the...
A federal department says it has launched a review of its media accreditation process following a now-reversed denial of an independent journalist’s request for comment, partially based on the government’s own criteria for qualified organizations’ eligibility for tax credits. “This isn’t just about my issues getting comments for a story I’m working on, as frustrating as it may be. It’s...
As the Liberals post their largest lead since Prime Minister Mark Carney was chosen to lead the party, the Conservatives are feeling the pinch from multiple age brackets and a growing chasm among women voters, says Abacus Data CEO David Coletto. The Liberals’ polling fortunes are rising in nearly every demographic and province across the country as a growing gender...
Three Conservative sources, two of whom are former MPs, say a damning quote is making the rounds in their circles after a third Tory joined the Liberal caucus: 'Pierre Poilievre has become the Justin Trudeau of the Conservative Party,' says one former MP. Alberta MP Matt Jeneroux is now the third Conservative to cross the floor to the Liberals in...
Recruiting former Ontario NDP deputy leader Doly Begum and doctor Danielle Martin may be 'phenomenal politics,' but more will ride on whether they would get a greater voice at the table if elected. With the selection of two young, progressive women candidates in the upcoming Ontario byelections, strategists say Prime Minister Mark Carney is attempting to signal he hasn’t drifted...
The opening weeks of the winter sitting have offered tentative signs of co-operation from the Conservative Party—rather than blanket opposition—after MPs agreed to pause a log-jammed study of the Liberals’ contentious anti-hate legislation. But with the government only willing to bend so far to secure support for Prime Minister Mark Carney’s (Nepean, Ont.) agenda in a nearly “tie-game” minority Parliament...
As the prime minister travels to China this week in a bid to reset the fractured diplomatic and trade relationship, critics and diaspora groups are accusing his government of slow-walking the long-awaited foreign influence registry to prioritize economic concerns over safeguarding Canada’s democratic institutions. “If this government is looking to move forward with expanding trade with China, they need to...
Athletics 'are a great way to open doors,' says Secretary of State for Sport Adam van Koeverden. But although the World Cup excitement is ‘undeniable,’ human rights concerns, and hockey’s ‘reckoning’ in 2025 have left Canadian fans feeling ‘deeply conflicted,’ counters NDP critic Gord Johns.
Have you heard the one about the two Pierre Poilevres in the bank vault? While the punchline landed with a double shot of Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre (Battle River–Crowfoot, Alta.) at this year’s Press Gallery Dinner on Nov. 29—after the leader skipped out on the last three—the set up began months prior and was executed in less than a week...
As the post-election fundraising slump deepened in the third quarter of 2025, with both the Liberals and Conservatives each raising just over $4-million overall—the weakest quarterly performance for either party since early 2022—strategists say the dollars are following the waning enthusiasm of “tapped-out” supporters. “Money tends to follow enthusiasm, and a lot of people are tapped out,” explained Liberal strategist...
'If the budget falls, it needs to be seen as the fault of the opposition,' but Carney needs to do more to prime Canadians for 'generational' challenges, says Abacus CEO David Coletto. Whether or not the Liberals are bluffing when expressing doubts that next week’s federal budget will pass, no opposition party can risk trying to bring down the government...
As Prime Minister Mark Carney attempts a diplomatic reset with China and India, his government has yet to name its candidate to oversee the promised foreign interference registry to address the threat of political meddling and transnational repression. But as public attention shifts toward economic concerns over human rights, NDP MP Jenny Kwan (Vancouver East, B.C.) says the federal government...
According to Elections Canada, Carney’s campaign raised just more than $5-million from more than 25,000 donations over the 45-day Liberal leadership race.
Pierre Poilievre will remain in a difficult spot since the U.S. is touchy for many Canadians while Trump is backed by some Tory supporters, says Matt Chilliack. The Conservative Party is attempting to fill the “law-and-order vacuum” as Canadians’ concerns over the economy and crime begin to overtake the worry about threats from the American president that dominated the last...
As the debate over immigration intensifies and public sentiment sours, in part, due to a perceived overreliance on temporary foreign workers amid rising unemployment and housing prices, immigration and citizenship advocates argue that Canada’s policies can’t be driven by political considerations over the country’s economic ambitions.
As Liberals huddle in Edmonton on the heels of last week’s ministerial “planning forum,” the prime minister and his cabinet will have their first chance to hear from caucus after a summer focused on defence, tariffs, and international trade. Yet while confidence in the prime minister among the backbench and general public generally remains high, there is growing discontent among...
Beyond the requisite knowledge and experience, ensuring the incoming Foreign Influence Registry Commissioner is clear of any appearance of partisanship will be critical, says Canadian Foreign Influence Transparency Registry Coalition spokesperson Gloria Fung.
Wildfires continue to rage across Canada, but the backlash sparked by Nova Scotia and New Brunswick’s forest-hiking bans among civil liberties groups and segments of the public still enflamed over the COVID-19 lockdowns point to the notion that responding to future crises will require extinguishing the embers of public mistrust, says a University of Ottawa epidemiologist.
The Liberals’ $2.3-million in digital-focused ads in 2024 demonstrates the lack of confidence the party had in its previous leader and message, says EOK Consults' Harneet Singh. The federal Conservatives spent more than $16.5-million on advertising in 2024, outgunning the governing Liberals’ $2.3-million by more than seven to one as the governing Grits struggled to gain a foothold against the...
With the Ontario Liberal Party’s general meeting about six weeks away, Leader Bonnie Crombie is making a case for progress while a growing number of party supporters are looking to turn over a new leaf if she can’t secure more than two-thirds of delegate support this September.
As the Liberals move to expedite omnibus bills through Parliament before the summer recess, Green Party Leader Elizabeth May says the urgency to provide affordability and tax relief to Canadians is no excuse to disrespect opposition parties and the Senate’s ability to study the wide-ranging and—in some cases—incongruous contents.
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s plan to float Canada’s defence spending over its current two per cent of GDP NATO target with the help of the country’s Coast Guard may hit rough waters as it navigates between a resistant public service and service members opposed to becoming what they derisively view as a militarized “junior navy,” defence analysts say...
More than a month after the election, nearly half of MPs are still waiting for a place to call home on the Hill, and may still need to wait a few weeks before their official office space is ready. And as new MPs scramble for workspaces not already claimed by their more seasoned colleagues, they’ve also been dealing with extended...
The Conservatives may be more accessible after the election, but don’t bank on them softening their stance on defunding the CBC, says communications strategist Dan Mader. Despite a slate of Conservative MPs returning to the mainstream media airwaves and a less combative tone during interactions with reporters, Conservative communication strategists advise against reading too much into the shift in approach...
Ottawa needs a 'calm, thoughtful' approach that recognizes Alberta's contributions to Canada without giving the premier a reason to keep picking fights, says NDP MP Heather McPherson. Politicians in Ottawa can’t fight fiery rhetoric with more of the same if they want to lower the heat on separatist talk in Alberta, says newly elected Liberal Corey Hogan.
The environment, climate change, public transit, Indigenous reconciliation, and Big Tech took a back seat during the campaign, but governing will mandate their attention, says NDP strategist Will Shelling.
Federal Conservative candidates stay away, but line-up includes swathe of provincial premiers, ex-politicians, and American speakers.
The Conservative leader took 65 questions in broadcast press conferences during the first two weeks of the campaign, compared to the 148 fielded by the Liberal leader, 163 by the Bloc leader, and 208 by the NDP leader. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s national campaign has attempted to keep a tight grip on the media’s access to its candidates—figuratively and literally—in...
Political groups like Protecting Canada and Canada Proud previously spent tens of thousands of dollars on Facebook and Instagram, but have since logged off since the election campaign began.