There are warning signs for Justin Trudeau and Pierre Poilievre in Donald Trump’s win
Don’t let anyone tell you the re-election of Donald Trump is not a jolt to Canada’s political landscape. Or that...
Tonda MacCharles
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 Tonda MacCharles.
Justin Trudeau and Donald Trump had some bad moments and some oddly friendly ones — but here’s what will really matter if Trump is re-elected
Word came unexpectedly in January 2017 that President Donald Trump wanted to talk to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Officials scrambled...
Justin Trudeau’s Liberals are testing Pierre Poilievre attack ads, as prime minister insists he’s not stepping down
Justin Trudeau’s Liberal party is testing a group of digital ads and is producing a series of broadcast advertising, including...
‘Code Red’ petition from Liberals urges secret ballot on Justin Trudeau’s leadership
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was all smiles as he walked into a Liberal caucus meeting Wednesday morning, where dissidents in...
Mark Carney says he plans to enter elected politics as Liberals begin to organize leadership bids
Mark Carney, Justin Trudeau’s economic platform adviser, says he plans to enter elected politics but won’t say when, where or...
Liberal MPs seek ‘reflection and change’ with letter calling on Justin Trudeau to step down
More than 20 and as many as 40 of the Liberals’ 153 members of Parliament have signed a letter calling...
Top India official claims Justin Trudeau made ‘baseless allegations’ against envoys
An Indian government spokesman insisted Thursday the crisis in the Canada-India relationship was triggered by “baseless allegations” against Indian diplomats...
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...
Behind the scenes, anxious Liberals wonder if Justin Trudeau has a plan for re-election: ‘The status quo is leading us to obliteration’
With no new campaign director, no new ad campaign rollout, no major cabinet shuffle, and no change at the top...
Pierre Poilievre slammed by opponents over suggesting Israel should strike Iranian nuclear facilities
Federal Liberals and New Democrats blasted Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre Wednesday, saying his statement that Israel should proactively strike Iran’s...
Justin Trudeau dishes with Liberal MP on where he went wrong, what he did right and why he’s the one to beat Pierre Poilievre
In a nearly hour-long interview, Trudeau gave more revealing answers to fellow political traveler Liberal MP Nate Erskine-Smith than he...
Justin Trudeau condemns Iran and says Israel has the right to defend itself
Leaders of the world’s top economies agreed Wednesday that Israel has a right to defend against Iran’s missile attacks as...
Justin Trudeau will let the Conservatives try to topple his minority government next week: sources
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau could see his government fall next week after the Liberals offered the Conservative Official Opposition the...
Mark Carney’s corporate job clashes with his new role for Justin Trudeau’s Liberals, critics charge
Mark Carney’s appointment as economic platform adviser to Justin Trudeau has prompted criticism by Conservatives and sustainable finance market watchers...
‘He’s not getting the message’: Justin Trudeau shrugs off the naysayers as he heads into a Liberal caucus retreat
The summer ride is over. So too is the Justin Trudeau listening tour. The prime minister spent much of two...
‘This is a significant change’: How Liberals are reacting to the resignation of their party’s campaign director
Trailing in the polls and suddenly facing the prospect of an early federal election, many Liberals say there is a...
Behind closed doors, Justin Trudeau ponders the road ahead — as one of his former advisers says the PM faces a massive challenge
Several ministers who spoke to the Star said nobody at the cabinet table is actively elbowing him out, but a...
Top Biden adviser urges Canada to join U.S. in stemming flood of Chinese EVs
A top adviser to U.S. President Joe Biden urged Canada to consider heavily subsidized Chinese electric vehicles as not just...
Donald Trump repeats baseless claim that Justin Trudeau ‘could be’ the son of Fidel Castro
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump pumped hot air into an old and baseless conspiracy theory about Prime Minister Justin Trudeau...
Pierre Poilievre worries about threats against his family — but says there’s no need to tone down political criticism
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says he is concerned about threats against his family and at one point sought increased security...
Justin Trudeau is reckoning with the decision of his political life. Here’s why few know what he will do
This is a moment of reckoning for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The question of whether to stay or go, or...
Insiders say Liberal MPs turned up the pressure on Justin Trudeau during a private call: ‘Some of your key players need to go’
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was pushed to make serious changes to rescue the Liberals’ political prospects during a call with...
Justin Trudeau personally reaches out to Liberal MPs amid pressure on him to step down
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been working the phones to tamp down any caucus discontent, as his team convened a...
Can Justin Trudeau counter Pierre Poilievre’s claim that his time is up? Obama’s former adviser has some advice
David Axelrod, a top American Democratic political strategist, wasn’t talking about Canada or Justin Trudeau when he outlined a pessimistic...
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...
This isn’t just another byelection in Toronto — it might reveal the future for Justin Trudeau and Pierre Poilievre. Here’s what’s at stake
It’s a fascinating political petri dish under the microscope by parties, pollsters and pundits alike. Candidates and campaign volunteers will...
If you thought Trump 1.0 was crazy, brace yourself for Trump 2.0. Here’s where top officials say Canada is vulnerable
If Canadians thought Trump 1.0 was crazily chaotic, they should expect Trump 2.0 will be crazily methodic. About all of...
Garage set on fire. Smashed windows. MPs and elected officials are rattled by rising intimidation and threats — and ‘someone is going to get seriously hurt’
It seems only a matter of time before an elected official in Canada gets seriously hurt. In March, somebody set...
Justin Trudeau says Canada’s conservative leaders threaten abortion rights
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday that Canadian conservative leaders are as much of a threat to women’s right to...
Trudeau cabinet minister tells her raw personal story in the House of Commons, on the same day two Conservative MPs attend anti-abortion rally
Federal cabinet minister Soraya Martinez Ferrada was determined to put a human face — hers — on a political story...
Justin Trudeau’s big defence policy update took two years to create. But it still leaves major questions unanswered
The Liberals’ latest national defence plan was a full two years in the works, yet leaves major questions unanswered about...
China’s alleged targeting of Michael Chong is contempt of Parliament: report
A House of Commons committee has ruled that an “intimidation campaign” targeting Ontario MP Michael Chong “unequivocally” constitutes a contempt...
Trudeau government announces billions more for the military — but still won’t meet NATO’s spending target
Canada will raise military spending by more than $8 billion over the next five years under a revamped military strategy...
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...
Justin Trudeau is angering Canada’s premiers with his legacy projects. Inside the fight between provinces and the prime minister
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau came to power promising a new era of federal-provincial co-operation, but now the Liberal leader finds...
Justin Trudeau and Chrystia Freeland are on a mission. Here's what's behind it
You're going to see a lot of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, his deputy and finance minister Chrystia Freeland, and other...
Trudeau government will stop sending arms to Israel, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says
The Trudeau government will cease future arms exports to Israel even though a motion passed Monday by the House of...
Pierre Poilievre will undo some of Justin Trudeau's legacy if he becomes prime minister. Here's what he'd target
Prime ministers always say they leave their political legacies to historians. But it’s their successors who largely write that history...
Brampton company says its light armoured vehicles were destined for police use in Israel, not Gaza, as Ottawa delays shipments
A Canadian company that makes light armoured vehicles says its shipments destined for police use in Israel, not military use...
'This is a red alert': Byelection result has Trudeau Liberals looking nervously toward the next campaign
The terrible showing by the federal Liberals in the Durham byelection won by the Conservatives demonstrates how much work lies...
Palestinian Canadians sue Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, alleging Canada's military exports to Israel are illegal
A group of Canadian human rights lawyers and Palestinian Canadians who have lost family and friends in Gaza has sued...
Trudeau ministers admit Donald Trump poses risk to key industries in Canada
A re-elected Donald Trump would likely act on his campaign warning to slap a 10-per-cent tariff on all imports, and...
'Mr. Mulroney never stopped working for Canadians: Former prime minister's death prompts outpouring of reflection
The death Thursday of former Progressive Conservative Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, a joyfully combative and proud partisan, drew profound reflections...
Pierre Poilievre's Conservatives say they support Ukraine — but won't commit to keeping Justin Trudeau's latest agreement with Kyiv
The federal Conservatives are condemning Justin Trudeau for “letting down” Ukraine after the prime minister signed a new $3.02 billion...
Toronto Conservatives accuse federal party of 'undemocratic' meddling in nomination of Karen Stintz
The federal Conservative party’s nomination of Karen Stintz in the Toronto riding of Eglinton-Lawrence has triggered an uproar among local...
Conservative riding association protests 'unfair and undemocratic' decision to parachute former Doug Ford minister into federal riding
The federal Conservative Party's decision to parachute former provincial cabinet minister Parm Gill into a Milton riding is being blasted...
Supreme Court slammed after anti-racism advocates 'disinvited' from presentation over posts on Israeli-Palestinian conflict
A group of Black anti-racism activists were dropped from a meeting at the Supreme Court of Canada because of concerns...
Justin Trudeau needs to stop his Donald Trump trash talk, former ambassador warns
A former Canadian ambassador to Washington says Justin Trudeau should ditch the anti-Trump “MAGA Conservative” rhetoric directed at the Liberals’...
‘Hamas supporters.’ ‘Pro-Russia.’ MPs hurl insults and accusations as Speaker struggles to keep order
Tempers flared in the House of Commons Monday over insults hurled across the aisle that MPs argued went beyond the...
Israel-Hamas war: Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly in Israel for meetings
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly has flown to Israel to meet her Israeli counterpart, Canadian embassy staff, and Canadians seeking...
Trudeau government considers airlift for Canadians in Israel as death toll rises
The federal government is considering airlifting Canadians out of Israel, the Star has learned. As the death count rose to...