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 Éric Blais.
Milan Kundera’s most famous novel, “The Unbearable Lightness of Being,” is built around one cruelty: the least burdensome fate is also the most unbearable. Weightlessness is worse than a crushing burden. The sense that all you were carrying, with such faith and effort, amounted to precisely nothing. I find myself continually returning to “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” in thinking...
Last week I argued in these pages that Canada should hold on to its ban on American booze. An empty shelf facing is our Strait of Hormuz. And it’s proven to be a pain point out of all proportion to its size. Ottawa, it seems, will give it away. Assuming the provinces get on side, bourbon is heading back to...
Lawson Whiting, the Brown-Forman CEO and the man behind Jack Daniel’s, called Canada pulling American liquor off our shelves “worse than a tariff … because it’s literally taking your sales away.” Whiting was quoted in March 2025 when eight provinces cleared their shelves of U.S. booze. Only Alberta and Saskatchewan blinked. A year and a half on, U.S. alcohol exports...
Three peoples on both sides of the border are about to vote, over the course of one month, on questions of enormous consequence to both countries. In Canada, Quebecers go to the polls on Oct. 5 in an election that could return a Parti Québécois government that is pledged to a third sovereignty referendum.
When U.S. President Donald Trump first saw Ontario’s Ronald Reagan ad, his instinct was admiration. “If I was Canada, I’d take that same ad also,” he told reporters. He also told Republican senators he’d have run it himself. That was before the Reagan Foundation went nuts and his advisers saw it differently. Then he blew up trade talks over an...
Any parent knows how the interrogation goes. You answer the first “why?” and a small voice says “but why?” You give another answer only to prompt another “but why?” By the fourth you’ve run out of reasons and blurted the real one you were hoping to keep to yourself. Rather than being difficult, children are just being thorough. We should...
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer grew up in a mobile home in Paradise, Calif. He insists that it wasn’t in a mobile home park, it was just a mobile home. That should tell you something about the man charged with implementing Donald Trump’s trade policies.
I once had a very wealthy colleague who owned an Aston Martin. That’s the four-hundred-thousand-dollar car best known as James Bond’s car. He proudly drove it everywhere. But on weekdays, he drove a Toyota Camry. That more modest vehicle, he explained, was for the office. He didn’t want clients pulling into the visitors’ lot beside an Aston Martin they were...
Thanks to the Canada Strong Pass, Canadians can enjoy a more affordable summer. Valid from June 19 to Sept. 7, it provides free admission to all national historic sites and parks operated by Parks Canada, free or reduced admission at national and provincial museums and galleries and free and discounted travel with Via Rail.
Prime Minister Mark Carney apparently has a patience problem. According to the Toronto Star’s Althia Raj, sources within the party complain that he raises his voice (or he yells, depending on the receiver) and openly shows his displeasure when caucus discussions veer into what he considers political navel-gazing. To career politicians accustomed to consensus-building, this behaviour feels abrasive. It is...
Former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney had a concise way of describing the job’s main responsibility. Of all the files that land on a prime minister’s desk, he liked to say, two can never be delegated to anyone else: national unity, and the relationship with the United States.
When reporters asked Mark Carney about Steven Guilbeault’s decision to quit the Liberal caucus and his seat, months after walking out of cabinet over the Alberta MOU, the Prime Minister was gracious. He wished him and his family well. As reported by Radio-Canada, Carney said: “C’est sa décision, c’est normal, c’est la vie” — it’s his decision, it’s normal, that’s...
In 1995, Jacques Parizeau, the then-premier of Québec, met with a group of foreign ambassadors in Ottawa and reportedly told them that, if Quebecers voted Yes in the upcoming sovereignty referendum, they would be trapped “like lobsters thrown into boiling water” with no way back. A diplomatic memo that included the colourful comment was leaked. An uproar ensued and cartoonists...
“I wish I knew how to quit you.” The line that defined the movie “Brokeback Mountain” is also, it turns out, a problem for the Leader of the Official Opposition. Pierre Poilievre cannot quit Justin Trudeau.
The Conservative Party of Canada launched two new ads recently, backed by what the party says is a million-dollar-plus media buy across television, radio, connected TV and digital platforms. They will be running through the end of June. The ads are well produced. One features Pierre Poilievre speaking of a country that stands on its own feet and bows before...
A podcast can show you a side of someone but a floor-crossing tells you something deeper about the mood inside a caucus. When Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre sat down with Joe Rogan for a long, wide-ranging interview, even critics had to admit he came across differently. The usual edge wasn’t there. No constant jabs at Prime Minister Mark Carney, even...
Start with the crisis everyone agrees on. A generation of young Canadians has been priced out of home ownership. Rents are consuming incomes. The dream of a mortgage, a backyard, a place to call one’s own has become, for millions, exactly that — a dream. Any serious federal leader must make housing affordability a defining mission. Which makes what I’m...
The British band The Clash famously asked “Should I Stay or Should I Go” in its 1982 hit song. That was two years after Quebecers were asked a far wordier question about independence. How a question is phrased — and what response options are offered — can have a massive impact on a study’s results.
Predictably, the headline from the Conservative convention over the weekend is Pierre Poilievre’s 87.4 per cent approval score among party faithful, and 34 per cent among Canadians polled by the Angus Reid Institute. No news here. Time will tell if the buzz over the first data point will help increase the second. What’s more revealing is what Jenni Byrne, the...
The French have a whole vocabulary for a blunder — faux pas, gaffe, bévue — which may be why English borrows the words. And they are quick to spot them. They showed it when Prime Minister Mark Carney hugged Bonhomme, the Québec Winter Carnival mascot.
When Mark Carney flirted with the Liberal leadership on the set of Jon Stewart’s ”The Daily Show,” he tried on the “outsider” label. “Young sneaky; you’re running as an outsider,” said Stewart. “I am an outsider,” Carney replied. I argued then that Canadians wouldn’t buy the outsider pitch. Positioning yourself as an “outsider” while having served as a top economic...
If politics is a market, then leaders are brands — and sometimes they suffer the same problem as founder-led companies: the person who built the thing becomes the person the thing can’t move past. Québec Premier François Legault effectively admitted that Quebec has reached that point when he announced his resignation, with an election looming and the Parti Québécois leading...
Pierre Poilievre’s weekend appearance on CBC with Rosemary Barton wasn’t remarkable for what was said. It was revealing for what still couldn’t be said. There was no acknowledgment that losing an election he was widely expected to win might merit reflection. No acceptance that losing his own seat could justify a rethink of a political style built almost entirely on...
In Quebec, certain words don’t land softly. Corruption is one of them. It’s a word that once even earned Quebec the cover of Maclean’s magazine as “the most corrupt province in Canada,” a headline that infuriated the political class precisely because it cut so close to a long, uncomfortable narrative. So, when that word is once again associated with the...
Mark Carney didn’t run as a conventional politician. He ran as the outsider who wasn’t. It’s an appealing contradiction: a first-time candidate who also happened to be one of the most connected people in the country and abroad. Carney spent years at the centre of power in both Ottawa and London. He advised governments, soothed markets, briefed prime ministers, and...
“You do not come into America and start government-funded political ads and expect that there (won’t) be consequences or reaction.” On this, U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra is right.
In both marketing and politics, you learn to live with known unknowns. You can’t control when the environment changes, but you can control how ready you are when it does. As we start this week, that’s exactly where we find ourselves: by the end of it, we could be looking at a snap holiday election, triggered not by desire but...
The Carney government’s first budget is being sold as “generational.” As the economic plan’s central metaphor, it might be spot on. But for young people, the takeaway may not be what the government hopes for.
Pierre Poilievre’s recent video attacking Mark Carney could have been a strong argument. If not for the air quotes. When he says Carney promised he could “handle Trump” and “negotiate a win,” his fingers twitch into the familiar inverted-comma gesture. It’s a tiny move, but it says everything. Air quotes don’t persuade; they perform. They turn conviction into commentary and...
In the world of Donald Trump, contradictions are just part of the landscape. You can find a clip of him supporting or contradicting virtually any position he takes today. For most politicians, that would be devastating. For Trump, using his own words against him just doesn’t have the same impact. So, months ago, I suggested a different approach: use the...
Half a century ago this week, Canadians were finally able to see for themselves what a project of national significance was supposed to look like. It was one of those visionary major projects designed to demonstrate to the world that Canada was capable of building great things, the kind that Mark Carney alluded to when he announced the Major Project...
Doug Ford wants to outlaw speed cameras. He calls them a municipal “cash grab.” It’s a top-of-mind issue for someone whose brand could well be Ontario’s mayor. While he may present himself on Fox News as a national figure, his political instincts remain rooted in municipal turf; like his late brother Rob, he’s most at ease in the politics of...
In the world of business and entertainment, the phrase “back by popular demand” carries a certain magic: it suggests something was missed; the audience longed for its return; and that its absence left a void only it could fill. Think of a beloved Broadway show that ended its run too soon, leaving fans clamouring until it finally returned to the...
What’s with Ontario Premier Doug Ford and alcohol? A teetotaller whose brother had a very public struggle with addiction, Ford once declared as a Toronto city councillor: “I’m the only person in [Toronto City Hall] that doesn’t drink — ever.” He won’t touch the stuff. Yet he’s shown a deep political interest in alcoholic beverages.
As we await the list of projects the Carney government considers to be of national importance to Canada, I’d like to suggest a late addition. Under the new framework of “One Canadian Economy,” the Building Canada Act, passed earlier this year, is intended to streamline large, nation-shaping projects such as corridors, ports and grids, and to boost our prosperity, security...
In today’s political landscape, policies and politics alike are increasingly shaped and simplified by slogans. Prime Minister Mark Carney has introduced “Build, Baby, Build” as a rallying cry for his government’s infrastructure agenda, signalling urgency and determination. While Carney is relatively new to the art of sloganeering, his adoption of this catchier vernacular shows an understanding of how powerfully these...
Advocacy campaigns aimed at swaying legislators and regulators are nothing new. Companies have long used their influence to protect their interests. But TikTok’s recent efforts in Canada add a clever twist to this well-worn playbook that may prove to be as culturally resonant as it is politically strategic.
In marketing, a brand’s positioning is defined by the choices consumers have. Politics operates the same way: a leader’s identity is shaped by how they differ from their rivals and the options they represent. Right now, Prime Minister Mark Carney finds himself in a unique position. With Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre out of Parliament since losing his seat in the...
Elon Musk has always taken a curious pride in not spending big on advertising. Tesla’s meteoric rise was, in his telling, proof that a superior product—and a CEO with 220 million followers—renders paid media optional.
When the Conservative party adopted the slogan “Bring it Home,” it was a catchy phrase reportedly inspired by Leader Pierre Poilievre’s wife. It signalled a return to fundamentals, to a familiar place of security and prosperity. It’s now clear that the promise of bringing it home has not fully materialized.
As Prime Minister Mark Carney unveils Canada’s newest cabinet, many will look for the clear signs of change he promised voters. In the days leading up to the election, a Bay Street friend of mine said it plainly: “Let’s see if Carney can mop up the Liberal party and get it back on track. They don’t deserve my vote. But...
During his leadership campaign and now, as prime minister, Mark Carney reached for a loaded phrase: “Masters in our own home.” “The old relationship we had with the United States is over. What exactly the United States does next is unclear. But what is clear is that we as Canadians have agency, we have power. We are masters in our...
A near-death experience often leaves survivors permanently changed. They emerge more grateful, more focused, and, crucially, more humble. The brush with mortality strips away illusions of control. Survivors stop taking life for granted. They shift their priorities. They understand that survival is not a reward. It’s a reprieve. Politics isn’t so different. Just a few months ago, the Liberal Party...
Some dismissed it as the “erectile dysfunction” ad. Others laughed it off as a desperate Hail Mary to salvage a faltering campaign in Southern Ontario—specifically in the all-important 905 region. Well, they can stop laughing. Call it the blue belt now. The Conservatives not only held their ground in the 905—they flipped several Liberal ridings.
I was in Montreal the night Quebec voted “No” in the 1995 referendum. For many who voted “Yes,” it was heartbreak soaked in tears — but ultimately, it was resignation with echoes of René Lévesque’s words in 1980: “until the next time.” The images and the words spoken that night were displays of sadness, not rage. Except for then-Premier Jacques...
In marketing, as in politics, the “brand” is often a persona built over years, even decades. At a certain point, the persona isn’t just a strategy — it’s an operating system. The rewards are immediate and obvious when a politician is applauded for cutting down, for exposing flaws, for pointing the finger. Accusation is currency; outrage buys airtime.
This week’s leaders’ debates began in Quebec — albeit unofficially. The much-anticipated French-language debate is set for Wednesday night — scheduled at the same time as the Montreal Canadiens’ final regular-season game. Unlike in 2011, when the debate was moved up a day to avoid a similar clash, this time the Leaders’ Debates Commission either didn’t have a choice —...
If you’ve ever driven from Toronto to Florida, you’ve likely encountered the visual cacophony of billboards along America’s Interstate Highways. These range from posters for injury lawyers and gentlemen’s clubs to fast food outlets and reminders that Jesus loves you. Upon reaching Florida, one might chuckle at an AC repair ad proclaiming, “Your wife is hot.” But lately, these roadsides...
While the country was in lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, Quebecers enthusiastically adopted the French version of the Italian slogan andrà tutto bene: “ça va bien aller” — meaning: “it will all be fine.” That’s likely what the Liberal war room told itself amid the backlash following the decision to refuse Quebecor Media’s invitation to participate in its French-language Face-à-Face...
Canada Proud, the right-wing provocateurs and third-party advertising group closely aligned with Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, are not exactly renowned for their subtlety. Their social media ads frequently veer into crass territory, yet clearly resonate—evidenced by their hefty investments in Meta's Facebook and their savvy optimization of messaging and targeting.
“Quebecers are discovering their inner Canadian” according to the Association for Canadian Studies (ASC). Its survey shows that the percentage of Quebec residents who agree with “I am proud to be Canadian” rose from 83 per cent in May 2024 to 86 per cent this month. In Ontario, it increased from 80 per cent to 87 per cent, while it...
A recent analysis highlighted in La Presse reveals a startling aspect of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's oratory style. When assessed through a linguistic lens, Trudeau's vocabulary richness—or lack thereof—stands out, particularly when his word variety is measured against the total number of words he has spoken. This metric, known as a lexical richness index, positions Trudeau's vocabulary as one of...
If that's the overarching theme of the campaign, 'Canada Strong' could be a slogan-sized blind spot for the Liberal campaign.
It’s called an election campaign for a reason. Even though its purpose is to secure votes, instead of purchases, it is, in many ways, akin to marketing campaigns selling beer or detergent. Most of all, it starts with clearly stated quantitative objectives. Usually, it is to contribute to an increased market share. As such, Doug Ford’s campaign to secure a...
For months, the Ontario government has been promoting the narrative that “it’s happening here” through a barrage of ads published in newspapers across the province and online. The ads state that “more people are working than ever before,” with “over 700,000 more people working today than in 2018.” That’s the year Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives came to power.
If “Fresh. Familiar.” are the words describing its brand identity, the party might want to make sure they don’t sideline the familiar part next time they decide to wrap themselves in red.
“There are unknown unknowns.” That’s how former U.S. Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld referred to the risks that come from situations so unexpected they would not normally be considered. Unknown unknowns are far more difficult to anticipate than known unknowns.
In the words of Mike + the Mechanics from The Living Years, "Every generation blames the one before and all of their frustrations come beating on your door." This line perfectly captures how Canadian youth have inherited the unmet promises of the past, and, like many before him, Justin Trudeau paid the price of that truism—bearing the weight of collective...
“You’re Richer Than You Think” is one of Canada’s most recognized slogans. Launched nearly 20 years ago, it continues to strike a chord with bank customers despite ever-changing times — and occasional derision. It prompted boos and heckles during a 2009 cinema screening of a commercial featuring the tag line, when audiences were feeling the full weight of the recession...
Unlike Mark Carney and Chrystia Freeland, Karina Gould is not running for prime minister of Canada — at least according to her launch video. She has limited her declared ambition to becoming the next leader of the Liberal party of Canada: “We need to rebuild our party so that we can rebuild our country.” While her opponents are running to...