The Buzz Jan 18th 2025: Should The Conservatives Be Nervous About The…

The Buzz Jan 18th 2025: Should The Conservatives Be Nervous About The Liberal Race?

Welcome to the weekend and welcome to The Buzz. Sit back, relax and enjoy some good reads.

Are Conservatives nervous, even with a huge twenty-something point lead over the Liberals? Doesn’t make sense, does it? Yet some at least do seem a bit edgy and therefore a bit chippy, slagging the other side no matter what the issue is.

Of course, let’s remember that no one, underline no one, wanted Justin Trudeau to stay as the competition more than the Conservatives. They so wanted to run their campaign against Trudeau whose numbers on favourability couldn’t have been much lower. Anyway, Trudeau is not who they’re going to get, and increasingly, it looks like either Mark Carney or Chrystia Freeland. So, they’re trying hard to make both look like they are competitors, yes, but competitors in Trudeau colours. That may be possible, especially with Freeland and to a lesser degree with Carney.

Carney got out of the gate fast with a surprisingly good comic performance with Jon Stewart on The Daily Show. Politicians usually bomb on comedy shows, looking forced and scripted. And I’ll admit, I assumed the same would happen with Carney. I was wrong. He looked at home and scored points. I don’t know whether Pierre Poilievre watched, but perhaps if he didn’t, he should –after all, that could well be your competitor, Mr. P.

Carney was okay but nowhere near as smooth when he officially announced his candidacy in Edmonton on Thursday. He looked nervous and fumbled a few things: his script, his French, and his prompter failed him. After glowing reviews for his late-night comedy act on US TV, the press wasn’t near as on board for the actual launch. That must have given Conservatives some measure of relief.

But the week wasn’t just Carney for the Conservatives.

Poilievre could well lose his most effective campaign slogan, “Axe the Tax,” as both leading Liberals are rumoured to be doing the axing themselves, before a campaign. And then there’s the Danielle Smith issue of being offside with all the other first ministers on the Trump issue – who will Poilievre side with there? He's not saying. Hmmmm.

But then again, there’s that lead of up to twenty five points. How worried should any Tory be as the Liberals try to get their mojo mojo-ing? Time for someone smart to address that, over to you, Robyn Urback at the Globe:

🔒 Pierre Poilievre launches his campaign against the ghost of Justin Trudeau Read >

Here’s another take but it needs a little setup first.

When I was a parliamentary correspondent in the CBC’s Ottawa bureau, and later when I was Chief Correspondent of CBC News, I often would turn to one of the most experienced reporters anywhere in Ottawa to help stiffen the spine on challenging stories. Don Newman was the man for that given his years in Ottawa dating back to the Diefenbaker-Pearson back and forths. His message was pretty simple: if you are trusting of your sources and believing in your facts, go for it. There were more than a few times I’d seek out Don’s advice, he’d hear me out and then say this about any naysayers: “Screw ‘em!” Actually, he had a different word but there’s only so far The Buzz censors will let me go!

Anyway, Don, now retired from broadcast news, yet occupying the lofty chair of executive vice president of Ottawa’s Rubicon Strategy, has a solid column in this month’s Policy Magazine:

Beyond ‘Axe the Tax’: Where’s the Poilievre Plan? Read >

Bruce Arthur of the Toronto Star is one of my favourite columnists.

He writes with knowledge and flair about everything from sports to politics. This is another good one:

🔒 Mark Carney and Pierre Poilievre say a lot about themselves with their choices-of interviewers Read >

Lots more on all of this, especially the Liberal leadership race, on this week’s Good Talk with Chantal, Bruce and me. Catch us through the YouTube link at nationalnewswatch.com BTW, Good Talk continues to be the most listened-to Canadian political podcast with a record 19,000 audio downloads last week, more than 30,000 views on YouTube and a potential of up to 300,000 listeners on SiriusXM where it’s heard across the continent each Friday at noon eastern. Thanks for tuning in.

So, here’s The Buzz question of the week.

Where will Elon Musk be sitting during the Inauguration on Monday in Washington? Will he be closer to Donald Trump than J D Vance? You wouldn’t think so, but since the election, who’s been closer to Trump in the videos you’ve seen? Who’s had more press – the billionaire know-it-all who clearly wishes he was President or the man who will be just a heartbeat away from the presidency as of noon Monday?

Musk is quite the piece of work with his advice about everything and everyone – and that includes about Canada. That’s where Toronto Star contributing editor Shellene Drake-Tull has something to say:

Opinion | The last thing Canadians need is nefarious billionaire Elon Musk telling us who to vote for Read >

If you believe Trump the Younger, who spent a few minutes in Greenland last week, Greenlanders can’t wait to join the United States.

At least that’s what his extensive beer stop survey talking to Greenlanders left him believing. Not so for the Washington Post who sent a reporter to Greenland to see what they could find:

In Greenland, a cold shoulder for Trump, but curiosity about U.S. ties Read >

Okay, time for some lighter, yet still useful, fare.

There is no doubt that a resume listing a Harvard degree is likely to get looked upon more favourably than almost any other. At least that’s the way it used to be. But these days are, as we know, very different. Check this from Lindsey Ellis in the Wall Street Journal:

Even Harvard M.B.A.s Are Struggling to Land Jobs Read >

We’ve looked, carefully, at the sun all our lives. But how often have you thought about this – what does the sun sound like?

Well, I’ll admit I’ve never thought about it, not once. Until I kind of heard the sun this week thanks to this:

We finally know what the Sun sounds like – and it’s surprisingly retro Read >

Every once in a while, you’ll come across a story headlined “Lost Tapes Found.”

Usually, they turn out to just be old tapes of some speech or band and when listened to, nothing that special. This may be different, at least David Bowie fans sure hope so. Found this in the Telegraph this week:

This tape sat unwanted and forgotten for decades, before falling into the hands of a music obsessive Read >

I got into Bowie late in life but when I got there I was hooked. Get me those tapes!

That’s The Buzz for this week, stay safe for the next seven days and we’ll see you again next Saturday morning.

The Buzz is a weekly publication from National Newswatch that shares insights and commentary on the week’s developments in politics, news and current affairs.