Let the games begin

 The Hon. Sergio Marchi was a successful politician, municipally and federally. He was a candidate in five separate elections, all winning ones, so he knows a thing or two about campaigns. During this federal election, Marchi will contribute a series of articles, analyzing the emerging issues and events that will

Ottawa Life’s 2019 Election Outlook: Ottawa Centre – Some very impressive candidates from all parties but Catherine McKenna will be hard to beat

 Ottawa Centre (French: Ottawa-Centre) is an urban federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1968. While the riding's boundaries (mainly to the south and west as the north and east borders have remained the Ottawa River and Rideau River,

Trudeau – Canada’s Dorian Gray

 Photo credit: Adam Scotti (PMO) Predicting the outcome of an election is hard even a few weeks before the vote, never mind two months earlier. However, I believe that if Justin Trudeau loses the next election, it will not be because of the SNC-Lavalin scandal. Trudeau’s political future took a

A Conversation About Electoral Reform

 Photo credit: D’Arcy Norman “We are committed to ensuring that 2015 will be the last federal election conducted under the first-past-the-post voting system.” That was the Liberal Party’s 2015 campaign promise. Four years later we are finding ourselves heading towards the next federal election which will be done through, as one

Huawei CFO, Meng Wanzhou, sues CBSA, RMCP and the federal government

 Photo credit: Handout/Reuters Meng Wanzhou, CFO of Huawei alleged that her constitutional rights were violated when she was taken into custody. She has filed a claim and now suing the Canadian Border Services Agency, the RCMP and the federal government seeking damages for false imprisonment based on multiple alleged failures

Justin Trudeau — Genuinely insincere

 "Because it’s 2015.” Remember that missive by our “feminist” Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau? Two key pillars in his election platform were his commitment to women’s issues and his commitment to Indigenous people in Canada. After becoming Prime Minister, Trudeau anointed himself as the spokesperson for women’s empowerment and declared to

Issues set to arise for the Opposition Party in the upcoming Federal Election

 Photo credit: Andrew Scheer/Flickr With the upcoming 2019 Federal election, tensions are arising as parties begin to build their platform. In a survey conducted by Abacus Data, approximately 2,000 Canadians aged 18 and older were polled online. It was found that over 57% prefer a change in the current government, bearing

The Betrayal

 Unions should not be lapdogs to a political party; they should be watchdogs for their members' interests - Andy Stern, President Emeritus Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Debbie Daviau, President of  the Professional Institute of the Public Service and her executive and Board would do well to review the many writings of

The Trudeau government’s belated commitment to election law reform

 Photo credit: Jean-Marc Carisse The recent introduction by the Trudeau government of Bill C 76 that is meant to overhaul Canada’s Election Act raises the question: is a belated commitment to improving electoral democracy better than no commitment at all?  The answer has to be yes, of course. However, the

Using the Word Populism is Demeaning and Belittling to Voters

 The outcome of the Italian election this past month remains uncertain. A possible coalition between the Northern League Party and Forza Italia seems probable since there was no clear majority winner. CNN and CBC were quick to label these parties as “populist”, and if you review their philosophies and policies,

The RCMP at the Point of No Return

 By Darryl T Davies The colossal understatement of the year has to be that from Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale.  In a recent interview when he was asked about the idea of civilian oversight for the RCMP he commented “It would be a massive change in the way the institution

Prime Minister Maxime Bernier? Pourquoi Pas?

 Jean Chretien used to say that the biggest asset any politician has is their ability to be underestimated. He would know. In the early 1990s, Chretien was summarily dismissed by his critics and many members of the national press gallery as “yesterday’s man”. The “pundits” chimed that he would never

Trudeau Needs More “Nate’s”

 For the Liberals, the Tories and the NDP, the nomination process is a political blood sport and intrigue and backroom manoeuvrings have defined nomination races in all parties since Confederation. All political parties have nomination issues. In Calgary, a former provincial Conservative minister defeated a sitting MP, Rob Anders, for

Back to the Future: The Fall and Possible Rise of the Liberal Party of Canada

 By Dan Donovan and Simon Vodrey It has come down to this. On Election Night, May 2011, the once great Liberal Party of Canada was pummeled. It seemed unbelievable that the “Natural Governing Party of Canada” had fallen from grace with a loud thud, placing third in the polls, unable

Publisher speaks to Justin Trudeau’s Liberal leadership potential

 Sun TV News interview with OLM Publisher, Dan Donovan, on Liberal Leadership hopeful Justin Trudeau.

Publisher’s Message May 8, 2011

 On election night my friend, a long-time Liberal, called me and said, “well, that’s what happens to a Party that tries to be everything to everyone and stands for nothing at all.” The great Liberal Party of Canada, the Party of Laurier, King, St. Laurent, Pearson and Trudeau had been