Election 2021

 As a candidate in five separate elections, all winning ones, the Hon. Sergio Marchi knows a thing or two about political campaigns. During the 2021 federal election, he contributed a series of articles that analyzed the emerging issues and events. We have assembled them together to make them easier to review. Click on the image

The five best MPs in the 43rd Canadian Parliament

 On election night in 2019, Justin Trudeau’s Liberals got 156 seats—14 short of the 170 needed for a majority in the 338-seat House of Commons. Canadian voters had decided that Justin Trudeau did not deserve a majority and that the Tories did not deserve to win. The total vote numbers told

The corrosive effect of negative politics

 Illustration by Joe Foster Former Prime Ministers Joe Clark, John Turner, Brian Mulroney, Kim Campbell, Jean Chrétien, Paul Martin and Stephen Harper all believed in the merit of public service and that politics was an honourable profession. They were civil towards each other when debating the great issues of the

Ottawa Life’s 2019 Election Outlook: Ottawa-Vanier — What Happened to Dignity

 Ottawa—Vanier (formerly known as Ottawa East) is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1935. Before that date, it was part of the Ottawa electoral district that returned two members. The riding generally corresponds to the wards of

Ottawa Life’s 2019 Election Outlook: Ottawa Carleton – MP Pierre Poilievre’s star still rising

 Carleton is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1968 and since 2015. It was represented in the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada from 1821 to 1840 and in the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from 1841

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,

Ottawa Life’s 2019 Election Outlook: Ottawa West-Nepean — Ethics-challenged Anita Vandenbeld is a complete dud

 Ottawa West—Nepean is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1997.The district includes the neighbourhoods of Shirleys Bay, Crystal Beach, Rocky Point, Bayshore, Britannia, Britannia Bay, Lincoln Heights, Whitehaven, Glabar Park, Queensway, Highland Park, Kenson Park, Redwood, Graham

Kealey and Associates’ Ontario Election Analysis: A Cautionary Tale for Trudeau Liberals

 The following is a report prepared by Marc Kealey from Kealey and Associates Inc. in Toronto, Canada. The second edition of this report was released on May 29, 2018 followed by the final summary which was released on June 17, 2018. The results of the general election of June 7, 2018 seemingly

NO SHAME: The Desperate Wynne Government Is Now Making Stuff Up on Doug Ford

 Photo credits: Wiki Commons We get a lot of news releases and information every day at Ottawa Life Magazine from all the political parties. Usually the information relates to a particular party position or issue they are advocating on behalf of or is a press release slamming something the government

All Parties Deserve Equitable Coverage in Elections

 By Linda Chenoweth I retired 3 years early from teaching with the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board due to my disillusionment with education in Ontario, many reasons of which I have written about in the Hamilton Spectator. I have covered issues such as the invalid and unreliable EQAO testing; violence in

Carleton Professor Says Minister and MPs are Failing the RCMP and Canadians

 Feature image: Former Commissioner of the RCMP Bob Paulson It appears the new tactic of dozens of Members of Parliament when they don’t want to deal with an issue is to just not respond to the inquiry. Either that or they answer an inquiry with a non-answer, or worse, answer

We Can’t Live in Glass Houses

 It has been nearly two years since the election of the Trudeau government and his legislative accomplishments are few and far between. Other than pushing the reset button to change the tone from the previous Harper government, nothing of real significance has been achieved. My 18-year-daughter recently observed that “Justin”

Charlie Angus Would Be A Great Prime Minister

 The stakes are high. The choices between tens of thousands of NDP members in the coming days will determine whether or not the NDP will continue in their traditional spot as the third place party in Parliament, or will manage to return to their brief period of glory between 2011

The Top 25 People in the Capital: 11-20

 Photo by Valerie Keeler This year we teamed up with Crusoe, the Celebrity Dachshund, to sniff out the top dogs in the city that are actually people. Crusoe got his game face on and scouted out Ottawans that are the ones to watch. They are the best that the capital has

Corruption by Any Other Name

  “Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts... perhaps the fear of a loss of power.” ? John Steinbeck If Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne’s four hours of testimony in the bribery trial of two high-ranking Liberals in a Sudbury courtroom proves anything, it is that she and her Liberal government have lost

“Wake up, Pretend I’m Okay, Sleep.”

 Charlie Angus Would Be a Great Leader for the NDP and Canada Charlie Angus is the embodiment of the everyman or every-person MP. First elected to Parliament in 2004 in the Northern Ontario riding of Timmins–James Bay, the former punk-rocker, alt-country social activist and entrepreneur has been handily re-elected several

Parliamentary Wrap-Up Session With Rona Ambrose

 Attention: Rona Ambrose is not running for the Conservative leadership. However, after a stellar performance in the last Parliamentary session many wish she would. We sat down with the interim Leader of the Official Opposition to discuss the last Parliamentary session. OTTAWA LIFE MAGAZINE: What are your observations of the

Back to the Future

 Photo by Jean-Marc Carisse. Last night Liberal leader Justin Trudeau won a majority government in a historically long three-way race. Moving into his father's old house, Trudeau has created what many are calling Canada's first political dynasty. The Liberals swept across Atlantic Canada early on, taking every available seat in

Pharmacare is for Kids Too

 Written by Avram Denburg and Steve Morgan You are the parent of a sick child. You have a limited budget and you must decide to buy the medicine the doctor prescribed for your child or provide food and shelter for your family instead. What do you do? Sadly this dilemma is one too

Are we finally in a health election campaign?

 Why more affordable medications for Canadians should be an all-party priority in this federal election. It's become almost a matter of faith: health and health care are perennially among the top priorities for Canadians, but are nearly invisible in election platforms and debates. This observation has led health care providers, health care

Blue Rodeo Slams Harper In New Protest Song

 It’s been merely a month, but yet another anti-conservative diddy has gone viral. Following the controversial suspension of federal government scientist Tony Turner, Superstar country-rock group Blue Rodeo are the newest band of Canadians protesting the Conservative party with their new hit, “Stealin’ All My Dreams.” In a recent trend,

What You Need to Know About the Election

 On your marks, get set, go! The race is on. The federal election to determine Canada’s 42nd parliament and leader has begun. Set to end with the October 19 election, this campaign will be the longest in over a century (since 1872), running for a full 78 days. In Canada,

Silencing a Voice: The Closing Of Sun News

 Image: huffpost.com By Michael Coren It’s been a few weeks now since the Friday the 13th that I will never forget. That was the day – 5 a.m. to be precise – that Sun News closed down. I hosted a nightly show called The Arena on the network for almost

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

Publisher’s Message: Wrong

 In January 2013, Ottawa Life Magazine featured Kathleen Wynne on its cover with the headline A Few Good Women. Wynne was running for the provincial Liberal leadership which she would end up winning later that month. Today, she is Ontario’s first female Premier and the first openly gay Premier in