Victor Orban is the pariah of Europe. If his autocratic control of Hungary continues for much longer his country may be expelled from the European Union, an unprecedented and devastating move. Why would the EU…
Recent Posts
With Six Parties, No One is Getting Half the Popular Vote.
In a full page opinion piece in the Globe and Mail of July 9, 2023, (“Rule by the Second Place: The Coming Crisis of Legitimacy in Canadian Politics”) columnist Andrew Coyne raises the ‘spectre’ of…
The EV “Solution”: Not a Silver Bullet
Most of the time this space focuses on the steady stream of misconceptions, errors and deliberate untruths promoted by right wing conservatives and populists. (Hello Donald Trump, Boris Johnson, Pierre Poilievre and Danielle Smith). However…
Ode to the Canoe: Symbol of Canadian Unity
This is a re-print of last year’s blog, returning in honour of Canada Day. As summer comes to a close, and this writer returns from a week of paddling on the French River, it seems…
Whither the Poilievre Party? Polls vs. Byelections
Anyone with only a passing interest in Canadian politics might be inclined to think the Poilievre Conservatives are in good shape and poised to win the next federal election. Most public opinion polls, after all,…
What to Do With the RCMP?
Media coverage of the Nova Scotia Mass Casualty Commission’s recent report have concentrated on the perceived incompetence of the RCMP. On the one hand, this is not surprising. Certainly there were a number of problems…
Foreign Interference and National Security, Part II: Forget Election Interference, Focus on the PRC’s Many More Effective Efforts at Domestic Meddling
It is surely a depressing sign of the times when media attention, public opinion and opposition political parties can be so easily influenced by the views of an individual guilty of violating the national security…
The Manufactured Foreign Interference/National Security “Crisis”: The Danger of Political Spin in an Era of Hyperpartisan Politics
At a recent conference sponsored by the venerable Institute of Public Administration in Canada (IPAC), participants in the lead panel discussed “Politics: A Return to Civility, What Would it Take?” Strikingly, there was no dissent…
Politicians Like Poilievre, Smith and Ford are the Cause of Antidemocratic Behaviour
When Justice Paul Rouleau tabled his long anticipated report on the federal government’s decision to invoke the Emergencies Act, Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre was in a tight spot. Not only did Rouleau confirm that the…
The Real Problem With a Special Ambassador on Combatting Islamophobia
The current controversy over the appointment of Almira Elghawaby as a Special Ambassador to Combat Islamophobia is focusing on all the wrong issues. There is certainly a problem, but it is not with the individual…
