A more open immigration policy is one of the easiest ways a government can increase economic freedom, improve growth and cut poverty
One of the big policy issues for the federal government this year, as well as in the Conservative leadership race, is immigration. It’s an area worthy of attention. By a margin of 63 to seven per cent, according to a recent Leger poll, Conservative voters want their new leader to decrease rather than increase immigration…
Back in September 2012, I wrote a column suggesting that Jean Charest’s recent political retirement wasn’t the end of the story. A man in his mid-50s who’d spent almost his entire adult life in politics would find it difficult to irrevocably wash his hands of the whole business. Now, on the brink of his apparently…
From Donald Trump to Boris Johnson to Angela Merkel to Justin Trudeau – what to look forward to in the next year
It’s New Year’s Eve and the last day of the 2010s. The champagne is chilling, the food, party hats and noisemakers are ready, and friends and loved ones are nearby. What’s in store for 2020 when it comes to politics? We can certainly speculate. The U.S. presidential election will be held in November. The Democrats…
A Conservative leader must be intelligent, confident, experienced, have miles of backbone, and the ability to build and maintain political bridges
Andrew Scheer announced on Dec. 12 that he would be stepping down as federal Conservative leader. Whoever succeeds him faces a tall task. Most political analysts knew that Scheer would have a real tussle on his hands to survive next April’s planned leadership review. He’d been attacked by the left and right flanks of his…
Prime ministers often come and go without making a material difference. For better or worse, Johnson looks like an exception
Boris Johnson has been called many uncomplimentary things, charlatan and clown being among the milder epithets. Even those sympathetic to his current agenda are liable to use terms like “unprincipled opportunist.” However, another descriptor is becoming increasingly apt. Johnson is shaping up to be a consequential politician, defined as one who makes a difference. A…
Neither the Conservatives nor Scheer displayed the remotest capacity to fight back by hammering home the counter message about a Liberal Party in disarray
In the end, it’s probably just as well for both the Conservative Party and Canadians that leader Andrew Scheer resigned. Drawing, quartering and hanging might have been all the rage in the Elizabethan era. But it is, to paraphrase a certain prime minister, 2019, and no one gains today by having public political execution preceded…
More progressive nonsense from the Liberals and another poor Conservative campaign could open the door for populists like the People’s Party
The failure of the People’s Party of Canada to win a single seat was, to me, the most surprising revelation of the Oct. 21 federal election. The writing appeared to be on the wall for Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Conservatives seem poised to be squeezed by the insurgent populists. For the People’s…
Closing politics and public life to those who are religious leaves us with a less tolerant society that brings fundamental freedoms into question
Disagreement is normal, if not necessary, in a healthy democracy. Being intolerant and disrespectful toward those with whom we disagree, however, is fatal to that democracy. Historically, Canadians have had the Charter of Rights and Freedoms (and the Bill of Rights before it) for protection. That’s especially important for racial, religious, political or sexual minorities,…
It would be a gross violation of religious freedom if we allowed beliefs to become a test for fitness for office. Yet Andrew Scheer faced a barrage of criticism
Canada’s public square is an increasingly closed space, at least for voices of faith. This is dangerous – and not just for the faithful. The 2019 federal election campaign and its aftermath make clear that there are new boundaries to what can and can’t be said publicly. Moreover, the boundaries now cover what can and…
The prospect of a profligate Liberal minority government dependent on the even more financially destructive policies of the NDP is enough to send even more investors scurrying to the exits
The Oct. 21 federal election results confirm that most Canadians have lost all fear of deficit spending, no matter how large. That’s a serious problem for the nation. During the 2015 federal election campaign, the Conservatives led by Stephen Harper proudly announced a no-deficit budget after years of working to rebalance spending and revenues following…
One of the big policy issues for the federal government this year, as well as in the Conservative leadership race, is immigration. It’s an area worthy of attention. By a margin of 63 to seven per cent, according to a recent Leger poll, Conservative voters want their new leader to decrease rather than increase immigration…
