Politics
Political trends and analyses.
Will Quebec Liberals bounce back?
Quebec polls have consistently shown the CAQ falling and the PQ rising, with the Liberals stagnant. Will that last? Credit, Journal de Montreal. Have we seen this movie before? A restless Quebec electorate tires of a government after a couple of terms. The beleaguered party leader struggles against the new tides of opinion. Then comes…
Premiers face headaches in 2nd terms
Legault’s CAQ asked voters to look at its “record” in 2022. That may become more decisive in second term. Ford’s Conservatives face similar challenges. In autumn, there’s a back-to-school season and a new political year. Both are known in French as “la rentrée”. The Canadian politics rentrée in 2023-24 will feature several leaders whose report…
Zelensky appeals for Canada support
President skilfully flatters hosts, touches emotional bases with diaspora by David Winch, Kyiv Post MONTREAL – President Volodymyr Zelensky captured headlines across Canada on Friday September 22, with a carefully choreographed visit to capital Ottawa and a speech to Parliament broadcast live on national TV that pressed all the right emotional buttons. The visit followed…
Tale of two Trudeaus
After 8 years in power, the exit looms for Justin In the late 1960s, Pierre Elliott Trudeau became my favourite political leader. Like a great athlete, he could bring a full house to its feet. He was charismatic, refreshingly brash, unconventional. A new star in the political sky. I still recall each successive ballot of…
Humpty Dumpty, Quebec-style
Opposition parties must piece together a winning alternative vs. a populist government. Defaced CAQ poster, above, reflects views of some in Montreal. Volatile. Yes, that’s politics in Quebec. Parties rise and fall, leaders come and go. Political movements look dynamic, even unbeatable, then get levelled. Remember the Union Nationale? The ADQ? The NDP’s run as…
Trudeau and me: a battle Royal
With Trudeau and his policies in the news these days, I have naturally been drawn to my past experience with Prime Minister Trudeau. Pierre Trudeau, that is. The real one. This would be back in 1979, a distant historic era for today’s millennials, but often on my mind as we live under the reign of…
Trip to the edge — A deskbound Geneva ‘fonctionnaire’ tastes life in the field
By David Winch, UN Special, May 2009 The arrival was a shock. The airport, a shambles. After a day and a night on flights from Geneva to Paris to Togo and beyond, here we were in Central Africa. Years later, the memories of this, my first field mission, remain vivid. Arriving from the North, the…