A note of optimism for the Liberals would be good. I agree with your take in the last paragraph ("...it's still highly likely a Conservative landslide."), but tightening polls could result in more of the furniture being saved, which leads to my next thought.
I'd love to read your thoughts on a suggestion raised on The Line podcast this we…
A note of optimism for the Liberals would be good. I agree with your take in the last paragraph ("...it's still highly likely a Conservative landslide."), but tightening polls could result in more of the furniture being saved, which leads to my next thought.
I'd love to read your thoughts on a suggestion raised on The Line podcast this weekend - that the Liberals call the election sooner rather than later, so that PM Poilievre has to deal with all the challenges heading Canada's way. (My list of items that won't lend themselves to the populism offered by the CPC: the recession that's just about here, the inflation and potentially higher interest rates resulting from Trump's economic policies, the cuts necessary to pay for the defence spending demanded by the Trump administration, and the Ontario farmers' reaction to finally lifting the dairy subsidies [I'm not sure if this version of the CPC will care too much about Quebec's reaction, given their Alberta base].)
I am a fan of the mischief you proposed in your last column re: the Fredericton clinic - at this point, anything that the Liberals can do to create internal challenges for the CPC will be useful in saving a little more of the furniture and setting up for a comeback.
One other column question - do you accept the notion that governments get tired (or even exhausted), and could this also be a reason for the Liberals to hand off the negotiations with the Trump folk to the Conservatives?
I realize these questions are cynical, and imply risking the health and well-being of the country by Conservative missteps in order to bring the Liberals back into power later, but I'm not at all confident that the Liberals can do better than furniture-saving at this point.
The Liberals will absolutely not hand over negotiations with the US to the Conservatives. It is an opportunity for the Liberals to shine and change the channel. I don’t know if it will make a difference in the election, but this is mostly an opportunity for the liberals.
Normally, I'd agree with you. But that ties back to the question of governments getting tired - the "A" team that the Liberals put forward in the negotiations in 2017-18 is either gone to new challenges, or at best is seven years older with fifteen years of wear on their bodies. The new "A"-level players won't join the Liberals right now (at best the future is uncertain, and could easily result in lost jobs in a short time period), and the Trump guys can read polls too - they can wait out the government as well. The risks for the Liberals are likely far greater than the potential benefits.
Actually, not too many of the key players from 2017/2018 have gone. Gerald Butts is no longer there, and Mulroney has passed, but many of the key players are still there. It may also give Carney something useful to do.
Now, I don’t think it is a given that Canada is number 1 on the list of priorities for the incoming administration. I think the focus is going to be internal, and perhaps NATO. I think we will see Trudeau reaching out to other NATO countries to assemble a united counter balance to a Trump administration.
A note of optimism for the Liberals would be good. I agree with your take in the last paragraph ("...it's still highly likely a Conservative landslide."), but tightening polls could result in more of the furniture being saved, which leads to my next thought.
I'd love to read your thoughts on a suggestion raised on The Line podcast this weekend - that the Liberals call the election sooner rather than later, so that PM Poilievre has to deal with all the challenges heading Canada's way. (My list of items that won't lend themselves to the populism offered by the CPC: the recession that's just about here, the inflation and potentially higher interest rates resulting from Trump's economic policies, the cuts necessary to pay for the defence spending demanded by the Trump administration, and the Ontario farmers' reaction to finally lifting the dairy subsidies [I'm not sure if this version of the CPC will care too much about Quebec's reaction, given their Alberta base].)
I am a fan of the mischief you proposed in your last column re: the Fredericton clinic - at this point, anything that the Liberals can do to create internal challenges for the CPC will be useful in saving a little more of the furniture and setting up for a comeback.
One other column question - do you accept the notion that governments get tired (or even exhausted), and could this also be a reason for the Liberals to hand off the negotiations with the Trump folk to the Conservatives?
I realize these questions are cynical, and imply risking the health and well-being of the country by Conservative missteps in order to bring the Liberals back into power later, but I'm not at all confident that the Liberals can do better than furniture-saving at this point.
The Liberals will absolutely not hand over negotiations with the US to the Conservatives. It is an opportunity for the Liberals to shine and change the channel. I don’t know if it will make a difference in the election, but this is mostly an opportunity for the liberals.
Normally, I'd agree with you. But that ties back to the question of governments getting tired - the "A" team that the Liberals put forward in the negotiations in 2017-18 is either gone to new challenges, or at best is seven years older with fifteen years of wear on their bodies. The new "A"-level players won't join the Liberals right now (at best the future is uncertain, and could easily result in lost jobs in a short time period), and the Trump guys can read polls too - they can wait out the government as well. The risks for the Liberals are likely far greater than the potential benefits.
Actually, not too many of the key players from 2017/2018 have gone. Gerald Butts is no longer there, and Mulroney has passed, but many of the key players are still there. It may also give Carney something useful to do.
Now, I don’t think it is a given that Canada is number 1 on the list of priorities for the incoming administration. I think the focus is going to be internal, and perhaps NATO. I think we will see Trudeau reaching out to other NATO countries to assemble a united counter balance to a Trump administration.