Federal By-elections - Winners and losers

Whispering in the Wind November 26, 2013 WITW6

Prime Minister Harper Has to Face Up to Reality

Canada’s political landscape has changed dramatically in the last number of years and some would say not for the better.  In the last year Canadians have been exposed to two scandals which continue to be investigated by police authorities – charges are pending in both scandals.  What is so fascinating and very, very disturbing about the Senate Expenses scandal; the authorities are now investigating the role of the prime minister and his staff – there is a real possibility that criminal charges will be assigned to a number of people associated with related cover-ups including, Senator Mike Duffy and Prime Minister Harper’s former Chief of Staff, Nigel Wright.  To measure the mood of Canadians and how they view the Senate scandal a large number of polls have been undertaken and it’s never good news for Prime Minister Harper and the Conservative Party of Canada.  As to the mood of the electorate there were four federal by-elections held on Monday.  The results are fascinating and some are saying that the results are an omen of what is to come in 2015.

By-Election Results – The Winners and Losers 

November 25, 2013 saw federal by-elections take place in four ridings – Toronto Centre; Montreal Bourssa; Manitoba Brandon-Souris and Manitoba Provendcher.  The results did not change the party standings in the House of Commons and the status quo was maintained, two Conservative victories and two Liberal victories.  It goes without saying that the Liberals claimed a major victory for leader Justin Trudeau - Mr. Trudeau has made his mark, now he has to deliver.  Tom Mulcair of the NDP will have to lick his wounds because of his poor showing in Montreal and Steven Harper will have to admit that the Senate Expenses Scandal has tarnished his brand in Manitoba, if not all of western Canada.

Premier Alison Redford Endorsed by Party Faithful

Alison Redford was given a 77 percent approval rating by the Alberta Progressive Conservative Party last week in Red Deer.  Her comfortable support – political supporters call it strong – is under-rating her skills as a political leader.  From my perspective she proved to be a major political force in Canada because of three recent initiatives – thwarting the premier of British Columbia from grabbing onto some of Alberta’s royalties; sponsoring and helping to lead in the development of a Canadian Energy Strategy and negotiating an energy framework agreement with the People’s Republic of China.  Alison Redford still has a lot of work to do on the Alberta royalty issue and she has to find some way to get Prime Minister Harper (and the other provinces) engaged in a Nation Building exercise.   As an aside: to those that produced “The Building Alberta Plan 2013 Edition” add a fourth building block and label it “Nation Building”.