Ontario’s ongoing provincial election is presenting some interesting echoes from previous campaigns – particularly the 2015 federal election which similarly involved a seemingly vulnerable Conservative majority, an NDP official opposition and a Lib attempt to jump back into default-government status. At the outset, I’ll reiterate my longtime view that contrary
Continue readingTag: canada 2015
Accidental Deliberations: On performance reviews
Following up on this post, I’ll weigh in with my own take on the federal NDP’s leadership review – based primarily on the question of what Tom Mulcair seems to have taken away from the 2015 federal election, and how it will position the party in the ye…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On evaluations
I’ve written previously about my view as to how NDP members should approach the review of Thomas Mulcair’s leadership at the upcoming federal convention. And in the face of a blizzard of commentary which does little but to echo knee-jerk election post-…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On rebuilding steps
I’ve posted before about the NDP’s strong progressive stance since the October election – which looks to be a positive move in terms of principles and politics alike. But there’s also a great deal of work to be done on the party side. And I’ll su…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Movements and moments
Let’s continue this line of thought about the federal NDP’s most recent election campaign with my slight twist on one of the more familiar questions which has faced the party (in various forms) over a period of decades.I’ll start by drawing a distincti…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On purposes
There are plenty of questions which the NDP is rightly asking in the wake of this fall’s federal election results. But Susan Delacourt is uncharacteristically far off base in her view as to what the main question is. By way of contrast, the question of…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On balancing acts
For those wondering, I’m indeed following up on these posts and working my way through some of the factors in the NDP’s federal election result. (For more on the subject, see the latest from Lawrence Martin, and Desmond Cole talking to Cheri DiNovo.)I’…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading.- Karen Brettel and David Rohde discuss how the cult of shareholder value is destroying the concept of corporations actually making anything useful. And Deirdre Hipwell writes that the financial-sector workers …
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: New column day
Here, on the opportunity posed by the change in Canada’s federal government – as well as the risks involved in letting the moment pass without an activist push for meaningful change. For further reading…– Nora Loreto makes much the same point with a particular focus on Canada’s labour movement.– Susan
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your Remembrance Day reading. – Roderick Benns interviews Robin Boadway about the results of past basic income studies which have shown that economic security helps rather than hinders individual participation in the workforce: Benns: What about a basic income guarantee makes it a social justice issue? Boadway: To
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On turnout
Daniel Schwartz reports on the final vote count from last month’s federal election. And given the record vote total and unusually high turnout based on the percentage of eligible voters, it’s particularly worth noting what’s changed since previous, lower-turnout elections. Since 2011, the Conservatives eliminated the per-vote subsidy, which provided
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On open questions
I’ve previously criticized the attempts of outside commentators to push Thomas Mulcair out the door as NDP leader. By the same token, though, I’ll note that it’s equally inappropriate to try to immediately declare that there won’t be any review of Mulcair’s leadership before the next federal election – which
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On definitions
The post-mortems on the NDP’s federal election campaign continue to roll in. And it’s particularly a plus to see that there will be a systematic effort within the party itself to review the choices which led to the election results – both for better and for worse. In the meantime,
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Jim Stanford examines what Canada’s federal election says about our attitudes toward economic choices: (P)rogressives need to advance our own economic agenda, to fill the vacuum left by the failure of the Conservative vision. The modest infrastructure spending and small, temporary deficits
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Lana Payne surveys some of the glaring warning signs about the Trans-Pacific Partnership for anybody who thinks a government’s job is to further the interests of citizens rather than corporations: These deals are no longer about free trade. Rather, as I pointed
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Mike Barber highlights how Canada’s federal election campaign was dominated by messages pushed from the top down rather than citizens’ concerns. Erna Paris recognizes that we can’t afford to be complacent about the place of outright bigotry in shaping voters’ decisions. And
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On missed opportunities
As mentioned here, I’ll be adding over the next little while to an already-substantial set of views on the NDP’s choices which led to last week’s federal election results. But I’ll start by expanding on a point which I made briefly earlier in the campaign (at a time when it
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Les Leopold takes a look at the underpinnings of Bernie Sanders’ unexpectedly strong run for the Democratic presidential nomination. And Sean McElwee discusses the type of politics U.S. voters are rightly motivated to change, as big donors have been successful in dictating
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On ticking clocks
Governing inevitably involves a combination of setting the agenda to the extent possible, and responding to events to the extent necessary. And while there’s a great deal of doubt as to where the Libs’ priorities will lie, it’s possible to identify the areas where they’ll have little choice but to
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Afternoon Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – I’ll start in on my own review of the NDP’s election campaign over the next few days, focusing on what I see as being the crucial decisions as the campaign played out. But for those looking for some of what’s been written already,
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