This was prodded by a reader. He asked me to search my mind for leaders of Canada’s federal parties and determine what I would consider their legacy to the country. It was a somewhat disappointing search. While hardly a recent leader, I started with Sir John A. Macdonald. It is
Continue readingTag: Lester B. Pearson
Alberta Politics: Excellent question: If a referendum’s good enough for the CPP, why not for the teachers’ pension fund?
“Jason Kenney says he will use a referendum to determine if Albertans want their Canada Pension Plan shifted to AIMCo,” Jonathan Teghtmeyer, Associate Communications Coordinator of the Alberta Teachers Association, observed before asking a perfectly reasonable question on social media yesterday. So, Mr. Teghtmeyer tweeted, “why won’t he allow teachers
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Another week in the Annals of Diplomacy: in stormy times, half a loaf is better than none
From the sublime to the ridiculous, it would appear, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government will do anything to keep Donald Trump sweet. Consider the dissimilar cases of Meng Wanzhou and Stephanie Clifford. The first we won’t allow to leave Canada, the second we won’t allow to visit. Both, obviously, because
Continue readingIn This Corner: Dear Canada: It’s time to upgrade our greatests lists.
Happy 147th birthday, my fellow Canadians. I hope you’re enjoying the day by spending time with the family, maybe going to the lake, attending various Canada Day celebrations, etc. Me? I’m going to work. One way for millions to celebrate the birth of the dominion is to go shopping, and
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Canada has always been at war with Eurasia
RB Bennett was one of Canada’s most popular Prime Ministers, to the point where average Canadians would name their buggies after him. We found out last week that the Harper Conservatives will be leading a review of the way Canadian history is taught in schools. We don’t yet have word
Continue readingThe Equivocator: The Liberal Party: A Substantial Heritage, a Future of Substance (Co-written with Theresa Lubowitz)
Theresa Lubowitz on the Death of Substantive Policy Canada is teetering dangerously close to the death of substantive policy as we know it, with the rise of a populist Conservative Government, a populist NDP Official Opposition, and a struggling Liberal Party so afraid of irrelevancy it has spent the last
Continue readingCalgary Grit: 100 Years of Bad Photo Ops
As you have probably heard a hundred times over the past month, the Calgary Stampede turns 100 this year. Calgary has changed a lot over this time. A seat at the 1912 rodeo cost 50 cents. Calgary’s population was 70,000. And, oh yeah, back then Alberta was a Liberal bastion,
Continue readingDavid Climenhaga's Alberta Diary: Come 2015, don’t expect the Harper Tories to do aught but rag on our Maple Leaf Flag
Canada’s Maple Leaf Flag. Below: Lester B. Pearson, the prime minister whose vision gave us the flag; Pierre Elliott Trudeau, the father of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Harper Conservatives wrap themselves in the Maple Leaf Flag, but don’t expect them to be waving it on Feb. 15,
Continue readingPaul S. Graham: Video Report: Lester Pearson’s Peacekeeping – The Truth May Hurt
Lester B. Pearson has been dead for four decades, but his imagined legacy, that of international peacekeeper, remains one of the defining myths of the Canadian identity. Horrified by our murderous behavior in the occupation of Afghanistan and the bombings of Libya and the former Yugoslavia, the sainted memory of
Continue readingPaul S. Graham: Yves Engler in Winnipeg March 15th
Foreign policy analyst Yves Engler will be speaking in Winnipeg Thursday about his newest book, Lester Pearson’s Peacekeeping: The Truth May Hurt. Date: Thursday, March 15, 2012 Time: 7:30 p.m. Location: Mondragon Bookstore and Coffee House, 91 Albert Street, Winnipeg Admission: Free. Donations will be requested to help defray expenses.
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