Housing has been a hot topic in the campaign for Canada’s 44th parliament.
Every major party platform offers proposals for reining in what has become a nationwide affordability crisis. However, experts say the most effective potential solutions have either received scant attention from the federal platforms, or have failed to be included at all.
Justin Trudeau has called a general election in the fall to give his Liberals a stronger mandate to shape the country’s post-pandemic future. But his promises of a just recovery shouldn’t be trusted.
On Aug. 15, the day Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau launched the federal election campaign, Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole’s chief strategist made a prediction.
“Once again, @erinotoole begins a campaign as the underdog,” Dan Robertson tweeted. “This isn’t the first time he’s been underestimated, but it will be the last.”
No one is underestimating Mr. O’Toole today, not least the Liberals. The two leaders and the two parties are running neck and neck in the polls. Either leader could be prime minister after Sept. 20.
In past elections, the Liberals have scared progressive voters into supporting them to stop the conservatives from winning. Is this still a viable plan? The answer is a resounding “Yes.” 41% of NDP and Green voters say they are very likely or moderately likely to vote Liberal to stop the Conservatives from winning. Even if only those who say they are “very” likely to vote strategically actually do so, those voters represent 4.6% of voters, enough to put the Liberals back in the lead.
A tearful professor with Western University’s Huron University College says she refuses to take the COVID-19 vaccine and compares herself to Socrates – “who was executed for asking questions” – as she contemplates being fired by the school.
In a recent story, the Canadian Medical Association Journal alleged that the Liberals have been muzzling access to government scientists throughout the course of Election 44. The journal said that interview requests with both Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam and NACI Chair Dr. Shelley Deeks – two key figures in setting Canadian COVID-19 policy – were rejected “in light of the election.”
The motion states that students over the age of 12 will “be required to be partially vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus or provide proof of a medical exemption as of 30 September 2021 and be fully vaccinated as of 20 November 2021 to continue to attend in person classes. Any student who is not vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus after this date will be re-enrolled in the virtual school.”
We are 18 months into a global pandemic, three weeks into a federal-election campaign — and at least 26 years into a climate crisis.
Scientists have been warning for decades that increased average temperatures would lead to such extreme weather events as massive flooding and out-of-control wildfires.
We now are witnessing these events almost every week. In the past few days, we saw devastating flooding across the United States. In New York City, the financial centre of the most powerful country in the world, flood waters rose so rapidly that some residents couldn’t leave their homes, and drowned. This isn’t normal; it’s like 100-year storms happening monthly. Just the latest horror on a long list: the destruction of Lytton, British Columbia, by an out-of-control wildfire. And, unless we act now, it will get immeasurably worse.
When Ontario’s COVID-19 vaccine passport rolls out on Sept. 22, individuals with medical exceptions must show proof confirming why they can’t get the shot.
The Conservative Party of Canada is currently leading the Liberals by wide margins in the majority of officially published polls so far in the 2021 snap election, and polling aggregators like 338 Canada are also projecting that the Conservative Party will likely win the most seats in Parliament.
In spite of the lead, Conservative Party leader Erin O’Toole has been jumping from foot to foot over the past week when it comes to the issue of firearms.
A recently released theme list of the upcoming English Leaders’ Debate completely left out any mention of Afghanistan, the two Michaels or other pressing foreign affairs matters.
A rocky start in the polls for Justin Trudeau’s Liberals has been compounded with intense and vitriolic protests in different parts of Ontario.
The crowds, which have been seen holding signs protesting vaccines and COVID-19 measures have often spewed insults and obscenities towards Trudeau, Liberal supporters and media. At times, they’ve followed him along the campaign trail, but Trudeau said the constant pressure from the outspoken minority hasn’t changed his outlook.
It’s been over three weeks since the federal election campaign started, and the Liberal motto has still not quite deviated from “Stephen Harper! Abortion! Guns!”
This has been particularly acute in the last few days, as the Liberals – and certainly the media – have leveled attack after attack at Conservative leader Erin O’Toole over his decreasingly clear stance on firearms.
If anyone still had any doubt that Erin O’Toole is just another Liberal, his U-turns of the past few days should have cleared things up.
O’Toole ran as a “true blue” conservative during the CPC leadership race.
But his mask fell as soon as he became leader.
He flip-flopped on opposing Trudeau’s carbon tax. Now he wants one too.
He flip-flopped on defunding the CBC. Now he only promises to review their mandate.
He flip-flopped on opposing vaccine passports. Now he wants to impose one across the country, just like Trudeau.
He flip-flopped on Trudeau’s arbitrary and unfair firearms ban. Now he supports it.
Erin O’Toole is a liar. A hypocrite. A fraud.
He’s adopted all of Trudeau’s platform.
He’s just another Trudeau.
Marvin, there is only one alternative to prevent our country from become an authoritarian hellhole.
It’s the PPC.
We have two weeks left to flatten the lies and convince more Canadians to support us.
Talk to your family, friends and colleagues.
Reach out to your local PPC candidate and help them.
And if you can spare $25 today, please help us fight for Canada.
Many thanks,
-Max
h/t Marvin
The poll, conducted by Nanos Research and sponsored by CTV News and The Globe and Mail, found that 30 per cent of Canadians are not comfortable with having more private health care options and 23 per cent are somewhat not comfortable, totalling 53 per cent of those surveyed.
The conservative leader Erin O’Toole says he will double the Canada Workers Benefit if elected Prime Minister, increasing it to $ 2,800 for individuals and $ 5,000 for families.
