SpankyMcFarland

If you come from a major position in the private sector you’re likely to have some potential conflicts of interest, not bizarre Trumpy ones where you’re clearly trying to rip the whole country off but as a natural consequence of your previous work. If we want such people in politics we need to give them some leeway on this. Somebody even mentioned the use of tax havens. To this I would say, if something is legal and you don’t like it, campaign to get the law changed.

Not surprising at all. Their support is volatile. Here’s a candidate who should be canned. Joking about handing someone over to the CCP is not acceptable: https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/liberal-paul-chiang-bounty-joe-tay-conservative-1.7496751

The Tories have a high floor. Their core voters know full well they’re a minority in Canada and turn out loyally for their party. All PP has to do is convince a modest number of centrists that he’s trustworthy on Trump and the election is his. Simple but he’s making heavy weather of it so far.

The total of fentanyl seized is in dispute: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/toronto/article-fentanyl-crisis-canada-us-border/ https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-white-house-misusing-fentanyl-data-to-justify-tariffs-globe/

It’s an open race and Poilievre has many advantages here as I think I have tried to point out. One of many: his support is more deeply committed and should turn out to vote in greater numbers. Here the lesson for any crazed fan: just because you support a team doesn’t mean you can’t see and suggest ‘opportunities for improvement ’. Denying the obvious failings on your side is a type of loyalty that isn’t useful.

Well, I don’t know anything about Kearney. You know, I don’t think we can. It’s pretty clear that PP is disappointing a lot of people in his own camp. There will always be a few who are unhappy but most fair observers can see it’s far more than that. You know far better than I do that criticism of Poilievre’s campaign is not confined to people like me. It’s a pity you can’t admit that. With all the advantages he has he should be winning easily.

Mulroney excepted, the federal Tories are Canada’s version of Mr. Buckley’s. They taste so bad we’ll only take them if they dilute the dose, as Harper did, or things are truly dire as they were at the beginning of 2025. Poilievre has got to sound more PC in both senses, more centrist on policy and more normal in style. We haven’t the strength for nauseating medicine right now when we’re facing an enemy at the gates.

I wouldn’t have thought that, probably because I place too much weight on retro skills like parliamentary debate. I still think he would have had an easy enough time in 2024 against Trudeau. However, with Trump looming over everything, a dependable, hard to dislike, PC-flavoured Tory of the O’Toole variety would be ahead IMO.

Carney’s position is a response to Trump. It can’t be considered in isolation.

Tactically speaking, the problem with disclosure is that it leads to more demands for disclosure and on and on. In a better world, Carney would have sorted out all his thesis and money problems long before the campaign started. We live in strange times when a Tory leader is in part stoking resentment of successful people. I know he’s doing more than that - and there are legitimate issues here - but distrust of the so-called ‘elites’, people the right used to praise, is certainly one element in the MAGA playbook.

Here’s a Trumpy preoccupation:

All political leaders make enemies in their own party - they have to - but it’s vital to limit the animosity generated when advice isn’t taken and people have to be fired. Pretending to listen is a vital skill for any leader in our system who wants to keep their job. By contrast, Poilievre and Byrne seem to have generated a fair bit of resentment in the party with their open contempt for the opinions of others and it’s coming home to roost now. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/conservatives-campaign-civil-war-party-1.7497029

This gave me a laugh. I know it’s not the same but he should have taken that money out a while ago. Now the attack lines write themselves. https://www.thestar.com/politics/federal-elections/pierre-poilievre-holds-investments-in-brookfield-the-same-company-he-attacks-mark-carney-over/article_14b82bad-29da-487f-a4f0-a54571e489c5.html

And you’re basing that on what an avowed enemy of our country says? Dear me. Are you the kind of fan who can’t criticize his own team when they are screwing up? Do you really think PP has run a fantastic campaign so far? What mark out of ten do you think his team deserves? He’s a career politician with a devoted, uncritical base who has been preparing for this moment all his life up against an elderly, inexperienced candidate of an unpopular incumbent party. All he has to do is convince a handful of centrists that he’s trustworthy on Trump and he’s in majority territory. The contest is still his to lose if he can listen to what people on his side of the fence are saying and modify his pitch.

So things are heating up out there. Carney has problems with his thesis and PP has problems with Jenni Byrne, apparently. It’s a bit early for leaks from the campaign as major as this. https://globalnews.ca/news/11103509/wheels-off-conservatives-think-poilievre-needs-reset/

When people think of Microsoft, Apple, or Amazon they think in the first instance of one person - the guy who was responsible for the spectacular rise of those companies. As I’m sure he would agree, Elon Musk is that guy with Tesla. Of course he doesn’t own the entire company but I have no doubt a majority of reasonable people would agree with me that he is the public face of it.

He didn’t change his mind on TikTok? Can you explain why you think that?

You’ll get 1 in 5 people to agree to anything in a well worded poll. I’d say most of them haven’t thought this through.

Terence Corcoran, the faithful friend of our cosy telecom cartel. I wouldn’t take anything he has to say on free trade or competition seriously.

He is the public face of the company and its CEO, associated with it for twenty years almost since its founding. Does anybody hold more equity in the company than he does?

I condemn arson without reservation but what on earth is Musk doing in such a controversial government position? Those associated with a brand are usually very careful about any act or statement that could antagonize customers. By contrast, Musk seems to be actively trolling Tesla fans at this stage.

But US guns have been a much bigger part of the gun problem for us than Canadian fentanyl has been for them.

Mate, I come from a province whose resources have subsided Quebec for decades so I need no lessons there. Obviously, that’s not my point. Alberta ridings are largely decided already and Smith is unpopular in the rest of the country. Poilievre should be copying a winner like Ford in a province that matters ELECTORALLY.

Poilievre should be copying and pasting from Doug Ford in style and content. Forget about Smith and Alberta. They’re irrelevant.

The MAGA mob has nowhere to go. Bernier is a wasted vote. Poilievre has to roast their hero if he wants centrist voters to consider him. https://www.cbc.ca/lite/story/1.7495524