Eleanor Wand

Eleanor Wand is a political reporter whose Parliament Hill beats include the Bloc Québécois, NDP, Indigenous relations, the environment, and the Senate. She joined The Hill Times in April 2025 after moving to Gatineau from Montreal, where she began her journalism career covering current affairs and local news for CBC. She has also covered provincial and federal politics for rabble.ca. Wand studied journalism at Concordia University after studying philosophy at McGill University. Contact her at ewand@hilltimes.com.

Bill C-39 dismantles Canada’s environmental policy ‘beyond anything we’ve ever seen,’ say climate groups

While one Greenpeace campaigner says the legislation grants cabinet ‘unchecked discretion’ to circumvent environmental laws, for CSG Senator Clément Gignac, it’s ‘a very large positive step in the right direction’ for the economy.

news | BY ELEANOR WAND | September 27, 2026

The AI debate comes for political polling, and some say the industry is unprepared

As some pollsters caution that AI bots can invade online surveys, skewing data used for public policy, others say they have safeguards in place to verify respondents are humans.

news | BY ELEANOR WAND | September 26, 2026

Unions, NDP decry new bill as attack on labour, but feds say Canada needs C-39 to build major projects

The Building Canada Strong Act, introduced on the first day of the fall sitting, aims to streamline project approval timelines across the country by completing project reviews within a year.

news | BY ELEANOR WAND | September 21, 2026

‘Brain gain’ or a ‘remote possibility’? MPs weigh in on Canada’s future with the European Union

Some Canadian politicians are keen about closer ties to the 27-nation bloc, while others critiqued Prime Minister Mark Carney’s speech for lacking details on taxation, regulations, and the cost of pursuing ‘associate’ membership.

news | BY MARLO GLASS, ELEANOR WAND | September 21, 2026

Parliamentarians legislating ‘in uncharted territory’ after summer break, say politicos

‘There were so many questions in June that have now been answered that do fundamentally alter the state of, not only the House, but also the Senate,’ says one former PMO policy head.

news | BY ELEANOR WAND | September 18, 2026

‘We’re not even part of the discussion,’ says transport union after Carney opens airports to private investment

Canadians need more details on the feds’ proposed model, say observers, as it’s unclear how investors will generate a return on their investment—and if the buck will be passed to passengers.

news | BY ELEANOR WAND | September 15, 2026

‘Gutted’ environment assessments part of Carney’s ‘deregulation agenda,’ warn climate groups

NDP environment critic Leah Gazan says the feds are ‘trying to legislate away constitutionally protected rights,’ a move she calls ‘insulting to the Canadian public’ who are facing extreme weather events exacerbated by climate change.

news | BY ELEANOR WAND | September 14, 2026

Carney the ‘adult in the room’ in Canada-U.S. trade war and ‘playing the longer game’ with comms strategy: politicos

The prime minister is ‘contrasting himself very clearly’ between the American president’s ‘juvenile approach to politicking and a mature one’ says Trudeau-era staffer Marci Surkes.

news | BY MARLO GLASS, ELEANOR WAND | September 9, 2026

Canada’s progress on climate adaptation too slow, unfocused, say experts: ‘we have to get moving’

The National Adaptation Strategy is ‘a long list of virtually all of the things that Canada can do to adapt to climate change,’ says Canadian Climate Institute’s Ryan Ness, who instead calls for a targeted plan.

news | BY ELEANOR WAND | September 5, 2026

Liberals clinch three byelections in a ‘very bad’ night for Poilievre: politicos

The Liberals easily secured seats in all three contests, including the rural Conservative Quebec riding of Chicoutimi–Le Fjord, where the Tories placed third behind the Bloc Québécois.

news | BY ELEANOR WAND | September 1, 2026

Canadians care ‘very deeply’ about nature conservation, even at the expense of economic development: poll

Pollster Frank Graves says although Prime Minister Mark Carney remains popular on economic issues, his lead on the environment is ‘more modest,’ pointing to an NDP uptick in the polls as potential trouble for the Liberals down the line.

news | BY ELEANOR WAND | August 29, 2026

Carney ‘did the right thing’: feds pledge $7.6-billion in tariff relief, but industry calls for ‘trade, not aid’

While industries affected by the U.S.’s newly imposed slate of tariffs are welcoming Ottawa’s relief measures, one industry head warns if the trade war doesn’t improve by late fall, manufacturers could start rerouting supply chains outside of North America.

news | BY ELEANOR WAND | August 25, 2026

New Senate Appointments Board members say they’re looking for ‘well-rounded’ Senators, ‘not sort of single-issue folks’

Eleven new members have been named to the Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments, which the feds say will focus on recruiting expertise in trade, finance, AI, technology, and diplomacy.

news | BY ELEANOR WAND | August 21, 2026

Most Canadians oppose dual-practice health care, survey finds, as Alberta defends controversial new law

Alberta’s Bill 11, which will take effect in September, allows doctors to provide some public and private services simultaneously. But a new survey finds that 56 per cent of Albertans are against the legislation, and only 34 per cent in support, with

news | BY ELEANOR WAND | August 21, 2026

Tariff concessions for certain industries could be required to settle latest Canada-U.S. trade spat, observers say

Recent polling from Leger indicates Canadians may not be amenable to compromise in a trade deal with the U.S., and the Bloc Québécois says Quebec won’t accept concessions on supply management. But experts say some industries may need to ‘accept some base level tariffs.’

news | BY ELEANOR WAND, MARLO GLASS | August 19, 2026

With a ‘razor-thin’ majority, unusually high number of byelections come with great stakes: politicos

Prime Minister Mark Carney has called the highest number of byelections in a short period since the 1950s—something strategists are putting down to ‘coincidence’ and a rapidly changing political sphere.

news | BY ELEANOR WAND, MARLO GLASS | August 14, 2026