Josie Sabatino is a vice-president at Summa Strategies. Prior to joining Summa, Sabatino spent nearly a decade as a Conservative political staffer, providing communications and issues management advice to Members of Parliament and the leader of the official opposition.
Federal Conservatives should take stock of the warning coming out of B.C.: internal sniping and griping drives voters away.
Reframing wildfire management from a localized provincial concern into a matter of vital national interest will be expensive, and will require serious political will.
The Carney government must produce a long-term roadmap thats sets the course not only for the rest of the current mandate, but also for the decade to come.
It may run contrary to the polls to say Poilievre leaves Ottawa in a position of strength, but the Conservatives finally have some wind in their sails.
As affordability issues continue to dominate the minds of Canadians, now is not the time for a victory lap.
It is often easier to turf a leader than unite as a movement, fight for shared values, and work through differences behind closed doors.
Failure to effectively thread the needle between the international agenda and challenges here at home could see the same downward spiral that originally set the stage for Mark Carney’s political rise.
Love him or hate him, the Conservative leader has demonstrated his willingness to fight for the future of Canada.
It is critical to not repeat past mistakes, and for the Carney government to approach renewed relationships with countries like China with eyes wide open.
The Liberals appear to have made the calculation that securing new voters from the Conservative base is far more advantageous than strictly appealing to the existing coalition that re-elected his party.
Recent drama led to an outcry that Pierre Poilievre’s days are numbered, but the headlines don’t reflect the fact that much of the fallout has largely been contained.
Advancing major projects may be a consequence of Canada-U.S. tensions, but it’s unclear how the prime minister can reconcile this approach with caucus members who favour more decisive climate action.
Delivering a true austerity budget would require scaling back departmental budgets to a degree almost certain to spark political blowback.
The Conservative defeat last election brings a new opportunity to move beyond the risk-averse messaging of a campaign, and seize the political moment.
The summer months often provide a buffer from intense public scrutiny, but come fall, all eyes will be on the government as it unveils its plans.
Change cannot come at the expense of transparency and accountability, and the new government would do well to remember that before it finds itself becoming the headline.
