Politics Insider for September 28, 2021: Paul Resigns as Green Party Leader; there are sharper knives for Erin O’Toole; and a 62 percent voter turnout during this election
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Annamie Paul resigned as leader of the Green Party on Monday rather than face a leadership review released by party officials with which he has been battling for months, CTV reports.
“I just wondered if this is something I wanted to continue, if I was willing to keep putting up with the attacks that I knew would come, if I would continue to have to fight and fight just to fulfill my democratically elected role as leader of this party. I just don’t have the heart for it. “
Paul’s EA told CTV that ex-leader Elizabeth May could have done more to support Paul.
Speaking of your motivation, Paul said:
“What people must realize is that when I was elected I was breaking a glass ceiling. What I didn’t realize at the time is that I was breaking a glass ceiling that was going to fall on my head and leave a lot of shards of glass that I would have to crawl through during my time as a leader, and when I got to [the leaders’ debate during the campaign]I had crawled over that glass, I was spitting blood but I was determined to be there. “
It was a hard year for Paul, the Star remind us. Columnist Susan delacourt write that Justin trudeau he should invite her to join the Canadian delegation for the UN climate summit in Glasgow next month.
‘Sharper knives before:’ Paul is not the only leader with problems. Tory connoisseurs say The Hill Times that the knives are out for Erin O’Toole.
“There seem to be sharper knives before for Erin [O’Toole] from what I remember seeing with Andrew [Scheer]”Said a Conservative deputy, who spoke with The Hill Times on a non-attribution basis to offer your opinion frankly. “There is a half of the caucus that’s in wait and see mode: they will wait and see what the others are [thinking], waiting to see how much appetite we have [for change in leadership], wait and see who else is on the horizon? Because like I said If not him, then who?“
Lost Chinese votes: A CCP deputy who lost his seat he tells the Canadian press that the party could have done a better job speaking directly to Chinese Canadians. Kenny chiu was one of several MPs in constituencies with a significant concentration of Chinese voters who has lost, increasing Questions about courier in China.
Chiu points to online WeChat posts that he claimed contained false information about conservatives and allegations that a private member’s bill he introduced would discriminate against Chinese Canadians. “Hindsight is always 20/20. I think there could be more proactive communication that goes directly to Canadians of Chinese descent than we could have done, ”Chiu said in an interview.
Rural Conservatives: At Balloon, John ibbitson columnar on the inability of the Conservatives to stand their ground in the suburbs, which has made them a more rural party.
The urbanization of the Liberal Party and the ruralization of the Conservative Party has been increasing steadily since the 1960s, as authors Jack Lucas from the University of Calgary and Dave armstrong and Zack taylor from the University of Western Ontario point out in a new research article. “Canadians are experiencing the deepest urban-rural divide in support of the main political parties in the country’s history”, The authors conclude. Liberals win elections even as they lose the popular vote by benefiting from split votes in the suburbs, while Conservatives accumulate massive majorities in rural seats.
Brad Wall writes at National mail that the Conservatives should stick with O’Toole.
Victorious Liberals: Also in the Mail, Ryan Tumilty and Christopher Nardi I have a good read on what the campaign looked like for the Liberals. MPs eventually came to think it was a mistake to call elections when they did, but most of them thought it was a good idea at the time. They were enormously relieved when Trudeau managed to pressure O’Toole on guns in the TVA debate, leading to days of shifting messages from the Conservative leader.
The conservative momentum largely stalled under those attacks and worked better than the liberal imagined. “We wanted to put the contrast there. We just didn’t think it would take six days to arrive at your post“Said a source.
Liberals blamed the English debate for stalling their momentum in Quebec and preventing them from gaining a majority.
At a debate viewing party in Montreal hosted by the Liberal minister Steven Guilbeault, candidates, employees and volunteers gasped when they heard the question. A solo, f *** was heard around the room. “Because of the stupid question from the English debate and Quebec coup, we lost eight points during that [final] week, ”said a source.
Good turnout: Sixty-two percent of eligible voters.nearly 17 million Canadians– cast the ballots this time, slightly down from 67 percent in 2019 and, the Canadian press reports. A record number of Canadians – some 850,000 – voted by mail.
Collect: Defeated MPs could win $ 3.3 million in compensation, Canadian Taxpayers Federation He says the Canadian Press. Parliamentarians qualify for a severance check worth half their salary, about $ 92,900 for the majority.
Alberta ICUs Fight: The Alberta Medical Association is calling for a set of public health “firewall” measures to control the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Calgary herald reports. Kenney rejected that idea on Sunday.
MLA blames officials: A UCP MLA suggested that Alberta’s public health authority is to blame for the “unacceptably low” ICU bedding levels, CBC reports.
Saskatchewan is bad too: Meanwhile, Saskatchewan posted more COVID-19-related hospitalizations than ever on Monday, CBC reports. Patty hadju says the situation is heartbreaking, the Canadian press reports.
Biden takes credit for: After the moment of bliss, comes the search for political credit. The White House has downplayed a link between the release of Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig and the abandonment of the extradition of Meng Wanzhou by the US Department of Justice. a phone call from Biden, the Canadian press reports.
– Stephen Maher
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