“Another Damn Election”

OTTAWA—Despite campaigning on a Liberal platform packed with promises to support gender equality and secure women’s rights, Leader Justin Trudeau continues to face questions over his party’s commitment to feminism, just as one of the party’s Ontario candidates is contending with multiple allegations of inappropriate behaviour.

In a CBC News report published Tuesday, several anonymous sources allege that candidate Raj Saini, currently seeking re-election in Kitchener Centre, previously engaged in unwanted sexual advances and made inappropriate comments toward female staffers.

Saini has denied the allegations, but opposition parties on the hustings have seized on the fact that some incidents were reportedly shared with the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in 2015. The Liberal party says it has “no records or knowledge” of that matter.

In first leaders debate, Trudeau hints at another election in 18 months if denied majority

NatPo – OTTAWA – Liberal leader Justin Trudeau came out swinging against the Conservative, New Democrat and Bloc Québécois leaders, who criticized his decision to plunge Canada into an election and attacked him whenever possible during two hours of the first “decisive” debate in French.

Global – Federal leaders face off over COVID-19 and vaccinations in first election debate

When asked about implementing mandatory vaccinations for adults, the leaders seemed to agree they don’t want to mandate people to roll up their sleeves — with O’Toole saying it’s important to “educate but not force” Canadians.

But Trudeau said he is in favour of limiting the privileges of those who choose not to get vaccinated, while Singh said “We can make it necessary for federal workers.”

CTV – Four leaders made final pitches to voters after heated debate

Taking his turn at the podium, Trudeau sought to clarify his position on whether Canadians would be heading back to the polls quickly should the Sept. 20 election result in a minority government.

During the debate, Trudeau said there would likely be another vote in 18 months if Canadians don’t elect a majority.

The Star – Party leaders clash in French-language debate over climate, health and Trudeau’s election call

OTTAWA—Weeks after he pulled the plug on his own minority government, Justin Trudeau predicted Thursday that Canadians could be back at the polls within 18 months if they don’t elect a majority.

During Thursday night’s French debate in Montreal, the Liberal leader was the sole man on stage who said a minority government could fall within two years of the federal election on Sept. 20.

And for that, he blamed the Conservatives.

The Globe – Trudeau attacked over election call in French-language debate; O’Toole targeted for vaccinations, childcare

Justin Trudeau faced sharp criticism over his decision to call an election during the pandemic, while Erin O’Toole was repeatedly challenged on mandatory vaccinations and child care during the first French-language debate of the federal campaign.

The Liberal and Conservative leaders shared a stage with Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh in Montreal during the debate organized by the Quebec television network TVA. The French and English debates organized by the Leaders’ Debates Commission will take place on Sept. 8 and 9.

CBC -Federal leaders spar over vaccines, health care and guns in first French-language debate

The main party leaders appeared on stage for the first time Thursday in a French-language debate that was at times raucous as the four men fiercely competed for votes in a province that could very well decide who is Canada’s next prime minister.

The two-hour debate, hosted by TVA, a major broadcaster in Quebec, was a chance for Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau to regain some of the momentum he had earlier this summer when polls showed he had a massive lead in the country’s second largest province.

CBC’s Poll Tracker still has Trudeau and the Liberals ahead of others in Quebec but the margin has narrowed.

POLLS

Today’s Polls – The Star and CTV are about the same, CBC has a slightly narrower CPC lead but still predicts a likely Lib minority.

TORONTO — Given the racial reckoning that began in 2020, community organizers and political scientists say it’s disappointing that major political parties are still failing to have slates of candidates that fully reflect Canada’s diversity.

“My sense is that that moment is passing away,” Debra Thompson, Canada Research Chair in Racial Inequality in Democratic Societies at McGill University, told CTVNews.ca in a phone interview.

OTTAWA – Four party leaders went head to head in the first televised debate of the federal election campaign Thursday night, kicking off the discussion with a vigorous back-and-forth about the COVID-19 pandemic and health care.

The French-language debate on TVA, one of Quebec’s most-watched networks, comes at the midpoint of the campaign and could prove crucial to the outcome on Sept. 20.

Sounds like the usual BS.

There is nothing inevitable about elections – anything can happen, as we have seen over the past three weeks.

But as sure as snow melts in spring, the Liberals are going to lose this election unless they can change its trajectory.

Trudeau may find himself in real trouble on Sept. 20, after a new poll has found that majority of Canadians may vote for a political party other than the Liberals.

The Maru Public Opinion survey found that 73 per cent of Canadians polled are open to voting for a party to run the country other the Liberals led by Trudeau, while a mere 27 per cent have remained loyal to the prime minister.

There was a sense of relief in the Conservative camp when the Liberal platform finally landed on Wednesday.

One senior official said there were concerns about reports the Liberals were still looking for “big ideas”. Last week, my Radio Canada colleague Louis Blouin said Justin Trudeau was calling for ideas with “more juice” for his sales pitch to voters.

… The Liberal leader has won two elections – a majority in 2015 and a minority in 2019 – in part because he’s “always been able to rely on a certain amount of personal appeal,” said Shachi Kurl, president of the Angus Reid Institute, a polling non-profit foundation.

But an Angus Reid survey this week indicated a drop in popularity for the 49-year-old among voters of every age and gender, including women who have been his staunch supporters.

“Are Justin Trudeau’s days of enjoying unmatched political rock god status well and truly over?” the pollsters asked.

So what changed over the first half of the campaign?

“The Rock God” thing was largely a media creation.

Liberals accused of ‘culture of cover-up’ in handling of sexual misconduct accusations

Erin O’Toole accused the highest echelons of the Liberal party of “no accountability and a culture of cover-up” in relation to a Liberal candidate who’s being allowed to run despite facing numerous sexual misconduct allegations.

Better hope the Conservatives make sphincter relaxant available to the incarcerated boys.

The Star – Surging Conservatives now poised to win more seats than Liberals, poll analysis says

OTTAWA—The Conservatives began the federal election mocked for a spoof video many said called into question how serious they were about forming government. But the Star’s analysis of polling data suggests that at the midpoint of the campaign, it’s become a serious prospect they could.

The analysis from The Signal, Vox Pop Labs’ election forecast for the Star, shows Erin O’Toole’s Conservatives with the support of 36.1 per cent of voters, compared to 30 per cent for Justin Trudeau’s Liberals.

Global – Liberals fall, Conservatives steady as election race remains neck-and-neck: poll

The Liberals’ support is continuing to crumble as the election campaign reaches the halfway point, a new poll suggests, with the party now falling behind the Conservatives for the first time while staying in a statistical tie.

The Ipsos poll conducted exclusively for Global News found 32 per cent of voters would cast a ballot for the Conservatives, a number unchanged from last week. But the Liberals saw their potential vote share go down two points, to 31 per cent.

CBC – Conservatives hold narrow lead over Liberals

The Conservatives have a narrow lead over the Liberals, as their support has increased over the first two weeks of the campaign. However, the Liberals remain slightly favoured to win the most seats due to how the two parties’ support breaks down across the country.

CTV – Nanos shows the Cons at 34 and the scumbag Liberals at 30.

The Star poll is interesting with a reported Ontario surge, but I suspect CBC may be a little more realistic. No question the Conservative proposed universal access to sphincter relaxant has loosened things up. But the biggest story is some people are finally waking up to the fact Trudeau is an idiot and congenital liar.