Canada
Why so many elections in 2024? Chalk it up to the ‘beauty of math,’ says professor
Tuesday’s vote in the United States is just one of more than 70 national elections that will have taken place this year by the end of December. And we will have had four provincial elections (at a minimum) buy year-end!
CSIS tracked intelligence flow across government in foreign interference leak probe
CSIS described the 'tireless efforts' in the memo prepared for staff who were keen for an update on the probe into unauthorized disclosures to the media.
Federal MP Yvonne Jones Meets with PAL Airlines to Tackle High Airfare Challenges
Jones says she’s optimistic, indicating that the airline is committed to making changes to ensure service is more reliable and consistently on time this winter.
“It’s about who you are as a person,” Emily Brown seeking second Burlington Conservative Association nomination
Emily Brown, a mathematics professor at Sheridan College and local politician, is hoping to win back-to-back nominations from the Burlington Conservative Association (BCA) to run against Burlington MP Korina Gould for a second time.Brown earned the most votes for a second-place candidate in any riding across Canada in the 2021 federal election. In my model, there are very few safe Liberal seats in Ontario and this is definitely not one of them. The incumbent, Government House Leader Karina Gould, would likely lose this by 16 points (nearly 10K votes) if an election were held this fall. For CPC hopefuls, who are crunching the same public polling data I am, this would s definitely a nomination worth fighting for.
Former MP Eyolfsen to run for Libs in Winnipeg West
As a political reporter I am so happy that the riding name of Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley has been retired in favour of the very simple "Winnipeg West". This new riding incorporates pretty much of all of the old riding but adds on a chunk to its northern border that used to be in Selkirk-Interlake-Eastman. The riding, as a result, becomes marginally more Conservative.
The incumbent in Winnipeg West, Conservative Marty Morantz, defeated Liberal challenger Doug Eyolfsen in both 2017 and again in 2019. Eyolfsen was the incumbent in 2017 having been elected during the Trudeau majority win of 2015.
In 2019, Morantz' margin of victory was 460 votes. Once you transpose the 2021 polls on to the 2025 boundaries, Morantz' margin of victory grows to 558 votes. But that doesn't matter. Based on current polling averages, my model has Morantz crushing Eyolfsen by 24 points for an easy 11K vote win. -DA
[Press release] Dr. Anne-Marie Zajdlik Wins Guelph Green Party of Canada Nomination
Dr. Zajdlik, founder and medical director of the Hope Health Centre, has dedicated her life to caring for vulnerable populations, locally and globally. Her long standing work, including the highly successful “Bracelet of Hope” campaign for HIV/AIDS relief in Lesotho, Africa, demonstrates her commitment to positive change through both action and advocacy. As a Green candidate, she will bring her community-focused perspective to the forefront, working towards a fair, inclusive, and sustainable future for Guelph and beyond. The Greens, at the time I marked this up, did not have an online like to this press release anywhere I could find it. This is an excerpt from an e-mailed released sent around to reporters.
The Provinces
Alberta premier wins leadership review with 91.5 per cent approval
The party said 4,633 ballots were cast in the vote. The result solidifies Smith's leadership of Alberta's governing party and confirms party members agree with the direction she has taken the province since she took over the party two years ago.
Nova Scotia premier's 'fix health care' promise under scrutiny in election campaign
Government data show the Tories made some progress during their first term, but fell far short of repairing a system beset by shortages of doctors and nurses, and long wait times for ambulance and emergency room services. The province’s Need A Family Practice Registry — a key health-care indicator — was updated earlier this month for the first time since June when it reached a record 160,234 people without a family doctor or nurse practitioner.
In every provincial election in the last year -- Manitoba, BC, New Brunswick, Saskatchewan -- the conservative party has tried to put Justin Trudeau and, where applicable, Jagmeet Singh on the ballot. And now it's happening again in Nova Scotia where the NS PCs are trying at every opportunity to link NS Liberal Leader to Justin Trudeau and NS NDP leader Claudia Chender to Singh. Here is a great example of that from the PCs out this weekend while Singh and Chender appeared at several events together in Halifax. Not sure Chender necessarily needs Singh to hold what the NDP already has in the province but Singh is happy to be in downtown Halifax where the federal riding of Halifax is ripe for his party's picking with the departure of former LPC MP Andy Fillmore who left to successfully run for the mayor's job. Remember: Before Fillmore won in 2015, Halifax was held by the NDP (Megan Leslie). In any event ... the point here is ... being able to put Trudeau on the ballot is definitely one reason, IMO, why Houston called this early election. -DA
Liberals announce shakeup in premier's office as Peter Miles departs as chief of staff
The deputy chief of staff in the premier's office, Melissa Royle Critch, will replace Miles, the premier confirmed. Miles' departure comes as the House of Assembly is set to resume proceedings on Monday for a fall sitting, and with the governing Liberals three-plus years into a mandate.
Elsewhere
FBI links fake Georgia voter fraud video to 'Russian influence actors'
U.S. intelligence officials say a video that purports to show election fraud in Georgia is fake and the work of 'Russian influence actors.'
US Space Force warns of “mind-boggling” build-up of Chinese capabilities
The chief of the US Space Force has warned that China is putting military capabilities into space at a “mind-boggling” pace, significantly increasing the risk of warfare in orbit. “The number of different categories of space weapons that [China has] created and ... the speed with which they’re doing it is very threatening,” said General Chance Saltzman, head of space operations at the US military’s recently created force tasked with protecting American interests in space.
Sikhs march across California urging protections against threats from India on U.S. soil
Sikh activists marched 350 miles across California in October, marking the 40th anniversary of a massacre and calling for protection from what they say is a growing threat — transnational repression from the Indian government.
Media
How the media is failing us
Simon Kuper The journalists setting global news agendas tend to have higher incomes, arts degrees and little personal experience of societal catastrophe. These characteristics underpin the media’s failures. Our complacency and lack of scientific training encourage us to underplay the biggest story of them all, climate change. For instance, the recent academic study showing the unsuspectedly fast melting of Greenland’s ice sheet received scant coverage. Climate only tends to lead the news when disasters hit westerners, especially wealthy ones.
Americans’ top sources for political news
Among those who listed a main source of political news, six-in-ten say that their source is part of the “mainstream media.”
