While I am enough of a realist to assume that Canada does not universally, or even mostly, play by Queenberry Rules in its international relations, I still got a chuckle out of the concept of "Canadian election interference", as wielded recently by MAGA trade guru Peter Navarro.
Certainly, Canada's actions are intended to impact the decisions of American voters going into the midterms, but it was Trump who decided to start waging a trade war this close to election day in the first place.
338 is getting iffy, predicting a shutout for the CAQ; that is no seats.
Presumably connected to the supposed resurgence of the Conservative Party of Quebec. Apparently, this party has only existed since 2009, with its only seat being a crossover. As far as I can tell, parties called "Conservative" haven't elected MNAs in Quebec since the rise of the Union Nationale in 1936, with the various social and economic tendencies scattered between numerous of the larger parties.
From 2000 to 2002, he was an adviser to the federal Canadian Alliance leader Stockwell Day.
I am now reminded of a National Post op-ed from the 2000 election campaign, written by two gay conservatives who were high up in the Alliance, arguing that gays and lesbians had nothing to fear from Stockwell Day. At least one of them had a French name, and I'd bet dollars to donuts that Duhaime was one of the collaborators.
No deep significance, just kind of a weird idiosyncratic connection.
I am a little suspicious of the CAQ doing that badly, but Quebec has made such radical sharp turns before. I still get weak in the knees thinking of the Orange Wave of 2011.
I am a little suspicious of the CAQ doing that badly, but Quebec has made such radical sharp turns before. I still get weak in the knees thinking of the Orange Wave of 2011.
And they started voting Social Credit only in 1962, AFTER the party had been reduced to zero seats everywhere else in Canada in the '58 election.
Just reading The Guardian's wrap-up on the Quebec election campaign. They report that the PQ is promising to hold a referendum within "the next two years", but this seems to contradict the PQ's own qualification about not holding one while Trump is in office, since Trump could very well be in power for the entirety of that time.
The article also characterizes St-Pierre Plamondon as having a "right-wing take on red-meat identity issues", which, by Canadian standards, would be an unusually blunt description of the PQ's cultural policies.
And I think I'd forgotten that the PQ is currently promising to defund the office of the Lieutenant Governor. No idea how that would work in the absence of outright independence, and I suspect it's just a proverbial shiny bauble.
Florida apparently has some measure on the November ballot significantly lowering property taxes for a large number of residents, while making up the loss with increased taxes on snowbird property, most of it owned by Canadians.
This, of course, is being framed, including with positive overtones by its chest-thumping sponsors, as some big attack on Canadians, though it seems to me it basically follows the same logic as eg. Canadian universities charging higher tuition for foreign students. Of course, that's usually just carried out as a quiet bureaucratic decision, not put to a public vote with attendant jingoism.
The article I read also quoted some snowbirds as saying they were disappointed to hear their American friends mimicking Trump's 51st State rhetoric. I suspect, though, that in most cases, that was not the first time they'd heard those people mouthing Trump's obnoxious crap, just the first time they took offense to it.
I am a little suspicious of the CAQ doing that badly, but Quebec has made such radical sharp turns before. I still get weak in the knees thinking of the Orange Wave of 2011.
If the Alberta referendum were further ahead in time, I would speculate that the separatists could make hay with rhetoric like "See? Quebec is going back to a hard-nosed stance on behalf of its own interests against Ottawa, time for Alberta to do the same." Such rhetoric having been a big part of the build-up to the foundation of the Reform Party in the 1980s.
Assuming wikipedia's current numbers are correct, it would technically be JUST on the possible side for the PQ to govern with the parliamentary backing of QS.
But we'll see what shapes up, both in terms of final numbers and emerging alliances.
The QS really isn't a separatist party. That is not its reason for being and they don't really care about that issue, They won't die on that hill.
Do you mean that if the PQ goes ahead with holding a referendum on separation, QS will discontinue whatever parliamentary support they might've been giving to the PQ?
FWIW back in the early days of QS, some of their rank-and-file being miffed that they were still commited to holding a referendum.
I don't think JT would be handling any of this particularly well. Like Pierre Trudeau, he has the sorta political personality that jives well with good times and, at most, simple challenges(eg. October Crisis).
(I came of political age in PET's second term, which, except for rights junkies, was pretty much a perceived disaster from start to finish. The contrast with Trudeaumania was oft-noted.)
...the PQ is currently promising to defund the office of the Lieutenant Governor. No idea how that would work in the absence of outright independence, and I suspect it's just a proverbial shiny bauble.
St-Pierre Plamondon is now jumping right atop the republican horse, proclaiming his wish to abolish the speech-from-the-throne as it currently exists, because he doesn't like the King's representative "tell[ing] us what to do at the beginning of the parliamentary session".
I'm now remembering back to when Trump started in with his 51st State oratory in early 2025, and Canadian nationalists were swooning over Quebec hockey fans who responded by singing O Canada in English.
...he doesn't like the King's representative "tell[ing] us what to do at the beginning of the parliamentary session".
But based on my understanding of how throne speeches work, I believe this is kinda like writing your go-to list on a post-it note, and then complaining that the post-it note is telling you what to do.
If he objects so much to the L-G, Plamondon should refuse the L-G's request for Plamondon to try to obtain the confidence of the National Assembly. ;^)
There is no Throne Speech in Quebec. It was abolished in 1974. The LG in Quebec just makes a short statement and leaves the rest to the Premier.
However its rather discordant to not invite the LG as they are the one who summon and convenes the Assembly.
Plus I don't think PSPP understands that the interpretation that the LG is the representative of the King is the provincial autonomy interpretation developed by Nova Scotia. The alternative is that the LG is the agent of the Government of Canada which is actually the original understanding, that is why the LG is appointed and paid by Ottawa and can reserve and disallow legislation.
I hasten to add: the LG is required to swear in new MNA's. To omit that oputs the legitimacy of the Assembly in doubt.
Also PSPP says he is 'taking legal advice' on abolishing the LG in Quebec. He's setting up a scapegoat lawyer to take the heat as he knows his plans won't fly.
There is no Throne Speech in Quebec. It was abolished in 1974. The LG in Quebec just makes a short statement and leaves the rest to the Premier.
Thanks for the correction.
Apparently, there was at one point a debate in Canada about whether LGs should get a 21 gun salute, or whether that was reserved for the GG. Not sure all the details of the controversy, but I gather LGs are now denied the honour.
Wab Kinew has been giving answers in French to parliamentary questions asked in English. Apparently this is in response to the elevation to Tory leadership of a guy named Narth, with whom Kinew has a standing spat over language issues.
I gather MLAs are allowed to do this, so the legal controversy is nil, though one does wonder about what he's trying to accomplish in terms of partisan advantage or favourable publicity. The Poli Sci prof I saw interviewed seemed dubious that it really advanced Kinew's interests or the cause of language rights generally.
There is no Throne Speech in Quebec. It was abolished in 1974. The LG in Quebec just makes a short statement and leaves the rest to the Premier.
So to revise my earlier example of a self-directed post-it note...
It's more like a fridge magnet with a message that is written by someone else, but with a level of instructive detail along the lines of BE THE BEST YOU CAN BE.
Manitoba is legally bilingual and subject to the same French Language rights gaurantees that apply in Parliament and in Quebec's National Assembly. The fact that Manitoba ignored that for nearly a centuryis beside the point.
And if PSPP really does want to defund the LG, I think she would have a very good case for billing the Quebec provincial government for use of her residence*, cell phone and internet service to conduct official business. It's rather gauche to importune someone at their private residence to get an official bill signed into law.
*Quebec, like Ontario does not have an official viceregal residence. Quebec's burned down and was never replaced.
Manitoba is legally bilingual and subject to the same French Language rights gaurantees that apply in Parliament and in Quebec's National Assembly. The fact that Manitoba ignored that for nearly a centuryis beside the point.
Oh, I agree. One thing I can't forgive Justin is his misappropriation of "sunny ways" to sound like something inclusive and progressive. Though, I suppose it's possible that didn't actually bother a lot of Franco-Manitobans, if only because it was such an obscure phrase to begin with.
And if PSPP really does want to defund the LG, I think she would have a very good case for billing the Quebec provincial government for use of her residence*, cell phone and internet service to conduct official business. It's rather gauche to importune someone at their private residence to get an official bill signed into law.
*Quebec, like Ontario does not have an official viceregal residence. Quebec's burned down and was never replaced.
One of the more spot-on interpretations of Trump I've seen is that a lot(though not all) of the outrageous, half-baked schemes he announces are designed to look like serious action to his low-info base, regardless of how far he actually gets with them.
Something maybe similar with the PQ's anti-monarchism. Even if they do just end with the sort of interminable, go-nowhere legal imbroglios you envision, SPP is probably banking there's a section of the cheap seats who'll be really impressed that the government appears to stickin' it to the Westmount Rhodesians, or whomever.
Thing is, though, as someone whose span of following Quebec politics goes back to 11/15/76, I don't think I've ever seen the PQ going this hard on the anti-monarchy thing before. Levesque never seemed to make it a huge issue, and Parizeau of course stated his preference for an independent Quebec to be a Commonwealth Realm.
So I'm kinda wondering where this current republican impetus is coming from. It seems, at least from a few degrees removed, like something that would appeal more to the QS base than to the PQ base.
I think it's a tactic to pacify the hard-line separatist side of the PQ. The Marois government faced the same predicament. After two failed referendums and incessant weasel words about "winning conditions" the PQ constantly has to do something to pacify its hard-line separatist side, lest they bolt.
I think it's a tactic to pacify the hard-line separatist side of the PQ. The Marois government faced the same predicament. After two failed referendums and incessant weasel words about "winning conditions" the PQ constantly has to do something to pacify its hard-line separatist side, lest they bolt.
Sounds plausible. Like I say, it just seems like an unusual focus, even for the PQ during a referendum drought.
Comments
Certainly, Canada's actions are intended to impact the decisions of American voters going into the midterms, but it was Trump who decided to start waging a trade war this close to election day in the first place.
I've noticed his absence as well. Missing the regular recollections of bygone mandarin shindigs and the spirits poured therein.
Presumably connected to the supposed resurgence of the Conservative Party of Quebec. Apparently, this party has only existed since 2009, with its only seat being a crossover. As far as I can tell, parties called "Conservative" haven't elected MNAs in Quebec since the rise of the Union Nationale in 1936, with the various social and economic tendencies scattered between numerous of the larger parties.
I am now reminded of a National Post op-ed from the 2000 election campaign, written by two gay conservatives who were high up in the Alliance, arguing that gays and lesbians had nothing to fear from Stockwell Day. At least one of them had a French name, and I'd bet dollars to donuts that Duhaime was one of the collaborators.
No deep significance, just kind of a weird idiosyncratic connection.
And they started voting Social Credit only in 1962, AFTER the party had been reduced to zero seats everywhere else in Canada in the '58 election.
The article also characterizes St-Pierre Plamondon as having a "right-wing take on red-meat identity issues", which, by Canadian standards, would be an unusually blunt description of the PQ's cultural policies.
And I think I'd forgotten that the PQ is currently promising to defund the office of the Lieutenant Governor. No idea how that would work in the absence of outright independence, and I suspect it's just a proverbial shiny bauble.
Florida apparently has some measure on the November ballot significantly lowering property taxes for a large number of residents, while making up the loss with increased taxes on snowbird property, most of it owned by Canadians.
This, of course, is being framed, including with positive overtones by its chest-thumping sponsors, as some big attack on Canadians, though it seems to me it basically follows the same logic as eg. Canadian universities charging higher tuition for foreign students. Of course, that's usually just carried out as a quiet bureaucratic decision, not put to a public vote with attendant jingoism.
The article I read also quoted some snowbirds as saying they were disappointed to hear their American friends mimicking Trump's 51st State rhetoric. I suspect, though, that in most cases, that was not the first time they'd heard those people mouthing Trump's obnoxious crap, just the first time they took offense to it.
I'm not sure what you mean. Rope in quisling backbenchers from other parties to get a majority?
CAQ currently elected or leading in zero ridings.
At least 1993 Federal Tories had a single breeding pair.
But we'll see what shapes up, both in terms of final numbers and emerging alliances.
Do you mean that if the PQ goes ahead with holding a referendum on separation, QS will discontinue whatever parliamentary support they might've been giving to the PQ?
FWIW back in the early days of QS, some of their rank-and-file being miffed that they were still commited to holding a referendum.
At least 1993 Federal Tories had a single breeding pair.
To which Caissa replies: Elsie was long beyond her breeding days.
See Harold Wilson quote about two weeks and eternity.
I don't think JT would be handling any of this particularly well. Like Pierre Trudeau, he has the sorta political personality that jives well with good times and, at most, simple challenges(eg. October Crisis).
(I came of political age in PET's second term, which, except for rights junkies, was pretty much a perceived disaster from start to finish. The contrast with Trudeaumania was oft-noted.)
St-Pierre Plamondon is now jumping right atop the republican horse, proclaiming his wish to abolish the speech-from-the-throne as it currently exists, because he doesn't like the King's representative "tell[ing] us what to do at the beginning of the parliamentary session".
I'm now remembering back to when Trump started in with his 51st State oratory in early 2025, and Canadian nationalists were swooning over Quebec hockey fans who responded by singing O Canada in English.
But based on my understanding of how throne speeches work, I believe this is kinda like writing your go-to list on a post-it note, and then complaining that the post-it note is telling you what to do.
However its rather discordant to not invite the LG as they are the one who summon and convenes the Assembly.
Plus I don't think PSPP understands that the interpretation that the LG is the representative of the King is the provincial autonomy interpretation developed by Nova Scotia. The alternative is that the LG is the agent of the Government of Canada which is actually the original understanding, that is why the LG is appointed and paid by Ottawa and can reserve and disallow legislation.
Also PSPP says he is 'taking legal advice' on abolishing the LG in Quebec. He's setting up a scapegoat lawyer to take the heat as he knows his plans won't fly.
Thanks for the correction.
Apparently, there was at one point a debate in Canada about whether LGs should get a 21 gun salute, or whether that was reserved for the GG. Not sure all the details of the controversy, but I gather LGs are now denied the honour.
Wab Kinew has been giving answers in French to parliamentary questions asked in English. Apparently this is in response to the elevation to Tory leadership of a guy named Narth, with whom Kinew has a standing spat over language issues.
I gather MLAs are allowed to do this, so the legal controversy is nil, though one does wonder about what he's trying to accomplish in terms of partisan advantage or favourable publicity. The Poli Sci prof I saw interviewed seemed dubious that it really advanced Kinew's interests or the cause of language rights generally.
Anyway, yeah. Manitoba.
So to revise my earlier example of a self-directed post-it note...
It's more like a fridge magnet with a message that is written by someone else, but with a level of instructive detail along the lines of BE THE BEST YOU CAN BE.
And if PSPP really does want to defund the LG, I think she would have a very good case for billing the Quebec provincial government for use of her residence*, cell phone and internet service to conduct official business. It's rather gauche to importune someone at their private residence to get an official bill signed into law.
*Quebec, like Ontario does not have an official viceregal residence. Quebec's burned down and was never replaced.
Oh, I agree. One thing I can't forgive Justin is his misappropriation of "sunny ways" to sound like something inclusive and progressive. Though, I suppose it's possible that didn't actually bother a lot of Franco-Manitobans, if only because it was such an obscure phrase to begin with.
One of the more spot-on interpretations of Trump I've seen is that a lot(though not all) of the outrageous, half-baked schemes he announces are designed to look like serious action to his low-info base, regardless of how far he actually gets with them.
Something maybe similar with the PQ's anti-monarchism. Even if they do just end with the sort of interminable, go-nowhere legal imbroglios you envision, SPP is probably banking there's a section of the cheap seats who'll be really impressed that the government appears to stickin' it to the Westmount Rhodesians, or whomever.
Thing is, though, as someone whose span of following Quebec politics goes back to 11/15/76, I don't think I've ever seen the PQ going this hard on the anti-monarchy thing before. Levesque never seemed to make it a huge issue, and Parizeau of course stated his preference for an independent Quebec to be a Commonwealth Realm.
So I'm kinda wondering where this current republican impetus is coming from. It seems, at least from a few degrees removed, like something that would appeal more to the QS base than to the PQ base.
Sounds plausible. Like I say, it just seems like an unusual focus, even for the PQ during a referendum drought.