One simple partial motivation for Gladu crossing the floor is in her letter to constituents. She says Sarnia's been a bellwether riding for decades -- Liberal under Liberal governments, Conservative under Conservatives. Until her. That makes her the first Sarnia MP in her lifetime (or at least mine -- the trend goes back to at least the mid-1960s) who has never sat in a governing caucus. Maybe she just felt like she was missing out. Everything is more complex than one reason, but that seems to me like the sort of thing that would sit in somebody's head.
Also: Marilyn Gladu spoke at my father's memorial service, several years ago, at my request. She'd actually never met him, and I doubt he voted for her, but Dad had a certain profile in the community so I asked the mayor and MP to contribute some words.
I think you hit the nail on the head. Gladu wants to be in government after 10 years and Carney is doing Conservative things, like talking about energy projects. It became a good fit.
Carney picked a few items from Poilievre’s platform and implemented them to secure a few votes. Now he has to double down on his green ideology to keep the far left element in his part happy while committing to nothing… it’s all just talk and nothing else. Gladu is just being opportunistic and Carney is doing what Carney does which is whatever keeps him in power, nothing conservative or principled here, just utilitarian.
When Canada didn't face existential threats before the second Trump term, prioritizing values over pragmatic politics was an understandable position. Today, the governing party needs to maximize its majority to show strength at home and in foreign capitals. Perhaps this is just rationalizing by a Liberal partisan, but the differing approaches of PMs Trudeau and Carney both seem reasonable in their own times.
Funny. I would have said that, if Canada didn't face existential threats, a do-little mandarin might be a reasonable choice. Trudeau was a disaster, but he can never be accused of doing nothing.
But, of course, I don't think Trump is an existential threat compared to mass immigration and the way it has destroyed Canada as a place for young Canadians to live, greatly exacerbated by our culture of an increasing number of parasites living off a shrinking real economy.
Because we never did immigration before. The big problem was Mulroney canceled social housing, and no other PM restarted it, and of course everyone forgets that the premiers all wanted immigration to keep down wages until it was a problem and then they want to blame Trudeau for giving them what they want.
Remember that good times have a million fathers and hard times are an orphan.
We have always had mass immigration, Canada was built on it. Harper jacked it to include massive numbers of TFW because Tim's wanted cheap labour, something TFW were not allowed to do before Harper. Trudeau continued. Premiers wanted massive amounts of students to cover for the fact that they cut taxes to the bone and were starving education. I have not seen a perfect PM yet. They are all humans, all fallible. But they all did one thing most people did not do.
And yet, in the PM's reasoning I heard just now on CBC radio, there it was, twice: “We ran on a clear platform—clear values, and [MPs] who are joining the party at this critical time […] recognize those clear policy positions, those values; that's where we will go.”
"They’re intensely selective by nature, they encourage resumé-polishing, they measure success in terms of enthusiasm and ability to network instead of any measurable real-world effect or result"
Thanks. So much more information on Gladu than I got from the lead story on The National last night. Only sending a photographer to get man on the street bites was not great for the CBC. I was disappointed that they didn’t ask the ladies at Milk Mark what they thought though.
There are great reporters doing great work for TV but… fewer than there used to be. Our commander in Latvia was stripped of his command and the CTV National News reported it without making a single phone call to try and expand the story. Not surprising but depressing.
Trudeau is there with "McGill guys, Brebeuf guys, Whistler guys..." Paul you forgot Tofino guys- he did after all have a wee airport built so he could be a Surfer Dude guy whenever he felt the urge to surf. We will never get those ten years of a cannabis haze back no matter how many times Carney repeats- "We are the NEW Government. Ya right.
A polished resumé doesn’t a man make. Carney is very polished but is he competent enough to run the country? So far, I would say no and I’m drifting further and further away from thinking he ever will be. He loves process but he’s horrible at communicating and if he has a real plan, other than just being the man, I haven’t seen it. I don’t think he understands regular Canadians nor can he relate or does he care to… just my opinion for what it’s worth.
Carney's non communicating is an asset, at least for now. Remember, his biggest asset of all is that he's not Justin Trudeau, whose daily mission was to be at the front of every parade and drowning us with nonsensical, usually pious blather.
Canadians tired of the grandstanding and Carney is offering peek a boo to a grateful nation. Say little, leave lots to the imagination and stay positive. His handling of the Finance Minister's ethical dilemma was particularly inventive. He turned the ethics debate upside down by making a grandfatherly statement about how wonderful it is that political spouses (read women) get to have careers too!
Well his wife was an eco-warrior employed alongside Gerry Butts and Evan Solomon at the Eurasia Group and a "special advisor" -- usually read as lobbyist -- for Willis Towers Watson while her hubby was "special financial advisor" to Trudeau. Same folks, same grubby look, same disdain for the average citizen, same corruption.
So you are a PP conservative. Okay. Thanks for letting us know. Things take time. It takes years to bring a project from idea to a finished project. If they rush and fail then they wear it. Carney has been there for a year. Things are going as well as can be expected.
Under normal circumstances I might agree with you but that would be leaving aside where Carney is coming from. From where I’m sitting, having watch Carney’s behind the scene work on the green agenda and his refusal to remove all the obstacles that stand in the way of Canada becoming the so called “Energy superpower” he professes we are, I don’t see even a modicum of progress. The world is starved for energy now, western Canada does energy really well and safely now, Canadians are suffering now, homes are unaffordable now, youth unemployment is high now, food bank usage is sky high now. The world is moving quickly and leaving Canada in the dust. We can’t afford to live in Carney’s snail pace world, we can’t afford to cozy up to China, China is not our friend! It’s time to stop blaming Trump for all our failings, take responsibility and make the country work for all, not just a chosen few. Carney thrives on division and dependance, just like Trudeau before him. He dresses smartly, opens his mouth and spews out gibberish. Canada doesn’t have a leader, he doesn’t have an original idea in his head. His cabinet is as incompetent as can be and only has two arrows in their quiver: dismiss and ridicule those that don’t agree with their agenda. You can’t build a country that way. Yes things take time but thanks to the last 11 years of liberal rule, time is a luxury we don’t have.
Nobody in government has any real values beyond keeping power, nobody is ever held accountable anymore (how can Ma stay in the LPC caucus), the media no longer holds power to account since they are paid by those to whom the should be holding to account and our government has kowtowed to China and India with the lame excuse of Trumpism when it was the plan all along. I apologize to my children and grandchildren for allowing this great country to be so hollowed on on my watch.
Governing is about compromise. If you can not understand that then perhaps following politics is not for you.
If you are a back bench MP like Scheer or Poilievre then perhaps just keeping the pine warm for the first 20 yrs of your time as an MP is good enough but leaders go there to lead and that requires doing compromise to get what you really want.
I have done many leadership stuff. I don't get into organizations to just clap. That requires compromise and it does not matter if you are the lead hand on a construction crew or the PM. Compromise is required to get anything done.
So principles and ethics are what you compromise rather than processes or details? So how does Gladu now get to lead? What does she lead? To me, she didn't compromise. Its more like lying on your resume and faking your references. If you're PM, would you ever trust her? Would you ever vote for her again? What is the point of voting for a party platform if your candidate will just side with whoever wins? I KNOW ITS ALLOWED. Doesn't make it right.
I would like see Gladu and Guilbeault coming head to head in a discussion. There will be some mighty loud words being thrown around. À tiger cannot change its stripes on a whim.
I am surprised a few of the remaining worthwhile Liberal MP’s haven’t chosen to cross the floor. Some of the best of the Class of 2015 decided they had had enough and left in subsequent elections or actually crossed as did Leona Alleslev, a first class individual with much to offer and a trusted friend. In my case as with others I tried to deal with or understand some of the unpleasant realities of Party politics and its leadership. Eventually …in my case 5 years and 11 months…the baggage becomes unbearable if one has values. Unless of course as one MP said to me… “where else can we make this kind of money?”
A sad reflection on the current crop of MPs. Previously, politics attracted accomplished people who wanted to make a real contribution. Now we have people who run for the money.
An OECD trusteeship? A chuckle and a wince. Canadians - and even politicians apparently! - certainly have to be weary of partisanship getting in the way of actual governing and actual official opposition-ing. Long past time for adults in the room.
Carney is transactional, just like Trump. He is the Trumpy one. Instead of changing the failing laws and regulations he has chosen to rule by decree, making up special purpose laws and regulations for his corporatist buddies and for those who bend the knee, leaving the rest of us to deal with smothering set of laws and regulations that Trudeau created.
I would not be so sure. Strip away party brands and personality and look at the policies. The Carney government is basically Progressive Conservative. Their platform is very aligned with many conservative policies. Anti carbon tax, pro pipeline, fast track infrastructure, etc. so that’s going to alienate some of their old base I suspect.
I see a parallel with Clinton in the 90’s moving the Democratic Party to be republican light and more Wall Street than Main Street. Success for awhile but when your principles shift with the wind your long term success is uncertain. Uncertain times ahead. A strong conservative leader could quickly move the needle.
A corporatist "Tory" is basically a Red Tory. Socialism for the elite classes. Dog eat dog for everyone else. Throw a few scraps to the poor.
Nothing conservative at all about Carney. Toryism is NOT conservative. It is about maintaining the privileges of the elite classes, in this case the Laurentian elite.
Dugin, as confined to the realm of the fourth political theory only, would be proud of Carney, the technocratic neo-feudalist.
Watching Carney is like watching a novice tight rope walker a long way above the ground. Only a matter of time before he falls. No way he can deliver on affordability or deal with Trump or get a pipeline built.
A banker always a banker…nobody ever said NO to him…never trusted those guys..I had to fight for 3 months for my money only $20,000.00 not a lot for them but it was still my money. Never trusted those guys again.
Deposits in a bank are not your money. You are a creditor of the bank. Never forget that.
"It is well enough that people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning," is most commonly attributed to industrialist Henry Ford.
Asking before I assume. “Derring-do”. As in: “You may be bent on doing deeds of derring do. But up against a shark what can a herring do?” Because if so, wow, to go that Broadway deep … to refer to a song from the show that was cut from the Sound of Music movie … and with such perfect context …. that would get you 14/10. If I am wrong, don’t admit to it. Walk away with the win.
When I read the Liberal convention agenda, many of the recent floor crossers were listed in different policy workshops. I am curious to see which workshop will feature Ms. Glad.
Two additional notes:
One simple partial motivation for Gladu crossing the floor is in her letter to constituents. She says Sarnia's been a bellwether riding for decades -- Liberal under Liberal governments, Conservative under Conservatives. Until her. That makes her the first Sarnia MP in her lifetime (or at least mine -- the trend goes back to at least the mid-1960s) who has never sat in a governing caucus. Maybe she just felt like she was missing out. Everything is more complex than one reason, but that seems to me like the sort of thing that would sit in somebody's head.
Also: Marilyn Gladu spoke at my father's memorial service, several years ago, at my request. She'd actually never met him, and I doubt he voted for her, but Dad had a certain profile in the community so I asked the mayor and MP to contribute some words.
I think you hit the nail on the head. Gladu wants to be in government after 10 years and Carney is doing Conservative things, like talking about energy projects. It became a good fit.
Carney picked a few items from Poilievre’s platform and implemented them to secure a few votes. Now he has to double down on his green ideology to keep the far left element in his part happy while committing to nothing… it’s all just talk and nothing else. Gladu is just being opportunistic and Carney is doing what Carney does which is whatever keeps him in power, nothing conservative or principled here, just utilitarian.
That did not stop all of us ABC folk from laughing and laughing. I have family down there. Their heads probably exploded when the news came out
When Canada didn't face existential threats before the second Trump term, prioritizing values over pragmatic politics was an understandable position. Today, the governing party needs to maximize its majority to show strength at home and in foreign capitals. Perhaps this is just rationalizing by a Liberal partisan, but the differing approaches of PMs Trudeau and Carney both seem reasonable in their own times.
Funny. I would have said that, if Canada didn't face existential threats, a do-little mandarin might be a reasonable choice. Trudeau was a disaster, but he can never be accused of doing nothing.
But, of course, I don't think Trump is an existential threat compared to mass immigration and the way it has destroyed Canada as a place for young Canadians to live, greatly exacerbated by our culture of an increasing number of parasites living off a shrinking real economy.
I agree.
Because we never did immigration before. The big problem was Mulroney canceled social housing, and no other PM restarted it, and of course everyone forgets that the premiers all wanted immigration to keep down wages until it was a problem and then they want to blame Trudeau for giving them what they want.
Remember that good times have a million fathers and hard times are an orphan.
The man in charge is the one responsible. But certainly there is plenty of blame to go around on mass immigration.
We have always had mass immigration, Canada was built on it. Harper jacked it to include massive numbers of TFW because Tim's wanted cheap labour, something TFW were not allowed to do before Harper. Trudeau continued. Premiers wanted massive amounts of students to cover for the fact that they cut taxes to the bone and were starving education. I have not seen a perfect PM yet. They are all humans, all fallible. But they all did one thing most people did not do.
They stepped up.
Trudeau brought in 5 million people, increasing the population by 15%. They need do go home. What premiers or other advocates said is irrelevant.
Trudeau is the only one who told the world they could all come, borders were wide open….no questions asked.
And yet, in the PM's reasoning I heard just now on CBC radio, there it was, twice: “We ran on a clear platform—clear values, and [MPs] who are joining the party at this critical time […] recognize those clear policy positions, those values; that's where we will go.”
What values?
"They’re intensely selective by nature, they encourage resumé-polishing, they measure success in terms of enthusiasm and ability to network instead of any measurable real-world effect or result"
Nuff said!
Thanks. So much more information on Gladu than I got from the lead story on The National last night. Only sending a photographer to get man on the street bites was not great for the CBC. I was disappointed that they didn’t ask the ladies at Milk Mark what they thought though.
There are great reporters doing great work for TV but… fewer than there used to be. Our commander in Latvia was stripped of his command and the CTV National News reported it without making a single phone call to try and expand the story. Not surprising but depressing.
They only do press releases not reportage.
It costs money. The CBC has taken reduction after reduction and inflation runs at 8 to 10% all the time. 2% inflation was for wages only.
Trudeau is there with "McGill guys, Brebeuf guys, Whistler guys..." Paul you forgot Tofino guys- he did after all have a wee airport built so he could be a Surfer Dude guy whenever he felt the urge to surf. We will never get those ten years of a cannabis haze back no matter how many times Carney repeats- "We are the NEW Government. Ya right.
Did his stint at Brebuf…money talked …but. Mc Gill did not last in Engineering more than à semester.
A polished resumé doesn’t a man make. Carney is very polished but is he competent enough to run the country? So far, I would say no and I’m drifting further and further away from thinking he ever will be. He loves process but he’s horrible at communicating and if he has a real plan, other than just being the man, I haven’t seen it. I don’t think he understands regular Canadians nor can he relate or does he care to… just my opinion for what it’s worth.
Carney's non communicating is an asset, at least for now. Remember, his biggest asset of all is that he's not Justin Trudeau, whose daily mission was to be at the front of every parade and drowning us with nonsensical, usually pious blather.
Canadians tired of the grandstanding and Carney is offering peek a boo to a grateful nation. Say little, leave lots to the imagination and stay positive. His handling of the Finance Minister's ethical dilemma was particularly inventive. He turned the ethics debate upside down by making a grandfatherly statement about how wonderful it is that political spouses (read women) get to have careers too!
Well his wife was an eco-warrior employed alongside Gerry Butts and Evan Solomon at the Eurasia Group and a "special advisor" -- usually read as lobbyist -- for Willis Towers Watson while her hubby was "special financial advisor" to Trudeau. Same folks, same grubby look, same disdain for the average citizen, same corruption.
That kind of gibberish works well with his uniformed, fearful base... "In an increasingly dangerous and uncertain world..."
He's a fear monger more than a grand fatherly figure but you're right, the liberals know their base and BS works well with the chicken little crowd.
So you are a PP conservative. Okay. Thanks for letting us know. Things take time. It takes years to bring a project from idea to a finished project. If they rush and fail then they wear it. Carney has been there for a year. Things are going as well as can be expected.
Under normal circumstances I might agree with you but that would be leaving aside where Carney is coming from. From where I’m sitting, having watch Carney’s behind the scene work on the green agenda and his refusal to remove all the obstacles that stand in the way of Canada becoming the so called “Energy superpower” he professes we are, I don’t see even a modicum of progress. The world is starved for energy now, western Canada does energy really well and safely now, Canadians are suffering now, homes are unaffordable now, youth unemployment is high now, food bank usage is sky high now. The world is moving quickly and leaving Canada in the dust. We can’t afford to live in Carney’s snail pace world, we can’t afford to cozy up to China, China is not our friend! It’s time to stop blaming Trump for all our failings, take responsibility and make the country work for all, not just a chosen few. Carney thrives on division and dependance, just like Trudeau before him. He dresses smartly, opens his mouth and spews out gibberish. Canada doesn’t have a leader, he doesn’t have an original idea in his head. His cabinet is as incompetent as can be and only has two arrows in their quiver: dismiss and ridicule those that don’t agree with their agenda. You can’t build a country that way. Yes things take time but thanks to the last 11 years of liberal rule, time is a luxury we don’t have.
Nobody in government has any real values beyond keeping power, nobody is ever held accountable anymore (how can Ma stay in the LPC caucus), the media no longer holds power to account since they are paid by those to whom the should be holding to account and our government has kowtowed to China and India with the lame excuse of Trumpism when it was the plan all along. I apologize to my children and grandchildren for allowing this great country to be so hollowed on on my watch.
Governing is about compromise. If you can not understand that then perhaps following politics is not for you.
If you are a back bench MP like Scheer or Poilievre then perhaps just keeping the pine warm for the first 20 yrs of your time as an MP is good enough but leaders go there to lead and that requires doing compromise to get what you really want.
I have done many leadership stuff. I don't get into organizations to just clap. That requires compromise and it does not matter if you are the lead hand on a construction crew or the PM. Compromise is required to get anything done.
So principles and ethics are what you compromise rather than processes or details? So how does Gladu now get to lead? What does she lead? To me, she didn't compromise. Its more like lying on your resume and faking your references. If you're PM, would you ever trust her? Would you ever vote for her again? What is the point of voting for a party platform if your candidate will just side with whoever wins? I KNOW ITS ALLOWED. Doesn't make it right.
Absolutely Great Writing
Paul this one piece is worth the price of admission.....
Thank You
Mark, I have two comments.
First, yes, this absolutely is worth the price of admission.
Two, ever so much of Mr. Wells' work actually exceeds the price of admission - this one included.
Agreed
I would like see Gladu and Guilbeault coming head to head in a discussion. There will be some mighty loud words being thrown around. À tiger cannot change its stripes on a whim.
Carney may be sorry sooner than later.
Betcha even money she doesn't back down.
I am surprised a few of the remaining worthwhile Liberal MP’s haven’t chosen to cross the floor. Some of the best of the Class of 2015 decided they had had enough and left in subsequent elections or actually crossed as did Leona Alleslev, a first class individual with much to offer and a trusted friend. In my case as with others I tried to deal with or understand some of the unpleasant realities of Party politics and its leadership. Eventually …in my case 5 years and 11 months…the baggage becomes unbearable if one has values. Unless of course as one MP said to me… “where else can we make this kind of money?”
A sad reflection on the current crop of MPs. Previously, politics attracted accomplished people who wanted to make a real contribution. Now we have people who run for the money.
An OECD trusteeship? A chuckle and a wince. Canadians - and even politicians apparently! - certainly have to be weary of partisanship getting in the way of actual governing and actual official opposition-ing. Long past time for adults in the room.
Tinfoil hat mode ON: The plan is an EU Brussels technocratic take over. The likes of Bruce Anderson are already polling on the issue of joining the EU, opening the Overton Window on the concept. https://bruce728.substack.com/p/canada-in-the-eu-most-canadians-think
Carney yells elbow's up to Trump during the campaign, while preparing to lay out a primrose path for von der Leyen
Carney is transactional, just like Trump. He is the Trumpy one. Instead of changing the failing laws and regulations he has chosen to rule by decree, making up special purpose laws and regulations for his corporatist buddies and for those who bend the knee, leaving the rest of us to deal with smothering set of laws and regulations that Trudeau created.
I would not be so sure. Strip away party brands and personality and look at the policies. The Carney government is basically Progressive Conservative. Their platform is very aligned with many conservative policies. Anti carbon tax, pro pipeline, fast track infrastructure, etc. so that’s going to alienate some of their old base I suspect.
I see a parallel with Clinton in the 90’s moving the Democratic Party to be republican light and more Wall Street than Main Street. Success for awhile but when your principles shift with the wind your long term success is uncertain. Uncertain times ahead. A strong conservative leader could quickly move the needle.
A corporatist "Tory" is basically a Red Tory. Socialism for the elite classes. Dog eat dog for everyone else. Throw a few scraps to the poor.
Nothing conservative at all about Carney. Toryism is NOT conservative. It is about maintaining the privileges of the elite classes, in this case the Laurentian elite.
Dugin, as confined to the realm of the fourth political theory only, would be proud of Carney, the technocratic neo-feudalist.
Watching Carney is like watching a novice tight rope walker a long way above the ground. Only a matter of time before he falls. No way he can deliver on affordability or deal with Trump or get a pipeline built.
A banker always a banker…nobody ever said NO to him…never trusted those guys..I had to fight for 3 months for my money only $20,000.00 not a lot for them but it was still my money. Never trusted those guys again.
Deposits in a bank are not your money. You are a creditor of the bank. Never forget that.
"It is well enough that people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning," is most commonly attributed to industrialist Henry Ford.
Was not a deposit dear.
Evan Salomon is supposed to have been the go between, what a surprise.
........ speaking of principles ......
Asking before I assume. “Derring-do”. As in: “You may be bent on doing deeds of derring do. But up against a shark what can a herring do?” Because if so, wow, to go that Broadway deep … to refer to a song from the show that was cut from the Sound of Music movie … and with such perfect context …. that would get you 14/10. If I am wrong, don’t admit to it. Walk away with the win.
I cannot tell a lie, I did not have that in mind. But now I do.
Well ya done good regardless. Enjoyed the missive today. Carry on.
When I read the Liberal convention agenda, many of the recent floor crossers were listed in different policy workshops. I am curious to see which workshop will feature Ms. Glad.