Policy Options

In our parliamentary democracy the party that wins the most seats in a general election forms the government. Where a party wins just half or fewer of the seats...

Much has been made of the significant changes that the Liberal and New Democratic parties will need to make as they adjust to their new realities after Election 2011....

In the budget introduced on June 6, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty made good on an election promise and did what the Conservative government had been trying to do since...

The 41st Parliament is the result of tectonic shifts in the Canadian political landscape. Before the election political observers, and more than a few political actors, were secure in...

Canadian democracy is at a crossroads. Perhaps not facing imminent danger of collapse and certainly not attributable to the fact that Stephen Harper now leads a majority government, but...

Nous avons été plusieurs à être touchés. C’est vrai que nous ne pensions pas que Jack Layton allait s’éteindre si vite, même si son état lors de sa dernière...

Standard & Poor’s long-awaited downgrade of the US credit rating was no surprise, but it does encourage reflection. The rating agencies are not people one should trust with the...

In recent years, right-wing extremism has flourished in the United States. Last fall, for instance, the Tea Party movement encouraged the nomination of Republican midterm candidates like Sharron Angle,...

It has always been difficult for Canada to discuss the Northwest Passage with the United States. A northern route to the Pacific Ocean was the holy grail for explorers...

Located at the eastern entrance to the Northwest Passage, Lancaster Sound is frequently referred to as the Serengeti of the Arctic in recognition of its incredible biological richness. In...

Addressing the Conservative Party faithful at their Ottawa convention in mid-June, Stephen Harper spoke of a world where “power is shifting.” “In such a world,” he declared, “strength is...

The uprising against Moammar Gadhafi has succeeded, at least in displacing the dictator. Though won by Libyans, the victory needed the support of a coalition of outside countries, mostly...

En novembre 2008, Barack Obama a été élu avec 52,9 p. 100 des suffrages populaires, un résultat sans commune mesure avec ceux obtenus cet automne-là par Stephen Harper (37,7...

It wasn’t that hard to know Jack Layton. He lived a very public life, at the end of which he drew on private reserves of grace and courage. As...

Maybe it’s the lingering national glow of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. Or perhaps the fact that it was a blazing hot summer in 2011. Whatever the reason, has...

Strong leaders deny or disguise their disease and disability. Roman emperors and English kings did it. Roosevelt and Churchill did it. So did John Kennedy and even Tommy Douglas....

Please stand by. We are experiencing technical difficulties. The Canadian political system is currently adjusting to majority government after three inconclusive elections and seven long years of fractious minorities....

In geophysics the term “fault line” describes a fracture in a large area of rock. These fault lines emerge as a result of shifts in the plates that make...

In the June-July election issue of Policy Options, Scott Reid wrote a piece entitled “On the Long Road Back from Third Place, Liberals Need to Play the Long Game.”...

Le décès de Jack Layton a eu l’effet d’un coup de tonnerre au Québec. Dès que la nouvelle a été connue, les médias ont consacré leur temps et leurs...