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The NDP’s free fall reveals an essential truth about this election

The NDP’s flashy new ads, portraying Jagmeet Singh as a fighter, seem to be borne of an alternate universe. The latest polls aren’t just flashing red — they’re signalling a collapse that could cost the party its official status — Ipsos? 10 per cent. Angus Reid nine per cent. Leger? 11 per cent.

It doesn’t matter which poll you look at. And evidently, it doesn’t matter which Canadian voter the pollsters ask. The federal NDP are on the brink of utter disaster.

While all eyes have been on Prime Minister Mark Carney’s efforts to resuscitate the Liberal party, it’s the other major shift — the collapse of the NDP vote — that will ultimately determine the final outcome of the next federal election. More than that, it reveals with absolute clarity what this election will be fought over.

First, let’s be clear about what this downward spiral represents.

For Liberals, it’s Christmas come early. For Conservatives, it’s a worrying sign that progressive voters are consolidating behind Carney. For the NDP? It’s not just a repudiation of their leader, a rejection of their messaging, or even a reflection of voter frustration. Most critically, it is an indictment of their strategy.

In any other context, for any other party, these numbers should serve as a dire wake-up call. What I fear instead is that it will become an excuse factory — none more damaging than the idea that their eventual downfall will be merely the result of strategic voting by “fake progressives” who were never serious about the NDP’s agenda to begin with.

That’s only half-true. Yes, the NDP are victims of the moment. But more accurately: they are victims of their own failure to build a credible political strategy to meet this moment.

There will be a strong temptation within NDP circles to blame ideological divides within the party — that they should have tacked further left, or that they should have abandoned their progressive principles and moved closer to the centre.

That would be missing the forest for the trees at a time when the entire woodland is on fire.

This isn’t about factional divides in progressive politics.

This isn’t even about the party wearing the stain of propping up the Liberals for years, despite Trudeau’s declining popularity.

This is about a fundamental failure to grasp the ballot question of this election: who is best suited to protect Canadians from Donald Trump?

Because guess what? There will be nothing left to be progressive about if Trump’s influence dominates Canada’s economy, trade, and security.

What the NDP still fails to see is that, for voters of all stripes, this election isn’t about theoretical progressive ideals — it’s about safeguarding the progressive policies that Canada already has, policies that could disappear overnight if Trump makes good on his threats.

At this point, the party’s strategy appears depressingly predictable.

While they are reportedly planning to run a full slate of 343 candidates, their real plan is a retreat: consolidating resources into defending the ridings they already hold and making limited plays for a narrow band of additional seats.

In other words, it will be a thinly veiled furniture-saving exercise.

Meanwhile, voters will be focused on who is best to save the country.

So, here’s the bottom line. This election isn’t about finding the best incremental policy on housing or pharmacare — it’s about who is best suited for the leadership required in an unprecedented moment of global and economic volatility.

That should be Jagmeet Singh’s sole focus.

It should be every leader’s sole focus.

Any failure to recognize this reality and prosecute a strategy that meets the urgency of the moment is not just a political misstep — it is an act of outright political suicide and an unconscionable own goal.

The U.S. Democrats aren’t the strongest opposition to Trump right now. Canada is

If there’s anything to be said beyond vindictiveness, caprice and outright insanity about the first 30 days of the Trump presidency, it’s the appalling lack of a coherent opposition from the Democratic party.

A crisis of confidence and nerve could not have been more painfully on display than the party’s pathetically weak response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress this past week.

Funnily enough, it turns out courage and conviction were hiding North of the border. In our political leaders. In our institutions. In our patriotism and our collective sense of responsibility.

Let that sink in. The strongest, most articulate, the main opposition to Donald Trump now exists outside America. And for the foreseeable future, that’s exactly where it will stay.

Make no mistake — Canada must now prosecute the most consequential political persuasion campaign in our nation’s history.

“Off again, on again, off again” — let’s be clear: the threat of tariffs isn’t going anywhere.

That’s why I use the word “political” very deliberately. Diplomacy will still have its place as part of the cover story, but the real fight — the one that matters most — is a bare-knuckle, down-on-the-ground, political street fight.

As Trump reminds us every day, this is the era of the permanent campaign. And so, fire must meet fire. Just as Trump tries to persuade Canadians that they’d be better off as America’s 51st state, we must continue our full-scale political counteroffensive to persuade Americans that Trump’s tariffs and trade wars (even the threat of them) are making their lives more expensive, more difficult, and more uncertain.

And we need to tie that pain directly to Trump personally.

Reciprocal tariffs are the blunt-force instrument, they trigger economic pain. But tariffs alone aren’t enough. This is a crisis and we need to go to end game. That means realizing the only thing that will change Trump’s mind is political pressure. And therefore, we need a persuasion campaign layered on top to effect that pressure — one designed to convert every ounce of economic pain into political pain, one that ensures every price increase, supply chain snag and lost job is strapped to Trump’s ankles like a lead weight.

And to do that most effectively, we ought to follow three basic rules of political persuasion.

First, define the audience.

The strategy cannot be to simply influence coastal elites and Democrats who already agree that tariffs are, as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau echoing the Wall Street Journal put it, a “dumb” idea. That’s not a path to victory. And it’s a waste of time.

We need to convince every last American consumer, no matter how they voted, Trump’s tariffs are making or will make their life worse.

Second, steal what works.

Put another way: use the tactics that are proven to work most recently with your target audience and only pivot if you need to.

Remember those viral gas station stickers — the ones with former U.S. president Joe Biden pointing at the pump price and saying, “I did that!”? That’s the template.

We need to ensure Donald Trump owns the specific price of specific everyday essential items.

Egg prices through the roof? “Trump did that.”

Paying more at the pump? “Trump did that.”

Paying more for a fridge, a sofa, a pack of diapers? “Trump did that.”

Third, underline the disconnect.

The core vulnerability of Trump’s populist brand is that he’s fundamentally out of touch with the reality he claims to champion.

As Congressman Eric Swalwell (in a rare example of effective bite back from the Democratic party) recently put it:

“This guy has gone to the Super Bowl … the Daytona 500 … a UFC fight.

He should go to the f—king supermarket and look at what people are spending to feed themselves, because that’s where they want him to go and he won’t go there.”

That’s precisely the tone and message Canada needs to amplify.

We need to drag Trump — kicking and screaming — to the grocery store, to the gas pump, to the dinner table where families are staring down higher electricity bills and overpriced food.

Here’s the bottom line: Trump didn’t just win, with the margin he did, solely because Americans were fed up with Biden. He won because he made them a simple promise — he would bring down prices. On day one.

That promise is already in pieces and tariffs will only drive prices higher. And our job — Canada’s job — is to make sure every American knows exactly why.

We cannot wait around for the Democratic party or anyone else to drive this political message. This is Canada’s fight — and it starts now.

It looks like we’re going to have a Poilievre-Carney race. Here’s what it will come down to

A few assumptions to start.

Mark Carney will handily win the federal Liberal party’s nomination, become Prime Minister, and march — more or less straightaway — into Rideau Hall to ask the Governor General to call an election.

During the contest that follows, U.S. President Donald Trump will not suddenly decide to take his foot off the gas. He will continue to bully, intimidate, and harass Canada. He will impose more tariffs, dangle new threats, and heighten economic pressure. He will continue his campaign of extranational humiliation.

In other words, the current crisis will not just persist — it will escalate.

So, make no mistake: this crisis is not the backdrop, it will define the stakes, the strategy, and the ultimate outcome of the election. And with it, three fundamental realities will emerge — each shaping the battle ahead.

First, is the exceedingly obvious point that this election will not be about Justin Trudeau’s record, nor will it be a referendum on the carbon tax. The Liberal brand, battered and bruised as it may be, may just well escape a judgment of its record as the election becomes a genuine fight over the future of the country.

Second, is a more counterintuitive point: this contest won’t be decided on policy.

At his “Canada First” rally last weekend, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre quipped that Mark Carney would simply “plagiarize” all his policies before the election. It is a clever way to salt the earth for Carney’s policy agenda in the coming campaign, to be sure, but it was also a tacit admission of something deeper.

The economic challenges facing Canada are so glaring — so long overdue — that a broad policy consensus has already taken shape. One drawn closer by the fact that Carney, Harper’s appointee as governor of the Bank of Canada, carries a distinctly fiscally conservative pedigree.

Yes, Poilievre and Carney will try to outflank each other on the margins. But on the most urgent issues — meeting our NATO commitment, diversifying our trading relationships, eliminating interprovincial trade barriers, tackling productivity stagnation — their objectives will be strikingly similar.

Their execution will of course be wildly different. But the point is this election won’t be won or lost on the ideological extremes. This fight isn’t about the destination — it’s a fight over who gets to drive the country there.

Third, and most importantly, is the fact the ballot question has already been set in stone.

As I argued in Ontario’s election, this federal race won’t hinge on who is best suited to “negotiate” with Trump. Canadians see through that. No one is “best suited” to deal with an irrational, transactional, and unpredictable actor.

Instead, the ballot question will be: Who is best able to protect Canadians from the harm — economic, psychological, and geopolitical — that Trump’s presidency has already inflicted and will continue to bring?

This is no ordinary ballot question. And this will be no ordinary race.

With no incumbency disadvantage, or advantage, and no radical ideological divide in the eyes of most voters, this race will come down to political intangibles.

Who has the leadership qualities to reassure Canadians?

Who exudes confidence, strength, and control?

Who makes us believe that together we can get through this as Canadians?

Who convinces voters they can handle Trump’s economic aggression without making things worse?

All the while making it clear that they are on the side of hard working, everyday Canadians who are finding life more and more difficult.

The stakes of this race are unlike anything in recent history. The political ground is shifting beneath our feet. There is no playbook for what’s ahead.

But as Canadians narrow their focus on self-preservation in the wake of Donald Trump’s return, so too must Carney and Poilievre narrow their strategies around that singular fear. In the end, this election will be a referendum on one thing: who can make Canadians feel safest in a world growing more volatile by the day.

And it will be won by the leader who best embodies that safety and galvanizes Canadians to hold the line against the coming chaos.

The real play behind Karina Gould’s Liberal leadership bid

I understand the temptation.

When you stack Karina Gould’s qualifications to become the next leader of her party and Prime Minister of Canada beside the likes of Mark Carney or Chrystia Freeland, one can easily conclude that the only valid question for this candidate is: what the hell is she thinking?

This line of inquiry, which constitutes about 99.9 per cent of the commentary I’ve read about her candidacy, whilst perhaps understandable, is also spectacularly short-sighted.

Political success isn’t about who looks best on paper. Thank God for that. But more crucially: neither is it always about the race right in front of you. Sometimes, the real game is the next one — the bigger picture. And in that sense, Karina Gould has positioned herself brilliantly.

No doubt, that’s precisely why it’s so easy to tell two wildly different stories about this candidate.

The first goes something like this: she’s too young, too green, too much of a long shot. In a word, quixotic. Despite clearing the first two $50,000 financial hurdles, she struggled to clear the far larger $125,000 third hurdle, and she’ll no doubt find it challenging to meet subsequent targets as the race progresses.

That’s the easy narrative, and the one that goes a long way to explain why many believe she won’t, in fact, come even close to becoming our next Prime Minister.

But there’s another story at play. And it’s one most have overlooked.

Karina Gould represents the future of the Liberal Party of Canada.

She has a record of real achievement, most notably championing the national $10-a-day child care strategy — a policy that will fundamentally improve the country for generations. The youngest female cabinet minister in Canadian history, over the past decade she has served as Minister of Democratic Institutions, Minister of International Development, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, and most recently, Government Leader in the House of Commons, the most demanding job in a minority Parliament.

Her age isn’t a liability — it’s an asset. At 37, she embodies the now largest voting bloc in the country: Millennials. Her presence signals generational renewal and energy.

Her French is stronger than both Carney’s and Freeland’s — a critical advantage in a party where Quebec support can make or break a leadership race.

And most importantly, she is genuine to the core — an increasingly rare quality in Canadian politics.

Of course, these are all impressive credentials. But none are as crucial to her long-term success as the sheer political instinct she’s demonstrating by running in this race.

Because — make no mistake — while she risks the hard scrutiny that comes with a contest of this magnitude, she also gains two invaluable political assets.

First, national profile and experience.

Second, and far more importantly, strategic leverage.

Given the unique preferential ballot structure of this leadership race and the reality that this is likely to turn into a two-horse race between Carney and Freeland, Gould is positioning herself — and her supporters — as the king or queen maker.

That’s a powerful place to be. And you can bet that neither Carney nor Freeland will utter a single negative word about her over the next few weeks. They both know she holds the key to their fortunes.

When a party is at risk of being reduced to ashes in the way the Liberals may well be, you’re not just looking for a leader — you’re looking for a spark. Some ember that’s still glowing in the grassroots of the party, something that can catch and grow into something bigger.

While I see experience, command of the issues, and steady hands from both Carney and Freeland, what I don’t see is the sign of momentum or the kind of energy that stirs something new.

But in Gould’s campaign? I do.

The people behind her at campaign events look like they actually want to be there. The people standing behind Carney and Freeland? I’m sorry to say, they look like they’re being held hostage.

Karina Gould may well lose this battle. But she’s playing a much longer game — and setting herself up brilliantly for it.

And in my view, that’s anything but tilting at windmills. That’s laying the foundation for the real fight ahead.

Doug Ford has to convince Ontarians he is their protector

Ontario is going to the polls in late February to decide which party, and which party leader, will helm the province for the next four years. As we are still early in the campaign, the Star asked four political commentators to weigh in on what each leader needs to do over the coming weeks to give their party a chance at winning.

My editor has asked me to answer a simple question: How can Doug Ford’s PCs win—and win bigger?

I’m not sure I’m best to answer this question. When Mr. Ford and I faced off as leaders of dueling campaigns during the 2010 mayoral election—he not only beat me, he crushed me.

What’s more, the Progressive Conservative leader enjoys a substantial, some would say unsurmountable, lead in the polls.

But here goes.

The temptation will be to frame the ballot question as “Which of the party leaders do you trust to go head-to-head with Donald Trump and win?” That would be a mistake. It would be akin to looking for someone to tame a tornado.

The president is not a rational actor and it is a fool’s errand to think that anyone can effectively go toe-to-toe with him. It is a battle you won’t win because it is a battle that can’t be won.

Rather, if Ford wants to win and win big, then the ballot question needs to be: “Which of the leaders do you trust to protect you, your family and Ontario from the economic shocks of the Trump administration?”

It is framing the question this way that will see the PCs returned to the legislature with a strengthened majority.

And it is a question which is, simply put, a gift to Ford and his campaign.

The chaos that has emerged from south of the border has provoked both fury and fear in Canadians — including Ontarians — unlike anything in recent memory.

Ontarians are looking for their leaders to stand up for them, to be sure. Matching tariffs, border-state diplomacy, ad campaigns aimed at American voters, and business-to-business pressure are all necessary tactics. Those deal with the fury.

But the fear must also be addressed. And that’s where Ontarians are looking to their own province’s leaders to protect them. Because it’s not just theoretical macroeconomic shocks that has them worried; rather, it is the price shock of suddenly more expensive gas, groceries and other imported products that has them up at night.

No question, calling an early election is always a risk. But the timing of the political contest comes with a calculated set of strategic advantages for the PCs:

  1. With Justin Trudeau and the Liberals still in power federally, the PCs can rely on oppositional sentiment toward Trudeau.
  2. Doug Ford, personally, has never been so popular. Just look at how comfortably he has assumed the face of the “Team Canada” response.
  3. The PCs have a major cash advantage that will allow them to dominate the airwaves.
  4. Liberal operatives are distracted by the federal leadership race. Case in point: they’ve been slow to nominate candidates in key ridings.
  5. The government’s fiscal situation is not going to improve anytime soon—and economic tensions with the United States won’t help. Things might not be great now, but they won’t be any better in fifteen months, when Ford would have had to call this election anyway.

Taken together, these factors will undoubtedly be major contributors should the PCs win re-election.

But none will matter as much as Doug Ford’s ability to convince Ontarians he is the best candidate not to negotiate with a madman but to protect their pocketbooks from a madman.

Elections aren’t won on hypotheticals — they’re won on trust. And right now, Ontarians don’t need a leader who promises to “figure it out” when the storm hits. The storm has hit. They want someone who has been through the storm before and knows how to steer the ship.

Doug Ford’s path to victory isn’t about making Ontarians believe he can tame Donald Trump — it’s about proving he can shield them from the chaos that Trump is likely to spread for four years.

If the Progressive Conservative leader can make that case, this election won’t just be a win for the PCs — it will be a landslide.