Results tagged “michaelignatieff”

Well, look who's offering candy to babies now. Stephen Harper ditches the friendly blue sweater in favour of something a little spookier in this politically themed Halloween montage in Little India. On Woodfield Road, the resident artist's lawn arrangement is placed perfectly for tonight's festivities—the city will be closing down a portion of the road tonight from 6–9 p.m., where a fire eater will be taking the place of cars. And while the performer is busy chomping on flames and captivating the eyes of kids, well, here's hoping the politicians don't pop out and try to eat the children.

Today's Events

Cue the trumpets, unfurl the banners, make with the fanfare, and let fly with a triumphant shout of "Sweet merciful crap, here we go again."

There's more than enough trash-talking to go with the tulips this spring on Parliament Hill, with some distinctly unflowery themes (Fiscal mismanagement! Attack ads! Election threats! Secret tapes!) echoing through the air.

ART: Magic Pony presents an exhibit of limited-edition prints and a new series of toys from artist Tara McPherson. McPherson will be at the Narwhal Art Projects gallery tonight for the opening reception until 8 p.m. She is in town as a guest of the Toronto Comic Arts Festival to debut her new book, Lost Constellations: The Art of Tara McPherson Volume 2. Narwhal Art Projects (680 Queen Street West), 6–9 p.m., FREE.

If Michael Ignatieff is to be believed, there is no motive behind his latest book beyond that of providing a Canadian companion to his 1987 book, The Russian Album.

The Liberal Party of Canada's national convention in Vancouver this past weekend produced few surprises, with delegates officially crowning Toronto Member of Parliament Michael Ignatieff as leader of the once-mighty red machine. One development that did catch our attention, however, was the unveiling on Saturday of the party's new logo, which replaces the maple-leaf-as-rising-sun insignia in use since 2004. According to the accompanying news release, the new logo "symbolizes a re-energized Liberal Party emerging from a process of renewal engaging all Liberal members." A fascinating claim, given that the new wordmark is nothing more than the word "Liberal" in Times New Roman, emblazoned with a maple leaf that appears to have been cribbed from the cover of Maclean's.

When Iggy took the podium today he was full of fire and brimstone, sternly taking the Conservative government to task for its recent shenanigans. "We hold them responsible for telling us there would no recession when the rest of the world was already taking action...this is a record of reckless, arrogant, and short-sighted government." Strong stuff. Those who hoped that this language meant the Liberals would reject the Tories' new budget proposal were in for a rude awakening, however, as Ignatieff then toned his rhetoric down dramatically and introduced the crucial caveat: "But here is the point—the budget also contains important concessions...These measures are only in the budget because the opposition parties did their job." This afternoon in Parliament, Ignatieff introduced an amendment to the budget, meant to "put this government on probation"—it requires that the government issue updates in March, June, and December on the implementation of the stimulus package. Question Period is ongoing at this time, and Ignatieff is facing far more severe challenges from one-time coalition partners in the Bloc and NDP than from the Tories. The Conservatives appear poised to accept the amendment: Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Industry Mike Lake just took to the floor to thank the Liberals for their support.

With the national economy struggling under the weight of a global economic crisis, Governor General Michaëlle Jean yesterday delivered a throne speech that was both incredibly brief (the English version contains just 750 words) and, due to the intense Ottawa cold, surrounded by hardly any of the usual vice-regal pomp and circumstance. Which was probably just as well, given that yesterday's speech was really just the pre-game show for today's main event, the federal budget.

Two months ago, Michael Ignatieff joined Twitter. Under his biography, he clearly stated his objective: Michael Ignatieff for leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. Over five weeks, he updated fifteen times ("Is energized by the crowd last night – what a great way to start a week. Off to Ottawa today," he wrote on November 24) and accumulated 754 followers.

Details are still sketchy, but according to at least two news outlets, Bob Rae will announce that he is ending his bid for leadership of the Liberal Party later today. This means that Michael Ignatieff will assume the party's leadership unopposed, and the Liberals may be able to justify their claim that they are finally getting it together under pressure. Ignatieff hasn't exactly won the hearts and minds of Liberals everywhere (his support of the war in Iraq still rankles for many), but they'll at least have some stability in the top role. The prospects for the coalition bid may dim substantially, however, as Ignatieff has been lukewarm from the start about that enterprise. Click here to join Torontoist's ongoing conversation about recent political developments.

                

It's been a tumultuous month so far in Canadian politics, with an unlikely centre-left coalition seeking to oust the newly re-elected Conservatives from power in Ottawa. But although Prime Minister Stephen Harper put the kibosh on the opposition's attempt to boot him from office before year's end, Saturday's duelling noontime pro- and anti-coalition rallies in Toronto went on as planned, showing just how much this unusual crisis has shaken residents across the political spectrum.

Sarah Lazarovic—curator of the garage-based Montrose Portrait Gallery of Canada—is painting a portrait of a Torontonian every day. Each Monday, we'll feature one of those portraits here. Suggestions for subjects welcome.

The Canadian Press is reporting that Stéphane Dion will announce his resignation as Liberal leader today, clearing the way for Etobicoke—Lakeshore member of Parliament Michael Ignatieff to be installed as the party's new chief in a caucus vote on Wednesday. Fellow Toronto MP and leadership contender Bob Rae isn't going down without a fight, though: in an email to supporters yesterday, the former NDP premier of Ontario called on Liberals to demand that grassroots members have a say in the selection of their new leader. As for the Liberal-NDP coalition, the future of the nascent partnership is murky: Ignatieff has been decidedly cool to the idea, and there are rumblings of dissent in the Liberal ranks. Click here to discuss the tumultuous soap opera that is the Canadian political scene.

Several news outlets are reporting that Stéphane Dion's tenure is about to end. Despite earlier coalition promises to keep him on as head of the Liberal Party and as the coalition's proposed Prime Minister, the ranks are growing restive and don't feel he has the capacity to lead them effectively into power. The mechanics: according to Liberal Party rules, when a leader resigns the caucus may select an interim leader to head the party until a national party vote can be held. Ignatieff has a clear majority of caucus support, and if the national executive decides to pursue the caucus selection process, will be installed as leader at least until the party's national convention in May. Bob Rae is, unsurprisingly, fighting this proposal on the grounds that it is elitist and leaves ordinary Liberals (especially those in western provinces, who have no elected MPs to represent them in a caucus vote) out of the process. Click here to join Torontoist's ongoing conversation about the recent parliamentary shenanigans.

It was barely a month ago that the Harper Conservatives were returned to government with a strengthened minority and politicians of all stripes were pledging to work together to steer Canada through the global financial storm. But after Finance Minister Jim Flaherty delivered an economic update yesterday that promised to end pay-equity programs, suspend federal employees' right to strike, and eliminate the subsidy for political parties (a move that would financially cripple the Liberals, NDP, and Bloc, but not the Conservatives), all three opposition leaders declared that either the Tories would have to blink or the government falls.

Photo by Brandon McKay.

Grit leader Stéphane Dion, who last Tuesday led his team to one of its worst electoral showings since Confederation, has announced that he will resign as head of the Liberal Party of Canada effective May 2009. Thus begins a leadership race in which high-profile Toronto MPs Michael Ignatieff and Bob Rae are considered front-runners, and that could draw in GTA Liberal luminaries including—but certainly not limited to—former provincial education minister Gerard Kennedy, hockey great Ken Dryden, former federal immigration minister Joe Volpe, and lawyer Martha Hall Findlay. Be sure to check Torontoist later in the week for a rundown of the possible local contenders for the Liberal throne.

Michael Ignatieff has one, Olivia Chow has one—what if Stephen Harper had a Facebook account?

The Tories are taking a chainsaw to Status of Women Canada, closing three-quarters of the organization's regional offices, including Toronto's. Heritage Minister Bev Oda insisted that the budget cuts and office closings will streamline the department and make it more efficient. Just like a business! Because government should be run like a business!

Windy enough for ya? Those heavy gusts that left you scrambling for your scarves yesterday also knocked out power to some of Toronto's east end, and much of Atlantic Canada and Quebec.

Michael Ignatieff is a popular guy. He has 171 friends in Toronto, 66 at Queen's and 60 at McGill. His favourite music is by Glenn Gould and his favourite movie is The Godfather Part I. He's married, interested in women, and looking for friendship.

But all agreed one thing: "Liberals, we need to get back to power as soon as possible."

In a bizarre and tragic scene yesterday, former Toronto Blue Jay (and current New York Yankee) pitcher Cory Lidle perished after flying his plane into an apartment building in New York.

Yes we know it's awfully presumptous of us to assume that Ignatieff could not just win the Liberal leadership but lead the party back into 24 Sussex Drive.

The province is giving the Toronto District School Board some more time to deliver a balanced budget. A team appointed by the ministry will work with school trustees and hopefully deliver a balanced budget.

Last Friday, when excerpts from Michael Ignatieff's Blood & Belonging were posted, Torontoist thought it to be rather old news. Instead, it cause a minor comment fury from Liberal supporters, and included this harrassing email:

Following J Kelly's assertion that the now-infamous Michael Ignatieff book, Blood & Belonging, was a hard to find, Torontoist felt the urge to prove Mr. Nestruck wrong. So we walked into the first public library we came across, did a little dance with the Dewey Decimal system, and came out with the book. Hard to find? Hardly.

Barring any last minute grovelling from Paul Martin we'll be waking up to an election campaign tommorow. Like last time the GTA is going to be a major battleground and the Liberals and the NDP are already bringing out their heavy hitters. Michael Ignatieff will be running in Etobicoke-Lakeshore despite some complaints amongst the riding association about his acclaimation.