to move up and down
Voices from the backbench: Some MP opinions that their political parties don’t want you to know
With some Conservative backbenchers expressing concern that their opinions on abortion and other issues are being muzzled by the Prime Minister, the National Postp‘s Steve Murray looks at some other opinions MPs might have that go against their party lines
‘Just watch me’: Justin Trudeau invokes father’s famous words when asked if he can beat Stephen Harper
Liberal leadership frontrunner Justin Trudeau appears to have little problem embracing his father’s controversial legacy when it comes to taking potshots at Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
On a near-empty Porter Airlines flight from Halifax to Ottawa Tuesday evening, Trudeau was sent a note from a fellow passenger asking: “Can you really beat Harper?”
“Just watch me,” Trudeau wrote back, invoking Pierre Trudeau’s famous phrase during the 1970 October Crisis. (Screenshot/CP/Twitter)
Fighting raccoon crime and blaming the Liberals!: A look at some (possible) future Conservative government ad campaigns
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Harper outlined his government’s focus in his speech to the Conservative caucus. But how will he achieve his goals? Steve Murray imagines possible campaigns for the future of our great country (Canada).
Sleepover on the Hill: Your guide to Elizabeth May’s omnibus bill slumber party
With all the Bill C-38 amendments, the House’s voting sessions will be going late — like ‘slumber party’ late. So why not make it an actual slumber party?
Cracking down on the bums, addicts and unemployed Starbucks frequenters
The National Post’s Steve Murray imagines a rough draft of the Conservatives’ employment insurance reform proposal.
No one said there would be blood: Steve Murray at the Justin Trudeau boxing match
As the shocking upset went down, the Post’s Steve Murray was in the audience, taking in his first-ever boxing match and producing a record of the proceedings so scrupulous you can almost taste the sweat and blood.
Related:
Brazeau wants rematch after being TKO’d by Trudeau in charity boxing bout
Photo gallery: Underdog Trudeau comes out victorious against Brazeau
Justin Trudeau scores major upset in Fight for the Cure boxing match over Conservative Senator Patrick Brazeau
In a stunning upset, Liberal MP Justin Trudeau brawled his way to a second-round TKO victory over Conservative Senator Patrick Brazeau. The referee stopped the fight in the third and final round.
Following his victory, Trudeau was hoisted on the shoulders of his supporters. The slender eldest son of Pierre Trudeau, who was expected to box his way to a points-only finish, instead pounded his foe into submission with a series of unschooled but powerful haymakers. In the final round, his attack became unrelenting and Brazeau was clearly exhausted. (Photos: Chris Wattie/Reuters)
Political heavyweights Justin Trudeau and Patrick Brazeau throw verbal jabs at charity weigh-in
The weeks of trash-talking and training will come to an end when Liberal MP Justin Trudeau and Conservative Senator Patrick Brazeau meet in the ring this Saturday.
The two politicians-turned-pugilists are taking part in a charity boxing match — Fight for the Cure 2012, an annual fundraising initiative for the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation — and will fight their way through three two-minute rounds.
“I’ve never hid the fact that I wouldn’t mind to put the hurt on Justin — it’s a boxing match, it’s not aerobics class,” Brazeau said at the weigh-in. (Photos: Chris Wattie/Reuters)
Bob hunting season already?
With the Conservatives now attacking Bob Rae through commercials, Steve Murray imagines what the idea stage delivered.
Rivals Justin Trudeau and Senator Patrick Brazeau facing off in charity boxing bout
Liberal MP Justin Trudeau and Conservative Senator Patrick Brazeau have sparred on Twitter, but on March 31, the two will fight for real in the ring.
The boxing match is part of Fight for the Cure, an annual gala featuring matches between “white-collar” Ottawans such as CTV anchor Terry Marcotte and lobbyist Walter Robinson, who fought last year. All proceeds go toward increasing “survivorship” among cancer patients in the Ottawa region.
Mr. Trudeau received training as a boxer in his youth, although he has never employed his skills in the ring. “He really wanted to see if he could compete properly,” said Rob Imbeault, one of the event organizers.
Bob Rae vs. Stephen Harper: Sing us a song, piano men
About this time last year, Stephen Harper won praise for singing some classic rock standards at a Tory Christmas party. He also played the piano. In response, Bob Rae mused on his Twitter account about a piano showdown with the PM. It never came to pass, possibly because Mr. Harper would never consort with the enemy in such a manner. But now the Liberal leader has posted his own piano performances on YouTube, which allows the Post’s Scott Stinson to compare and contrast.
Keith Beardsley: Tories choose to defend the indefensible in Cotler rulingSpeaker Andrew Scheer delivered his ruling Tuesday on the Conservative Party’s attempts to undermine Irwin Cotler in his riding of Mont Royal. The ruling referred to the organized telephone program conducted on behalf of the Conservatives, which left the impression Cotler might be leaving politics in the near future (opening the seat for a possible Tory win). This ruling certainly highlights the fine line between right and wrong in modern Canadian politics.
Common sense tells Canadians that what the Conservatives did was wrong. Common sense says that they had an opportunity to admit the wrong and move on, but they blew that opportunity.
No one except perhaps Tory House leader Peter Van loan believes the Conservative defensive talk point that this is about free speech.
Steve Murray: Walking a mile in a constituents shoes
An NDP member of the B.C. legislature, Jagrup Brar, will be living off of $610, the province’s current welfare rate, for the month of January in order to raise awareness of poverty. Steve Murray has suggestions for other politicians who wish to “walk a mile (1.60934 km) in someone else’s shoes.”
Harper set to become the ninth-longest-serving Canadian prime minister next week
Rising rapidly among his fellow members of Canada’s ultimate political pantheon, Stephen Harper is just days away from surpassing another of his 21 predecessors — this time John Diefenbaker — to become the ninth longest-serving prime minister in the country’s history.
Already in 2011, a year marked by Harper’s first electoral majority on May 2, the Toronto-born Calgarian who led the reunited Conservative Party of Canada to power in 2006 has topped the time in office of: Nobel Prize-winning Liberal prime minister Lester B. Pearson (1963-68); the country’s first Liberal prime minister, Alexander Mackenzie (1873-78); and Depression-era Conservative prime minister R.B. Bennett (1930-35).
Next Thursday, on Dec. 8, the 52-year-old Harper will complete his 2,132nd day as prime minister — five years, 10 months and two days since he was first sworn in as Canada’s head of government on Feb. 6, 2006.
