Roundup: A bit of NDP Kremlinology

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On New Year’s Day, the leader of the provincial NDP in New Brunswick resigned and quit the party altogether, citing party infighting, and more curiously, took a few swipes at the federal party along the way.

Why is this interesting? Because the federal NDP are in the midst of a leadership race that will double as some soul-searching about the party’s direction. This while the leftist parties in the States saw the “success” of Bernie Sanders (and I use the term loosely but his followers are totally serious about it), and the selection and re-election of Jeremy Corbyn in the UK, where there is a definite shift in tone that follwos these leaders. And with that in mind, we saw a series of tweets from former federal NDP (and prior to that, UK Labour) staffer Lauren Dobson-Hughes which helps to put the New Brunswick and general NPD dynamic into context.

https://twitter.com/ldobsonhughes/status/815620894991196160

https://twitter.com/ldobsonhughes/status/815621424786341893

https://twitter.com/ldobsonhughes/status/815622197062619136

https://twitter.com/ldobsonhughes/status/815622765520781312

https://twitter.com/ldobsonhughes/status/815623274608599040

https://twitter.com/ldobsonhughes/status/815623837442310145

https://twitter.com/ldobsonhughes/status/815624631038214144

https://twitter.com/ldobsonhughes/status/815625236204883968

https://twitter.com/ldobsonhughes/status/815626448618799104

https://twitter.com/ldobsonhughes/status/815627188871561216

What Dobson-Hughes says here I think will have a lot of impact on the NDP leadership contest, and I think explains a little as to why the party wasn’t willing to give Thomas Mulcair another chance in his leadership review post-election. It’s also what the (eventual) leadership hopefuls will be navigating, so I don’t think this is the last of the internal power-struggles in the party that we’ve heard of. And while Cardy’s critics continue to grouse about him in the media, there are tensions at play that we should be cognisant of, and that will matter as the party goes forward.

Good reads:

  • Justin Trudeau and our ambassador in Washington released a video to welcome the new Congress, possibly as a pre-emptive measure against rising protectionsism.
  • The incoming new American trade representative could mean a lot more litigation on our trade files like softwood lumber.
  • Brad Wall continues to throw a tantrum about a federal price on carbon.
  • The provinces and territories that haven’t signed healthcare deals are demanding a meeting as though they have any leverage for negotiation.
  • Senator Peter Harder is all over the map with his vision of how an “independent” Senate is supposed to work.
  • Purging the Criminal Code of “zombie laws” that the courts have struck down is easier said than done.
  • Here’s a look at why it’s difficult to find the “magic number” for an effective level of carbon tax.
  • Andrew Scheer has been calling out Kevin O’Leary to formally enter the Conservative leadership before the Quebec City French debate.
  • Kellie Leitch’s campaign manager has been spreading lies about foreign aid spending online, but don’t worry, it’s just “having fun with the lefties.”
  • Susan Delacourt wonders about privacy laws and party databases.
  • My Loonie Politics column last week looked at the Trump-lite messages that Kevin O’Leary had been importing.

Odds and ends:

Here’s another look at some of the buildings in the parliamentary precinct that have been refurbished, are in the process of, or will soon be undergoing renovation.

https://twitter.com/JaneLytv/status/816395620462325762