GUELPH POLITICAST #494 – Electoral Reform? It Could Still Happen (feat. Kevin Bowman)

It was about 10 years ago this time that Justin Trudeau strode up to Rideau Hall and made history being sworn in as Canada’s 23rd prime minister. There was a lot of hope about what the future of Trudeau’s premiership held, but perhaps no other constituency were hit harder by the political realities of the Trudeau-mania hangover than electoral reform activists. Can changing our voting system still possibly get a fair hearing? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #494 – Electoral Reform? It Could Still Happen (feat. Kevin Bowman)”

GUELPH POLITICAST #469 – Whatever Happened to “Sunny Ways”? (feat. Mustafa Zuberi)

The recent federal election was the formal turning of the page from the premiership of Justin Trudeau to the one led by Mark Carney. For long-time political observers, the difference between the two men in both style and substance is stark, but there’s no doubt that the change in leadership in March is at least half the reason the Liberals got a near majority last week. And yet, the question remains: What happened to Trudeau-mania? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #469 – Whatever Happened to “Sunny Ways”? (feat. Mustafa Zuberi)”

GUELPH POLITICAST #468 – The Slow March to 169 (feat. The CFRU News Team)

By the time you’re listening to this you know how it all turned out: Carney’s the PM, a plurality of voters went Conservative though not enough in Carleton to send the leader back to the House. The NDP are decimated, the Greens are down to one seat again, and the Bloc have called a truce in the name of “national unity”(?). What an election! Let’s live through it all again!! Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #468 – The Slow March to 169 (feat. The CFRU News Team)”

GUELPH POLITICAST #467 – The Two Guelphs Election (feat. Scotty Hertz)

If you listen to this show promptly on Wednesday then it’s just five more sleeps till Election Day! About a quarter of us have been so excited that we just couldn’t wait to vote; 7.3 million Canadians made voting part of their Easter weekend festivities, a new record. What’s been driving all this excitement? What about the party platforms? The manoeuvres of the national party leaders? And what the hell happened at those post-debate scrums? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #467 – The Two Guelphs Election (feat. Scotty Hertz)”

RECAP: Tech Issues and Chaos at Packed Social Justice Candidates Meet

In front of a packed house at the Italian Canadian Club on Tuesday night, six of the eight candidates running to be the next Member of Parliament for the riding of (most of) Guelph met to have a not-debate. Although there was a lot of shouting and interruption, the Guelph-Wellington Coalition for Social Justice aimed to have a frank exchange of ideas, and they mostly accomplished it. Here’s the recap! Continue reading “RECAP: Tech Issues and Chaos at Packed Social Justice Candidates Meet”

RECAP: 5 Guelph Candidates Answer Student Questions at St. James

Kids say the darnedest things, and in this case they asked the darnedest questions. The five major party candidates running in the riding of Guelph heard the school bell Thursday morning at St. James Secondary School in the east end to answer questions posed by the students there and to refine their arguments about why they’re worthy to be Guelph’s next Member of Parliament. For everyone else, there’s this video and recap! Continue reading “RECAP: 5 Guelph Candidates Answer Student Questions at St. James”

GUELPH POLITICAST #465 – How Do You Fill a Council Vacancy?

These are busy days at Politico HQ. There’s a federal election on right now, and Guelph has become so big that it’s spread over two ridings with so far a dozen candidates vying to be the next Members of Parliament. If one candidate in particular is successful then that means there will be a vacancy on Guelph city council. What happens then? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #465 – How Do You Fill a Council Vacancy?”

GUELPH POLITICAST #464 – Guelph Politi-Chat (feat. Morgan Dandie)

These are some heady political times. We’ve already made it through one election this year, and we’re now in the midst of another. As we’re going to air, the consumer carbon tax is gone, the major parties are duelling to see who can be the most moderate, and it appears that things like environmental stewardship and compassion are just not affordable. Maybe it’s time to re-calibrate. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #464 – Guelph Politi-Chat (feat. Morgan Dandie)”