The Patrick Brown debacle continues in the news with Brown fighting back to clear his name – which he is certainly entitled to do.
The question for the Ontario PC Party now is how to address all this controversy and still carry on in an attempt to find a new leader and get rid of the Wynne Liberals. If Patrick Brown is found to be the victim of shoddy journalism on the part of CTV and/or a nefarious political plot, then what does the party do going forward?
The one thing I ask is to please continue using discretion in the comment section regarding anything that could be taken as a libelous comment or accusation. If you want to use reporters’ names I think that is fine as long as the commentary is factual. I know we were wrestling with the question about using a certain CTV reporter’s name but I feel now that is ok as long as we are careful to stick to the facts. Or perhaps we could use initials (eg. G.M.) Thanks very much for your understanding.
Who knew Ontario politics could be so intriguing?
Update:
Patrick Brown says ‘I am suing CTV’ over report details sexual misconduct allegations – Global News. Never a dull moment in Ontario these days!
And Friday Feb. 16 was absolutely Cray-cray!!
The following is an excellent interview from The Roy Green Show with Roy talking to Alex Pierson on Sunday, February 17. Please give it a listen and then tell me if it changes your opinion at all about Patrick Brown. Thanks. [Access Roy Green Show here and click on archived interview with Alex near the middle of the page – 12:32 minutes on Feb. 17.]
And then there’s this: Brown accuser won award from CTV – Anthony Furey, Toronto Sun.
Forum Poll looks very promising in spite of everything!! Half of Ontarians would vote for PCs in next election: poll – Toronto Star
Blue Like You2 
yes I think Patrick Brown got a raw deal and everyone seems to have jumped ship immediately over to Mulroney, which also seemed strange. I will be voting for Doug Ford and hoping that Patrick Brown will be Deputy Leader. Men still have a chance in this world, I hope.
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I’m hoping for Christine Elliot, especially if that means she will run in Cambridge. It would be nice to have the premier represent locally. I’m also glad the bizarre possibility of some dentist from Calgary with no ties to Ontario let alone the riding was going to be a candidate.
As for Patrick Brown, we may never know the entire truth, but at this point we know one of his accusers is an admitted liar.
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Anybody else seeing the irony of Steve Paikin moderating a debate that would be happening except for the fact that we’re supposed to believe any and all accusations no matter what? (This is not meant to infer any comment either way about his situation)
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Gah – would not be happening.
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Heh. No worries Greg. I think we know what you were trying to say.
Yes the situation is rather ironic for sure! Speaking of Paikin, looks like the first debate will be on TVO this afternoon, with rebroadcasts later on in the evening.
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The reporter responsible for the original story on Patrick Brown is the very same reporter who wrote for Frank magazine when Caroline Mulroney was just 17 years old. Some of us may remember the “infamous Deflower Caroline Mulroney Contest”. Here’s an update from June 2017: http://frankmagazine.ca/node/5718 Hmmm! I read about this on the feed of @Polkameister.
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Yes that is an interesting background to this whole story. Gabby and I discussed it a bit in a previous thread. I read somewhere that the reporter in question can’t remember anything about that old story now. (Wish I had a “Face with raised-eyebrow” emoji to insert here.)
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I think in the case of Patrick Brown, the best thing for him to do would be to resign as MPP and if he feels wronged, then launch a lawsuit against the two girls who accused him. I understand his frustration if innocent (I don’t want to judge who is right and who is not here), but the truth will eventually get it out. In the mean time the number one priority is getting rid of Wynne and her incompetent government and I feel him sticking around doesn’t help this.
As for leadership, there have been a number of polls and while things can change based on how one campaigns, they do show some interesting trends. Christine Elliott does the best, Mulroney in the middle, while Ford the worst. I think if we choose Elliott, a PC majority is an almost near certainty unless she does something really stupid. If we chose Mulroney, we should win although possibly only a minority if she makes a major mistake while majority if she runs a strong campaign. Doug Ford is a huge gamble and I feel the only way we can get a majority with him is if we have strong vote splits and a low turnout. I fear he would just encourage more strategic voting, would push away some swing voters we need, and more importantly if he only got a minority, I think the NDP and Liberals ganging up to keep him out as far more likely than with the other two.
Angus Reid: Christine Elliott has a net positive approval, Mulroney even, while Ford -30 net approval and for the first two more open to voting PC than under Ford although under all three still enough open to voting they could win.
Campaign Research: Christine Elliott at 46% which is a landslide majority and also enough of a cushion she can lose a few points (with how strong a campaigner Wynne is I think its reasonable to think things could tighten up) and still win a majority. Mulroney at 41% so PC majority but weaker splits and a drop of a few points could mean only a PC minority. Ford at 39% so also a PC majority but that is due to strong splits, vote splits disappear and then only a minority. In terms of net approval ratings, Elliott is +20, Mulroney +7, while Ford is -7.
Innovative Research: Christine Elliott has a net approval rating of +20, Mulroney is +9, while Ford is -20.
Leger Marketing: Christine Elliott gets 40% so majority territory, Mulroney 36% which is only a minority assuming strong vote splits, while Ford at 32% which is a loss.
Mainstreet Research: Doesn’t test Christine Elliott, but for Mulroney it is 39% and that includes the undecided so as long as she picks up a few undecided voters she has a majority. Outside the 416 she has a 2 to 1 lead over her opponents. For Ford, he is at 36% and well out in front, but with how polarizing he is, the question is can he pick up enough undecided voters to cross the 40% line? Not so sure and also far fewer undecided voters amongst him.
So in sum, my view is if we choose Elliott, we will likely win a majority. Choose Mulroney and win is likely but could be a minority or majority. Choose Ford and winning a majority becomes an uphill battle, likely a PC minority, and risk of an outright loss. Now some will say we are going to win anyways so lets choose whom we like most, but my response is we need to not just win the next election, but also in 2022 as well and I fear with Ford he could be a one term wonder which we don’t need; we need at least two terms in office to clean up the Liberal mess.
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Ford would definitely be a mistake. If he won, the US media would likely pick up the story. The last thing we need is a bunch of reminders of his brothers issues. The embarrassment factor might drive away indies. Our media might feel some restraint but the US media not so much.
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#BREAKING: Patrick #Brown claims he didn’t resign and is still PC Party Leader:
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According to Part 1 of a Global TV interview Patrick Brown intends to sue CTV. This promises to be very interesting.
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Oh no, this is not good. Yes I believe he has the right to clear his name, but fair or not he is damaged in the court of public opinion and our most important task is to get rid of Wynne on June 7th. He should put the party and province first and realize its in the best interest of both that he not be leader. Sometimes life is not fair but I believe him trying to fight to remain leader will just damage the party more so someone should tell him to cool it. I see he is angry and understandable, but I don’t think his reactions will go over well with the public so he should fight those outside of the public eye.
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Just checked his twitter account, he claims the statement that he is still leader was never authorized by him. Certainly this whole thing seems fishy. In the long run hopefully the truth will get out but for now our no. 1 priority should be about send Wynne and her incompetent government packing.
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Whew! Patrick Brown’s tweet is here for anyone that missed it: https://twitter.com/brownbarrie/status/964230943325159424
Yes, number 1 priority is to save Ontario from those incompetent, scandal-ridden Liberals.
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The debate is on right now at TVO.
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Watching it too.
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The new girl is feisty!
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She is, becomes across as too aggressive. Besides she is way too socially conservative to win here. I don’t expect her to get a lot of votes although I suspect much of her votes will go to Doug Ford on the second ballot.
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Yes she’s too aggressive and she talks too fast.
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OK I definitely don’t like Tanya Granic Allen (as a leadership candidate). She’s not a team player.
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I couldn’t support her as I find her views too extreme. It’s the Liberal-PC swing voters we need to win over and she only appeals to the hardcore social conservatives who will vote for us anyway. Doubt she will win, but if did, would be a disaster for us.
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No way would she win except by mistake. I support some of her views (in a personal sense) but I don’t think they’re viable in this upcoming election.
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This whole drama is the last thing we need in Ontario when we have never had a government that needed to be booted out. The timing alone makes it difficult accept this wasn’t political dirt. How do we know it wasn’t some sort of collusion? If the PC party was involved they are a very stupid lot.
Anyway, this is where are and it’s not easy making a choice. I have been wavering.
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Once again, readers, I caution you to take my comment with a grain of salt because I’m not fully informed about the Ontario situation …
° I too believe the Patrick Brown controversy looks fishy, especially now that those rumours about Brown wanting to reclaim his leadership have been aired. Whether it was a hit job from inside or outside the party, it still stinks. It is difficult to believe anyone these days!
° It was wrong of Vic Fedeli to announce to the political world that he was going to get rid of “the rot” in his party. I’m sure saying the party was not in good health didn’t impress prospective voters.
° Maybe political parties should stop the practice of enlisting new members to ensure their win in leadership races. IMO, only those who have been members for a certain period of time (3+ years ?) should be allowed to vote. That might prevent infiltrators from taking over the party for their own covert agenda.
° I saw only a snippet of the candidates’ debate … but IMO Christine Elliott would be the best choice.
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Heard this morning on the radio that Mike Harris Jr is thinking of going for the Waterloo riding nomination. I’ve stated that I don’t want to see dynasties, but this would be an exception. I sure miss his fathers leadership.
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Shots fired in the media – Andrew Lawton at Global has an article up very critical of CTV’s handling of the Patrick Brown story. He basically says that Glen McGregor and Rachel Aiello are guilty of journalistic malpractice
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Greg, your comment was stuck in the filter because of the reference to “GM” but I think we can let it stand since it was regarding a news article.
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Looks like Patrick Brown is now joining the race. Doubt he has much chance but definitely will make things a lot more interesting. I do though worry with this chaos we may be handing another election to the Liberals, I sure hope not. Whatever happens, the mess needs to be fixed fast as we only have 111 days left until voting day.
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Oh this is ending up to be such a mess.
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CP24 is saying that Patrick Brown is officially running for leader. I want my membership money back.
I feel sorry for Patrick but this is really not good for the party.
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Agreed. I actually think both him and Tanya Granic Allen should pull out and even Doug Ford. They are just doing more to harm the party than help it. This is tough times and we don’t have long until the election. Lots of bad things to say about the Liberals but one thing they are good at is sticking together even during tough times, whereas it seems the PCs tear each other apart when things start to turn the slightest bit negative.
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The sad thing now is that Patrick Brown is making it all about himself – not the party and not Ontario. I feel sick.
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Wow, what a mess! While I support Patrick Brown’s efforts to clear his name — if he is truly innocent of the accusations levelled at him — AND if he was somehow railroaded into resigning. BUT then why say in a statement that rumours about his reclaiming the leadership were not issued by him? AND why state that he was going to devote all his time to clearing his name … and now he decides to run for the leadership!?!
Sorry, it looks like another 4 years of Wynne — or, if you’re lucky, either a Liberal or an NDP minority.
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It’s a mess.
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I don’t think the Liberals will get another majority, Wynne is still very unpopular. At this point unless the PCs straighten out the mess and very fast, I think a minority government of some shape is likely, just a matter of whom. I am more than hoping they choose Christine Elliott as I believe she would give the party a bounce in the polls and could unite it in time. It will be tough but I think with her its doable.
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Patrick can say this isn’t about him but it is. He is raising a little hell as payback, problem is we are all going to pay with another four years of a corrupt Liberal government.
Wynne must be stocking up on the Champs and caviar.
Could anyone write s political soap opera to come close to this insanity?
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Exactly what I was thinking. I was so hopeful. And now this.
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I still wouldn’t give up hope yet, but agree time is ticking. I also think even if the Liberals get back in, it won’t be four years as they likely won’t win a majority meaning it will be much shorter. Still lets not give up on the idea of a PC majority yet. Things may not look great now, but we still can win this thing if we play our cards right.
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IMO this is evidence there was turmoil in the party to begin with. We have no idea how these accusations just happened to come out at the worst possible time for the PC’s.
Whatever, they do not look like a party ready to govern, it’s unprecedented, unbelievably stupid and I’m beginning to feel they deserve it. Brown could have won the election, carbon tax or not. We will now be paying much more than a carbon tax, we’ll be lucky to keep a roof over our heads.
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I agree completely, this was an inside job and everyone went to Mulroney just too quickly.
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How can he enter the leadership race when he is no longer a member of the party? Things are not adding up. Now I can understand why Fedeli kicked him out of caucus. Word of Brown’s intention must have reached him thus the preemptive strike.
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I think what is happening here with Brown is what often happens when something dramatic happens in our life. If you look at his interviews, he clearly seems very distraught and is not thinking straight. This would be a disaster in a general election, so my advice to Brown would be to resign as MPP, take a two month vacation somewhere outside Ontario just to clear his head and re-assess things and then come back and if the accusations are false (I have no opinion who is telling the truth or not), then fight them in the court of law. But keep the party out of this. Put the province and the party first for once instead of yourself.
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I totally agree.
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Apparently he passed a lie detector test on the accusations if that counts for anything!
I’m now thinking the PC’s need someone to lead who can manage the disarray, a good janitor. Ford is the only one who even mentioned doing it. I thought it a foolish thing to say going into an election but it is becoming more obvious, he is right.
If we want a fresh start, someone who hasn’t been in the muddle, it’s Mulroney we need. If we want a blunt talking Conservative who speaks to a lot of people fed up with the way things are going it needs to be Doug Ford.
I don’t like it, neither is it fair to critique Mulroney for being who she is, the daughter of Brian Mulroney or Ford because of his troubled late brother Rob. Each of us is our own person as we go through life.
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Liz, I’m finding Ford quite interesting too, and in a good way. He’s being very respectful of the others, but speaking his truth in a strong, quiet way. I’m not sure at this point who I would vote for but Patrick Brown will definitely not be in my top three.
I felt sorry for Patrick before, but now he’s making it all about himself and seems determined to drag the party down with him.
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Yep, Brown is getting even, it’s a personal thing, the party is the enemy. I’m not too pleased with the party either, they handled the whole thing badly.
It’s a comedy of errors and a political tragedy.
I’m giving Ford the job, we need his style for this one. No squeaky mouses for the job that needs to be done.
There are two fights, within the party itself and the the Wynne Liberal disaster.
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BTW, Brown is laughing, not sure who will have the famous last laugh. Any guesses? We may as well join in the hilarity. Too bad Trudeau’s pot isn’t legal yet!
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Trudeau is being criticized for what he is doing or not doing, name recognition was a big factor in his climb to the top seat. No matter his name, he is not proving to be a good choice. Name doesn’t cut it, he is his own person.
Mulroney has a much better CV, a successful woman in her own right, she is her own person.
Elliott is also well known, she has served, been part of the establishment, that may not necessarily be a good thing good thing given the situation and she has lost elections. I was totally surprised when she put her hat into the fray. Why?
Ford has name recognition as well, a little rougher around the edges for some, especially the so-called elite. He is who he is, his own person
We have choices, we can only hope we make the best choice to handle a complicated, unholy mess. Not even sure I could stomach beer and popcorn for this one…more like Prozac.
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I understand that Brown is free to enter the leadership race even though he has been ejected from caucus. He is therefore not running as a progressive conservative. Someone please correct me if I’m wrong. Supposing he should win what exactly would his status be? This has turned into one huge cesspool. While I may regret the circumstances surrounding his ouster as leader I am not the least bit sorry that he resigned. Doesn’t the party president have some role to play in this kerfuffle? If so, what? Heaven help all of us in Ontario should Wynne take the June election!
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Anne, it’s unprecedented, I don’t know it there are any rules to deal with it.
There is a lesson here about due process of law, we all expect as much in this democracy. Brown is not caring what happens, this is his payback. It’s going to cost him big bucks just to clear his name. It’s a bad scene from the start, I can’t get “fishy” out of mind on the whole series of events. Political insanity at the worst possible time for this province.
Whatever happens, it’s a beat the clock scenario or we are doomed.
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The word ‘vindictive’ comes to mind in assessing Patrick Brown. A commenter at WK’s site describes him as a sociopath. The other leadership candidates have just lost any momentum they may have had in the race because it’ll all be about Brown. I think the only one who can stand up to Brown’s bully tactics is Doug Ford. He’s the only one with the gumption to give as good as he gets. He’ll pull no punches in what is about to become a slugfest.
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I have no idea what is driving Patrick Brown these days. I’m sure that he is frustrated and angry, but I do wish he would look towards the greater good of the party.
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I agree with you Anne. Ford is the best choice for the situation that has to be dealt with.
As for Brown, he’s going the wrong route for sympathy or entering politics in the future.
Brown should have continued to work to clear his name, he has nothing to gain the route he’s going.
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Holy mackerel, Global News is saying the lawyer representing both women in the Brown case is the brother of one Gerald Butts. (Apologizing in advance about the filter)
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Eh, what?!! This is getting to be a real life soap opera!
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It’s looking as bad as the fake Russia collusion conspiracy in the states. There you have Clinton operatives feeding fake garbage about Trump to a British spy who peddles his garbage to a professional smear group. Now we have a relative of a key McGuinty an Trudeau adviser representing what appears to be at least 50% fake accusations against the opponent of McGuinty’s successor, and Trudeau’s preferred Ontario lapdog
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Wow!!!
No worries about the Butts name. It’s not in the filter. Probably should be though. 😉
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For more than one reason. Maybe I could use Gerry A$$ instead.
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That would work. Ha-ha!!
You wouldn’t happen to have a link to that info, would you Greg?
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Sorry, just a tweet from real doctor Roy so far, I’ll try to confirm
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No problem Greg. Thanks. I will check it out myself. 😉
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You know, if we can get enough real proof, as in a proof is a proof we might turn this thing on it’s head…Butt up.
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Ha-ha! We must keep our sense of humour – above all else.
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I’ve just posted a blog on my thoughts: https://afiscalconservativepointofview.com/2018/02/17/updated-pcpo-endorsements/ so feel free to check it out and leave any comments. At this point I believe only Elliott and Mulroney could win a general election and maybe Ford but even with him taking a big gamble. Brown I cannot support him after the way he has tried to drag the party down. I don’t know whether he is innocent or guilty, but I think he should fight this in the court of law first by suing CTV and the accusers if they are false and only returning to politics once the lawsuit has been settled and that assumes he wins. Doug Ford has way too much baggage that could be used against him and I was very unimpressed with how he behaved on city council. I think choosing him is a huge gamble as I fear even if he won he would be a one term wonder and I want us to win at least two if not three terms.
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Excellent analysis, Miles. That’s not to say that I agree with you on everything but you certainly have laid out all the pros and cons as you see them.
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The PC’s have to learn a lesson from this, you don’t win a battle fighting within your own camp.
They need a shake-up, I don’t know if Elliott would be what they need at this point. Mulroney is a newbie, that may be good or bad in this situation.
I would have no problem with Ford. Leaders need to be team players, listen to their members as opposed to being dictatorial.
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Wynne must be sitting back cackling at all this and rubbing her hands in glee.
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Check out Randy Hillier’s twitter feed where he claims in a statement that he has proof of further financial and ethical improprieties pertaining to Patrick Brown which he will make public at some future date.
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Wow! That is very interesting indeed. Here’s Randy Hillier’s statement on the subject.
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We need to always consider the source of all information coming forward in a mess like this.
Grinding axes will not win the election. They are not showing much in the line of smarts as this kerfuffle/sideshow continues. A few of them would do well to STFU and get the job done, boot out Wynne instead of handing her back the reins.
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There’d be no axes to grind had Brown fully cleared his name and not thrown his hat into the ring. There are enough ethical difficulties re: money and questionable memberships being investigated by the interim leader to sink his ship. Don’t forget his relationship with Rick Dykstra. Where there’s smoke there’s fire and there’s plenty of smoke around Brown. He plans to run on having a carbon tax where the other candidates have repudiated that because they have realized that most Ontarians don’t want another tax. I can support any one of those candidates but I won’t vote for Brown should he regain the leadership. He is playing games with Ontario voters. He deliberately spent the last week giving interviews to all and sundry in an effort to gain sympathy with the sole purpose of entering the leadership race at the last possible moment. Even though there are holes in the accounts of his accusers his name has not been cleared. The last shoe has not been dropped.
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I posted a link to a Forum Poll in an update to this post. Check it out!!
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Wow, yeah wow for sure. In one sense, it’s good it’s all coming out. Hopefully, what will emerge is a better party, a cleaner party. As an outsider looking in, I agree with those that say Brown should not have joined the race. One comment heard on CFRA is that the PC voter intention increased when Brown was out.
At this point, having not heard too much, I continue to favor Ford. This might kill some people but Ford reminds me of Trump in that he represents those voters out there who are absolutely disgusted with the traditional politicians. I think many are looking for candidates that will upset the apple cart. The trouble is the powers to be will not like it and the media plays a major role, in my opinion.
I still believe that the major threat to our democracy is a media that fails to be objective. Look at what happened to Harper, Rob Ford, and now to even Trump. Then look at what happened to Obama, and now with Trudeau. And Wynne? How is it possible that the Ontario liberals continue to rule year after year despite their poor record? What ever happened to the idea that a government is eventually thrown out? What’s with Ontario voters?
What ever happened to “Ontario, yours to discover.” That’s the Ontario that should be a reality today. Gee, I wanted to move here.
Further, having read the comments above, I recall years ago when Howard Galganov attempted to run for the Ontario PC party. He was denied the opportunity. The problem there was the constraints put on who would be permitted to run in this or that riding, etc.. So much for democracy.
Well, just giving my two cents worth. Why? Because Ontario is a beautiful province with so much to offer. We’ve done a lot of camping there, etc.. It’s an awful shame what has become of her.
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I’m up late after watching Virtue and Moir win gold and checked National Newswatch before turning off my computer. This is what I found: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/former-ontario-tory-leader-patrick-brown-discussed-375000-deal-with-future-pc-candidate/article38026035/ Could this be another shoe dropping?
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Interesting! The way I interpret that it sounds as if the deal never actually went through but it sure has the whiff of a scandal. Something fishy there.
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Here’s his rebuttal: https://twitter.com/brownbarrie/status/965806127253422080
Whether he’s innocent or not, there’s just too much controversy surrounding this guy. He needs to withdraw from the leadership race for the good of the party and for Ontario.
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According to WK’s site the money was deposited into Brown’s account after which the $2.3 million Barrie property was purchased. A commenter noted that mortgage payments would be about $8000 per month on the $1.72 million left owing. That’s a large amount on a salary of $181,000.
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It would be better for all concerned , the party and himself and not least the people of Ontario if he would just go away! If he doesn’t, someone should ask him if he’s secretly working to get Wynne elected, after all she love the carbon tax.
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Or he could just run again as an independent. (But stay out of the leadership run.)
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OT: Guess who else is visiting India today. Yup, Justin’s bestie – the Aga Khan. Coincidence or what! https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/aga-khans-11-day-india-visit-to-begin-from-feb-20/articleshow/62988264.cms
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I’d be betting the Aga Khan will have no time for the traveling Trudeau’s, possibly doesn’t even know he is in the country.
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The big problem now is the distraction his antics are making, he’s the big story, the media keep digging.
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The above comment was a reply to Joanne’s last comment on Brown.
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Ha-ha Liz.. Yes sometimes the way the comments follow can be confusing.
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I wish Randy Hillier would go shut up as well, he’s going to become the media darling….we do not need that.
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They all need to put a sock in it. The press will keep on digging with or without their help and the stories will keep on pouring out. https://www.simcoe.com/news-story/8144325-cfos-for-patrick-brown-linked-pc-riding-associations-resign/
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and the Liberals Scott Reid and Warren Kinsella are trying hard to get anything on Patrick Brown too. He must have been way ahead in their polling or why would they care so much about the PC leader.
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Sorry Ruth. That one was stuck in the filter for some reason, although I do caution to please be careful what is said about WK. 😉
One thing for sure is that Patrick Brown would be such an easy target if he were Leader. In my opinion it would be a disaster.
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I wondered when I put the full name but WK has a lot of public columns and lots of tweets as does SR so I thought his opinions were quite public now……sorry I will do better next time.
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Oh no. No worries. You can certainly mention them by name as long as it isn’t anything libelous.
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BTW I see why your comment ended up in moderation now. Nothing to do with WK. It was simply a small change in your sign-in info but the filter will learn now that I have approved it. 😉
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Mike Crawley
Verified account @CBCQueensPark
BREAKING: Randy Hillier has filed a 5-page complaint (plus 9 pages of attachments) with the Integrity Commissioner against Patrick Brown.
Click to access Complaint_Feb_20th_2018.pdf
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Hillier is adding to the pile on. He must feel pretty good about himself keeping the ball rolling when there’s such little time to get the party election ready to do the real job, ousting the Wynne government. What does he plan to accomplish at this time?
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Get the leadership over and then hope they get behind their leader and start acting like they’re fit to govern. The leader doesn’t need distractions within, they need to stop acting like they need grade school discipline.
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On another front. it appears our bumbling PM is making an A$$ of himself on his trek to India with family in tow. He’s really sounding like he didn’t do his homework but hey, he did pack some colourful socks.
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I can’t believe all the costumes Trudeau and family have along for the trip!
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They are not exactly clothes they would have in their closets, must have had a shop before the trip!
It’s not about his family but they sure are getting lots of coverage…well maybe that’s going to be the highlight of the trip,adding to the family photo albums, not much else is being accomplished
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Probably for the home voting blocks.
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Joanne, you are right in calling them “costumes”, it’s more fitting, almost like they were play acting with the drama major directing. I almost wonder if the kids are embarrassed.
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I’m seeing a lot of press in India criticizing and mocking the costumes. I wonder whose bright idea all that was?
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I wonder what’s next … will Mrs. Trudeau wear the chador if she ever visits Iran? The burka in Afghanistan?
I’m going to break my own rule about no name-calling … but what a bunch of suck-ups Mr.& Mrs. Trudeau are!
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The whole India visit is a disaster!
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It Trudeau and family are trying to blend in in India it’s not working, they’re looking silly.
Wearing Indian style clothing is not required, it’s a free country, Trudeau and family are therefore faking it, wearing costumes. It’s an insult IMO.
As for who is behind it, I’d say Justin and Sophie. Justin dresses in “costume” for visits to mosques as well, he can’t help but show his dramatic flair.
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Yes Justin and Sophie do both seem to have a need to be out there getting attention in any way they can. They’re show boats.
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Well this Liberal government really has outdone itself this time! Inviting someone to a reception in India who was convicted of an attempted assassination of an Indian cabinet minister is not a particularly good idea. Just sayin’.
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Obviously Trudeau and company did not do their homework. They’ve made fools of themselves across the board on this trip, their main focus seems to be acting like imposters with costuming and the real business, if there is any, is a sideline. Disaster.
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From what I’m seeing on twitter Jaspal Atwal has been a long-standing friend of many in the Liberal party.
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Dean Skoreyko @bcbluecon has written at great length over the years about the individual whose invitation to a Trudeau event was rescinded. That Jaspal Atwal’s past remained hidden from the Liberal party is in no way believable. His association with the BC Liberal party was widely known to anyone who followed Dean’s blog and to any BC Liberal. Justin Trudeau and his government are dangerously incompetent.
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Well said Anne. Dean has done a great job on that file! With regards to this Liberal government, I’m inclined to call it willful blindness.
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Yes, Anne, they are dangerously incompetent, a danger to us all.
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Oh, the government also flew celebrity chef Vikrum Vij to India to cook for diplomats.
This is getting to be a scandal. Talk about living the life of the rich and famous at the expense of the poor suckers who pay taxes in this country.
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Let’s hope Andrew Scheer goes after Trudeau when he returns to the House.
Trudeau is a laughing stock around the globe on this one.
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I think we’re all looking forward to that. There are so many photos and stories out there that illustrate a long association with the Liberal party both federally and provincially (in BC). How any of that escaped notice of LPC officials and security is unfathomable. And yet Trudeau tells us we’ll be kept safe from returning terrorists. Yeah, right. http://nationalpost.com/news/politics/what-we-know-about-jaspal-atwal
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It’s like the Griswalds from National Lampoons vacation!
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Haha! And did you know that Canada just celebrated our 100th birthday? I thought that happened in 1967 but apparently no!
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Yes and that actually made the news, he’s only out by half a century! The Trudeaus may not want to include pics of this family trip in their album!
The kids looked like were not too happy being trotted around in costumes either.
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I note Paul Wells also compared them to the Griswalds….He’s either reading this site or a coincidence!
Trudeau really fuddle duddled this time. The Liberals are going to have a tough time “splainin’ this disaster.
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Transparent government? Hardly! Shocker, I know.
From @davidakin
As we reported on @GlobalNational tonight, RCMP has no responsibility to vet attendees at any event outside the country that the PM attends and did not do so in Mumbai. In fact … 1/2
@davidakin
In fact, RCMP hardly vets anyone attending PMJT events inside the country as PMO rarely provides advance notice to RCMP about who’s going to be at Trudeau events. (See Town Hall tours, etc.) 2/2
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Trudeau continues to have fun on his family laughs and gaffes trip to India. Still wearing a lavish costume he showed good rhythm as he bhanga danced onto the stage at an event. No mention of what socks he wore with each costume, perhaps none!
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This from Maclean’s Paul Wells:
http://www.macleans.ca/politics/ottawa/justin-trudeau-in-the-real-world/
“The costumes were fun on the first day but at some point one starts to worry Trudeau will show up at The Hague wearing wooden shoes, or in Buenos Aires dressed as a gaucho.”
And this from Don Martin:
https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/don-martin-blog/don-martin-if-this-is-trudeau-putting-canada-back-on-the-world-stage-we-should-get-off-1.3815230
“If this is Trudeau putting Canada ‘back’ on the world stage, we should get off.”
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Trudeau may want to find a place to hide when he returns, the media hacks are turning on him. It may pain them to do it but at some point they have to think about their own credibility.
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What I found offensive was the Trudeau choice of attire worn to an Indian mosque. Trudeau wore a suit while Sophie dressed as the typical subservient woman with covered extremities and head. How is that a demonstration of the gender equality he insists he believes in?
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And I think their daughter wore a head covering too if I’m not mistaken.
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The Trudeau family exposition to India could be considered a success if it was about vintage or traditional fashion trade,for all ages of course, they brought their children to model clothing as well.
King Trudeau showed his flair for the dramatic, striking the right poses, even a bit of dancing at one point. Queen Sophie did a good supporting act as well. The children acted like children, looking like reluctant participants.
This trip is fodder for comedy acts, the press is already having fun, some very entertaining reading.
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I’ve never seen a Prime Minister’s trip so widely mocked and derided as this one!
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I wholeheartedly agree with Maxim Bernier when he says no parent should use their children in such blatant displays of self-promotion.
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Things in the PC leadership might be starting to get into the next phase, going after opponents.
Mulroney seems to be calm and collected, a good sign IMO. I agree with her critique of Brown and Elliott.
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Has everyone received their pin number to vote for PC leader, I haven’t received anything yet. I’m wondering what people do that don’t have a computer or a scanner to scan their ID. I think there should be some polling stations for people that need help with this.
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There was an article in yesterday’s National Post entitled “Brown campaign claims its internal polling shows he’s gaining support in the Ontario PC leadership race”. The internal polling was done by Mainstreet Research. This is the same outfit that did the disastrous polling that claimed Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi would be soundly beaten and then had to do an internal investigation to determine how they had gotten it so wrong. The head of Mainstreet is one Quito Maggi who, as late as 2012, was the campaign manager for Liberal candidate Grant Humes in the Durham byelection. Conservative MP Erin O’Toole prevailed in that election. There are two occasions where voters proved Mainstreet polling was completely off the mark. Because of Maggi’s Liberal party affiliation I tend to take Mainstreet Research claims with a grain of salt. See https://www.durhamregion.com/news-story/3509393-liberal-election-campaign-signs-upset-some-legion-members/ and https://www.durhamregion.com/news-story/3509393-liberal-election-campaign-signs-upset-some-legion-members/
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Sorry, the second link should have been to this article https://www.durhamregion.com/news-story/3509821-deja-vu-all-over-again-for-grant-humes-in-durham-byelection/
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Is anyone else still waiting for their registration info to be able to vote for leader?
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still waiting but I did get a message and was told if we didn’t get them today to email or call…….
Matthew Rae
Ontario PC Party, Regional-VP South West
519-503-7874
mrae1890@gmail.com
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Thanks Ruth. My husband called one of the leadership candidate’s campaign and was told that the deadline for registering may be extended. I haven’t heard anything official though.
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