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U.S. politics may be in a state at the moment – but Canadians can't afford to be smug about it – CBC.ca

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On any given day, it can be difficult to feel good about Canadian democracy — particularly if the day includes a session of question period, Parliament’s regularly staged (but poorly acted) exchange of shouted platitudes and rote umbrage.

But it could be much worse, as a glance at the United States over the past week would make clear — and not only because Washington has been consumed by President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial.

The American example of late is a useful benchmark these days for measuring the relative efficacy of Canada’s institutions. It also offers a stark warning against complacency.

To start, ask yourself which you prefer: the prime-time partisan spectacle of a State of the Union address or a speech from the throne — where the leader of the government is made to sit quietly in a wooden chair while a statement of the government’s priorities is read flatly by a representative of the country’s distant, but deferential, head of state?

As U.S. President Donald Trump finished his state of the union address on Tuesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ripped up her copy of his speech. Tensions between the White House and the Speaker heightened as Pelosi led the impeachment case against Trump. 0:35

As the Conservative Party of Canada entered the third week of a leadership contest that will take six-and-a-half months to complete, the Democratic Party in the U.S. had only just completed the first round of a presidential primary that has already been running for a year — and may not be decided until late April, after a series of staggered and separate state-level contests.

Notwithstanding the mathematical mess of last week’s caucuses in Iowa, the race could swing in a month with the official entry of Michael Bloomberg, a billionaire who is spending millions of dollars of his own money to finance a late bid for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination.

The weight of wealth in politics

Bloomberg’s candidacy is only remotely viable at this point because of his immense personal wealth — an asset that would not help him much in Canadian federal politics, where leadership candidates can only put $25,000 of their own money toward their campaigns, and where donations are capped at $1,625.

Whoever the Democratic candidate turns out to be, he or she will have to contend with the historical oddity of the Electoral College — an institution that has, twice in the past 20 years, awarded the presidency to someone other than the candidate who actually won the most votes. But even if that Democrat wins the election this time, the new president could struggle to implement an agenda in the face of two separate and elected legislative chambers — along with the structural and procedural obstacles that make it difficult for anyone to do much of anything in U.S. federal politics.

Supreme Court justices wait for the throne speech in the Senate chamber in Ottawa, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2019. Our political institutions may be boring – but at least they work. (Chris Wattie/The Canadian Press)

The Canadian system is very far from perfect. Excessive party discipline still dulls the minds of politicians (and all those who are exposed to the endless repetition of partisan talking points). The access-to-information system remains more of a notion than a functioning tool for transparency. Proponents of proportional representation will never stop pining for the way they do things in many European countries.

Canada has also been lucky. Twenty-one years before Brexit upended the United Kingdom, Canada narrowly avoided a break-up over our own referendum.

A system that works (mostly)

But there are many aspects of government here that seem to work better than what we’re seeing in the other large, multicultural democracy next door.

The boundaries of electoral districts in Canada are drawn by independent, non-partisan commissions. Political donations and spending activity are strictly regulated and elections are overseen by an independent national agency.

The electoral system produces governments that can implement the policies they promised to pursue, and those governments are replaced at regular intervals. The ability of a xenophobic or nationalist party to gain power is significantly limited by the combination of first-past-the-post and a large number of ridings where visible minorities represent a signification share of voters.

An independent and appointed Senate acts as a check on the House of Commons, while still generally deferring to the elected chamber, thus avoiding the sort of gridlock common in the United States. Our unelected head of state’s appointed representative eschews politics, represents the nation, acts as a backstop to settle disputes over who should govern and imposes a measure of humility on the prime minister.

Whatever its flaws, the Canadian system works far more often than it doesn’t.

A vote of confidence

In 2018, 70 per cent of Canadians said they had confidence in the honesty of their elections, compared to just 37 per cent of Americans. Over the last three years, Canadians’ confidence in the national government has been higher than reported public confidence in any other G7 country.

The current state of affairs in the United States is not entirely the result of its institutions. America’s problems go much deeper and include a fractured media environment.

But it’s fair to wonder how much better off the United States might be with a different set of institutions, and whether Canada’s institutions might have something to do with whatever success this country has achieved.

Warning signs

This isn’t a moment for self-congratulation. If anything, what’s happening to American politics right now should serve as a warning of how far a democracy can stray into dysfunction. And it’s not hard to find similar warning signs in Canada.

Just last week, Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet casually questioned the credibility of federal judges when the issue of minority rights briefly became a point of open battle between the federal government and Quebec.

Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-François Blanchet recently questioned the independence of federal judges. (Fred Chartrand/The Canadian Press)

As Michael Valpy and Frank Graves wrote last week, the opinion gap between Liberals and Conservatives on issues like climate change and immigration is growing. While public satisfaction with democracy in Canada remains relatively high, it has dropped significantly in Alberta. And the Teck Frontier project is now being spoken of both as a referendum on the rest of the country’s support for that province and as a test of Canada’s willingness to combat the global threat of climate change.

Canada’s parliamentary system might be better suited to deal with polarization, but no system is foolproof. In ways big and small, the quality of a country’s politics ultimately depends on the goodwill and discretion of its participants, and the faith and vigilance of its voters.

Whatever solace can be taken from Canada’s relative ability to function, the abiding lesson of this moment is to take nothing for granted.

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Here is the latest on the New Brunswick election

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The New Brunswick Liberal Party has won a majority government, and Susan Holt will become the first woman to lead the province.

Here’s the latest from election night. All times are ADT.

10:15 p.m.

The results of the New Brunswick election are in, and with virtually all of the ballots counted, the Liberals won 31 seats out of 49.

The Progressive Conservatives won 16 seats.

The Green Party won two.

Voter turnout was about 66 per cent.

10 p.m.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has congratulated New Brunswick Liberal Leader Susan Holt for her party’s victory in the provincial election.

Trudeau says on the X platform he’s looking forward to working with Holt to build more homes, protect the country’s two official languages, and improve health care.

9:48 p.m.

During her victory speech tonight in Fredericton, New Brunswick premier-designate Susan Holt thanked all the women who came before her.

Holt will become the first woman to lead the province after her party won a majority government in the New Brunswick election.

The Liberals are elected or leading in 31 of 49 ridings.

9:30 p.m.

Blaine Higgs says he will begin a transition to replace him as leader of the Progressive Conservatives.

After being in power for six years, the Tories lost the election to the Liberals.

Higgs, who lost his seat of Quispamsis, says, “My leadership days are over.”

9:17 p.m.

The Canadian Press is projecting that Blaine Higgs, leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick since 2016, has lost in the riding of Quispamsis.

Higgs, 70, has been premier of New Brunswick since 2018, and was first elected to the legislature in 2010.

8:45 p.m.

When asked about the election results, Progressive Conservative chief of staff Paul D’Astous says that over the last 18 months the party has had to contend with a number of caucus members who disagreed with its policy.

D’Astous says the Tories have also had to own what happened over the last six years, since they came to power in 2018, adding that the voters have spoken.

8:39 p.m.

The Canadian Press is projecting that David Coon, leader of the New Brunswick Green Party, has won the riding of Fredericton Lincoln.

Coon, 67, has been leader of the party since 2014, the year he was first elected to the legislature.

8:36 p.m.

The Canadian Press is projecting that the New Brunswick Liberal Party has won a majority government in the provincial election.

Party leader Susan Holt will become the first woman premier in the province’s history.

8:20 p.m.

Early returns show a number of close races across the province, with the Liberals off to an early lead.

Liberal campaign manager Katie Davey says the results will show whether party leader Susan Holt, a relative newcomer, was able to capture the attention and trust of the people of New Brunswick.

Davey says she believes voters have welcomed Holt and her message, which focused on pocketbook issues, especially health care.

8 p.m.

Polls have closed.

Eyes will be on a number of key ridings including Fredericton South-Silverwood, where Liberal Leader Susan Holt is vying for a seat; Saint John Harbour, which has been competitive between the Tories and Liberals in recent elections; and Moncton East, a redrawn Tory-held riding that the Liberals have targeted.

At dissolution, the Conservatives held 25 seats in the 49-seat legislature. The Liberals held 16 seats, the Greens had three, there was one Independent and there were four vacancies.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.

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A look at Susan Holt, Liberal premier-designate of New Brunswick

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FREDERICTON – A look at Susan Holt, premier-designate and leader of the New Brunswick Liberal party.

Born: April 22, 1977.

Early years: Raised in Fredericton, she attended Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont., and then spent a year in Toronto before moving abroad for three years, spending time in Australia and India.

Education: Earned a bachelor of arts in economics and a bachelor of science in chemistry from Queen’s University.

Family: Lives in Fredericton with her husband, Jon Holt, and three young daughters.

Hobbies: Running, visiting the farmers market in Fredericton with her family every Saturday.

Before politics: CEO of the Fredericton Chamber of Commerce, CEO of the New Brunswick Business Council, civil servant, business lobbyist, advocate, consultant and executive with an IT service company that trains and employs Indigenous people.

Politics: Worked as an adviser to former Liberal premier Brian Gallant. Won the leadership of the provincial Liberal party in August 2022 and was elected to the legislature in an April 2023 byelection.

Quote: “We don’t take it lightly that you have put your trust in myself and my team, and you have hope for a brighter future. But that hope I know is short-lived and it will be on us to deliver authentically, on the ground, and openly and transparently.” — Susan Holt, in her speech to supporters in Fredericton after the Liberals won a majority government on Oct. 21, 2024.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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New Brunswick Liberals win majority, Susan Holt first woman to lead province

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FREDERICTON – New Brunswick voters have elected a Liberal majority government, tossing out the incumbent Progressive Conservatives after six years in power and handing the reins to the first woman ever to lead the province.

Liberal Leader Susan Holt is a relative newcomer to the province’s political scene, having won a byelection last year, eight months after she became the first woman to win the leadership of the party.

The Liberals appeared poised to take 31 of 49 seats to the Conservatives’ 16 and the Greens two.

Holt, 47, led the Liberals to victory after a 33-day campaign, thwarting Blaine Higgs’s bid to secure a third term as Tory premier.

The Liberal win marks a strong repudiation of Higgs’s pronounced shift to more socially conservative policies.

Higgs, meanwhile, lost in his riding of Quispamsis. In a speech to supporters in the riding, he confirmed that he would begin a leadership transition process.

As the Liberals secured their majority, Green Party Leader David Coon thanked his supporters and pledged to continue building the party, but he then turned his sights on the premier. “One thing is for sure,” he told a crowd gathered at Dolan’s Pub in Fredericton, “we know that Blaine Higgs is no longer the premier of this province.”

The election race was largely focused on health care and affordability but was notable for the remarkably dissimilar campaign styles of Holt and Higgs. Holt repeatedly promised to bring a balanced approach to governing, pledging a sharp contrast to Higgs’s “one-man show taking New Brunswick to the far right.”

“We need a government that acts as a partner and not as a dictator from one office in Fredericton,” she said in a recent interview with The Canadian Press.

Higgs focused on the high cost of living, promising to lower the provincial harmonized sales tax by two percentage points to 13 per cent — a pledge that will cost the province about $450 million annually.

Holt spent much of the campaign rolling out proposed fixes for a health-care system racked by a doctor shortage, overcrowded emergency rooms and long wait-times. A former business advocate and public servant, she promised to open 30 community health clinics across the province by 2028; remove the provincial sales tax from electricity bills; overhaul mental health services; and impose a three per cent cap on rent increases by 2025.

The 70-year-old Tory leader, a mechanical engineer and former Irving Oil executive, led a low-key campaign, during which he didn’t have any scheduled public events on at least 10 days — and was absent from the second leaders debate on Oct. 9.

Holt missed only two days of campaigning and submitted a 30-page platform with 100 promises, a far heftier document than the Tories’ two-page platform that includes 11 pledges.

When the election was called on Sept. 19, the Conservatives held 25 seats in the 49-seat legislature. The Liberals held 16 seats, the Green Party had three, there was one Independent and four vacancies. At least 25 seats are needed for a majority.

Higgs was hoping to become the first New Brunswick premier to win three consecutive elections since Liberal Frank McKenna won his third straight majority in 1995. But it was clear from the start that Higgs would have to overcome some big obstacles.

On the first day of the campaign, a national survey showed he had the lowest approval rating of any premier in the country. That same morning, Higgs openly mused about how he was perceived by the public, suggesting people had the wrong idea about who he really is.

“I really wish that people could know me outside of politics,” he said, adding that a sunnier disposition might increase his popularity. “I don’t know whether I’ve got to do comedy hour or I’ve got to smile more.”

Still, Higgs had plenty to boast about, including six consecutive balanced budgets, a significant reduction in the province’s debt, income tax cuts and a booming population.

Higgs’s party was elected to govern in 2018, when the Tories formed the province’s first minority government in almost 100 years. In 2020, he called a snap election — marking the first province to go to the polls during the COVID-19 pandemic — and won a slim majority.

Since then, 14 Tory caucus members have stepped down after clashing with the premier, some of them citing what they described as an authoritarian leadership style and a focus on conservative policies that represented a hard shift to the right.

A caucus revolt erupted last year after Higgs announced changes to the gender identity policy in schools. When several Tory lawmakers voted for an external review of the change, Higgs dropped dissenters from cabinet. A bid by some party members to trigger a leadership review went nowhere.

Higgs has also said a Tory government would reject all new applications for supervised drug-consumption sites, renew a legal challenge against the federal carbon pricing scheme and force people into drug treatment if authorities deem they “pose a threat to themselves or others.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.

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