Immigration Minister Jason Kenney and Michael Collins of the Canada-U.K. Chamber of Commerce on the roof of Canada House in London.PMO Handout
Conservatives - Targeting the message in advance of the G8/G20 Talk about spreading the word. Prime Minister Stephen Harper gave two interviews to two key financial media outlets - Reuters and Bloomberg - Monday, talking up the strengths of Canada's economy and banking system in advance of the G8 and G20 summits. And earlier Monday, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney shouted it out from the rooftops of London as part of the PMO's co-ordinated strategy to get out Canada's positive economic story.
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, meanwhile, was in New York, speaking about the report that compares Canada's strong economic record to other industrialized nations.
And while Mr. Flaherty and Mr. Kenney were busy talking up their government's record, Natural Resources Minister Christian Paradis was in China releasing the same report.
"In advance of the G8 and G20, it's important to showcase Canada's global leadership on the economy," said a senior government official. "Other countries are interested in the Canadian example. These co-ordinated, international announcements are a way to demonstrate Canada's global leadership on the economy not just to Canadians, but to non-Canadians as well."
In the Bloomberg interview, released this morning to the parliamentary press gallery, the Prime Minister said the challenge of the G20 is to ensure that there is the same "solidarity of purpose during the recovery that it (the G20) showed during the crisis."
He is hoping that the countries are capable of "acting in a way that is decisive, co-ordinated and balanced …"
Liberals - Peter MacKay: a Ventriloquist's Dummy? Michael Ignatieff's Liberals are accusing Defence Minister Peter MacKay of cowardice in trying to avoid a serious and grown-up debate on what should happen in Afghanistan post-2011.
The Liberal Leader has called for such a debate after recently outlining his vision for Canada's contribution after the combat mission ends in 2011.
Last week, Mr. Ignatieff called for Canada not to abandon Afghanistan and to to help train military and police officers in Kabul. He also called for a serious debate on the issue.
Mr. MacKay, meanwhile, told a Senate committee Monday that there is "great interest" in the Ignatieff proposal but said his hands are tied as the government is committed to the parliamentary resolution calling for the troops to pull out from combat next year.
"His lack of leadership is staggering," a senior Ignatieff official said this morning. "Talk about having nothing to say! Is it because the chief ventriloquist is too busy putting a spin on his disastrous G8/G20 management or is it because the Defence Minister really is a dummy?"
NDP - Send Stephen Harper packing For only $15 a month, Jack Layton and the NDP are asking Canadians to help them send Stephen Harper "packing."
It's the NDP's latest fundraising campaign - revealed earlier this week as a result of an election planning meeting with party strategists.
"You may know that in the last election, Jack Layton's New Democrats placed second in 51 Conservative seats," writes Brad Lavigne, Mr. Layton's campaign director, in his pitch to supporters for cash.
The Conservatives have 144 seats compared to 36 for the NDP.
Although the New Democrats say they don't want an election soon, they are certainly that possibility.
(This, as the Prime Minister said in an Monday with Reuters that he wasn't looking for a fall election; he wants to concentrate on the economy.)
"Here at New Democrat Election Headquarters, we're gearing up to send Harper packing - whenever the next election may come," writes Mr. Lavigne. "And I want to share with you my plan to defeat Conservatives in 14 key regions of the country."
Mr. Lavigne says he would normally keep this strategy "pretty close to the chest" (but he wants your money so he's going to share.)
Potential donors can then click on a link to an interactive map that shows how close the NDP is to winning a seat or seats in various provinces.
And he notes, too, that Canadians don't have to spend just $15 a month - they can spend "whatever more" they can afford.
(Photo: Immigration Minister Jason Kenney and Michael Collins of the U.K. Chamber of Commerce on the roof of Canada House in London on Monday, June 21)