NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair's 2007 negotiations with Conservatives add new wrinkle to election race

    1 of 1 2 of 1

      Trust Maclean's magazine to cast doubt on NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair just as his party looks like it's set to form the next government.

      This week, the Rogers Communications–owned publication reported two versions of Mulcair's negotiations for an advisory role with Stephen Harper's office in 2007.

      The Conservative side of the story is that talks broke down over money (which hasn't been proven with any documents).

      Mulcair claimed that he refused a position because of the Conservatives' demand that he oppose the Kyoto Protocol on climate change.

      Regardless, it can't be encouraging for progressive voters to see that Mulcair was even entertaining working in an advisory capacity for Harper in 2007.

      Whenever Maclean's publishes a story that has the potential to help Harper, I think about Ken Whyte, the magazine's former editor.

      He's now senior vice president of public policy for Rogers Communications. And there are many federal government policies that can have an effect on Rogers. They can include everything from wireless communications to the awarding of broadcast licences to tax breaks for Canadian publishers.

      Whyte has an intriguing history. He was the first editor of the Conrad Black–created National Post, which played a key role in encouraging the former Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservatives to merge into the Conservative Party of Canada.

      This played an instrumental role in Harper becoming prime minister in 2006.

      This week, Whyte's current employer has published a story that might help Harper remain in office by staining the NDP leader's reputation in the eyes of some progressives.

      I'm sure that coincidence isn't lost on the prime minister.

      Comments

      18 Comments

      Liberal Fear Is Real

      Jun 30, 2015 at 11:49am

      This was not even news when it first broke five years ago.

      However, lets play the game of crossed Canadian political lines across the whole spectrum if you want to make this drive by smear a story; so how much money did Elizabeth May earn from the Tories when she worked for them as a senior policy adviser in the 1980's?

      Maybe Justin Trudeau can explain to us how he welcomed Eve Adams and her "Liberal values" eleven days after the Tories blocked her attempt at running?

      How are either of those actions somehow less worse than Mulcair, who was being courted by ALL the federal parties at the time, who declined an offer.

      It takes a lot of partisan stretching (and complete ignorance of the concept of expected values in the decision making process) to think that choosing the NDP in Quebec over the Tories in 2007, and then running in Outremont, a riding the NDP had never been competitive in, was about anything other than values.

      Anyone who has an issue with Mulcair on this can either take May to task as well, or do us all a favour and post under the name "hypocrite"

      FN

      Jun 30, 2015 at 12:36pm

      @Liberal Fear Is Real:
      The Progressive Conservatives who May worked for in the 1980s are a very different party than the extremist Harper Conservatives that Mulcair considered joining.

      who to trust?

      Jun 30, 2015 at 12:46pm

      it seems every publication has their pony in the race, i guess it all depends on what flavour of koolaid you want to drink, and what news "stories" you want to believe. GS is just as guilty for its left-leaning NDP bias sadly.

      Conservative in Vancouver

      Jun 30, 2015 at 1:12pm

      Is this a news article or a NDP election advertisement?

      Wilbur

      Jun 30, 2015 at 8:58pm

      I've no love for Harper but at least I have a job and get to keep some of my earnings....with Mulcair leading the polls Canada may be heading for big trouble....our dollar will drop 10 cents if the NDP gets in and that will mean we'll be on sale to the rest of the world.

      myna lee johnstone

      Jun 30, 2015 at 11:20pm

      these reports are unsocumented..him/hersay stuff

      Anonymous

      Jul 1, 2015 at 12:10am

      Mulcair in the lead? This is scary

      BC-4-ME

      Jul 1, 2015 at 12:19am

      1 - is it a fact - yes
      2 - will this disclosure be forgotten by election time - yes
      3 - would the disclosure be more damaging if revealed 2 weeks before the election - yes
      Conclusion - much ado about

      geeknomad

      Jul 1, 2015 at 1:01am

      Power corrupts all who reach for it, often even when they fall short. Intentions or principles rarely matter in the end.

      To hold that someone who panders to your particular ideology (Liberal, in this case) can be morally immune to this absolute historical principle, is absurdly naive. Adults are not supposed to believe in fairy stories.

      They lie to get elected, so why expect anything different afterward?