WATCH: Our political panel unpack the politics of James Moore’s departure from federal politics and the performance of all three party leaders as they head in to the summer.
The week went out with a bang; not only did the House of Commons rise for the last time before Canadians head to the polls, but Industry Minister James Moore announced he is not going to be running for re-election.
Moore is just the most recent in a string of cabinet ministers bowing out of the Conservative party and public office.
Before him, there was Jim Flaherty, John Baird, Shelly Glover and Peter MacKay, not to mention the handful of MPs who’ve said they intend to resign.
READ MORE: James Moore, Conservative cabinet minister, leaving politics
Helping The West Block with Tom Clark unpack the politics of it all this week is Joan Bryden, senior Ottawa correspondent for The Canadian Press and Mark Kennedy, the parliamentary bureau chief for the Ottawa Citizen.
Moore’s unexpected announcement is very damaging for the prime minister and the party, Kennedy added.
READ MORE: Peter MacKay leaving federal politics
“He in many eyes was seen as the future of the party; a young, talented, bilingual minister form the West Coast who is deemed to be on the centre-left of the party,” Kennedy said. “He could have been the next leader.”
Clark, Bryden and Kennedy also looked at the missteps NDP leader Tom Mulcair took over the week – from when, on this show, he seemed to not completely understand the amending formula for the Constitution as it pertains to the Senate, to flubbing the corporate tax rate and his own policy on child-care during a speech last week.
How big are the mistakes?
“It’s huge,” Kennedy said. “As we get into this campaign, Canadians are basically looking at who is the best alternative to Stephen Harper. It’s a battle about who is the agent of change.”
The NDP is flying high in the polls, but Canadians will ultimately have to decide whether to entrust their tax dollars to the party, he said.
READ MORE: Justin Trudeau blames low polling on timing, cynicism
“If Canadians are of the view that this man is nothing but a lot of hot air, making promises that don’t mean anything … If he makes mistakes like these on a repeated basis, it’s major, major, major bad news for him.”
Particularly troubling is the fact the economic errors were made in front of the Economic Club of Canada, Bryden said, noting that being prudent guardians of the public purse is often seen as the the NDP’s Achilles heel.
“So when you go out and one of your central promises, you’re unclear as to what the time frame is over which you’re going to spend all that money to get national day care and you start getting wrong the corporate tax … that’s problematic in terms of how you would manage the country’s treasury.”
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