Alex Marland has a new book coming out in October, No I In Team: Party Loyalty in Canadian Politics, published by the University of Toronto Press. Written by Marland, Jared J. Wesley, and Mireille Lalancette, it’s been in the work for years, Marland said on social media last week. “It’s packed with new research and insights from across the country. We strive to answer a perplexing question: why are Canadian politicians so loyal to their parties?”
The University of Toronto Press describes the book as “meticulously researched,” and that it “provides the first in-depth examination of the forces shaping party loyalty in Canadian politics, revealing how Members of Parliament and provincial legislators are conditioned to prioritize partisan interests over constituents and independent judgment. The authors show how institutional rules, political pressure, social dynamics, and digital technologies reinforce a system demanding unwavering loyalty. Drawing on extensive interviews with politicians and senior staff, plus analyses of thousands of news stories spanning four decades, this book traces how party discipline evolved into message discipline, where control over speech is as strict as control over votes.”
Marland, who teaches political science at Acadia University, is also the Jarislowsky Chair in Trust and Political Leadership, and author of Canadian Politics and Democracy in the Age of Message Control (UBC Press 2016); and Whipped: Party Discipline in Canada (UBC Press 2020). Marland is a newshound, a pundit, and focuses his research on the “intricate dynamics of Canadian politics.” This upcoming book looks like another good one.
Doug Roche named 2025 winner of Canadian Leadership for Nuclear Disarmament award
Doug Roche was named this year’s winner of the Canadian Leadership for Nuclear Disarmament (CLND) Distinguished Achievement Award on July 17, and will be honoured this fall in Ottawa.
“We are immensely proud to give this year’s award to Douglas Roche, honouring his unwavering and inspiring leadership, for more than 50 years, resolutely focused on ridding the world of its catastrophically deadly arsenal of nuclear weapons,” said Alex Neve, CLND chairperson, in a press release. “There is no one who has been so steadfast, brought so many others to this vital campaign, and shown all Canadians the moral clarity and pragmatic necessity of the cause. Douglas Roche embodies the very epitome of the essence and finest qualities of leadership. And he has ardently and eloquently shown us all just what is at stake: our very survival.”
Roche—a former MP, ambassador for disarmament, and senator—is also a visiting professor at the University of Alberta, and has played a key role in the creation of effective nuclear disarmament advocacy groups, through the Parliamentarians for Global Action, the Middle Powers Initiative, and the Canadian Network to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. He is the author of 25 books, articles, and speeches, and is a contributor to The Hill Times. He also has nine honorary doctorates, and is an officer of the Order of Canada.
Roche, 96, will receive his award at the University of Ottawa on Oct. 23, after delivering his lecture, “Creative Dissent: A Politician’s Struggle for Peace.”
Other previous recipients of this award are: Murray Thomson, Bev Tollefson Delong, Fergus Watt, Adele Buckley, Paul Dewar, Peggy Mason, Metta Spencer, Debbie Grisdale, Mary-Wynne Ashford and Jonathan Down, Jennifer Allen Simons, Tariq Rauf, and Ernie Regehr.
Bruce Heyman really, really likes Canada
You might have noticed that Bruce Heyman, the former United States ambassador to Canada under president Barack Obama, is a big fan of Canada, especially right now, during the Canada-U.S. trade war. If you haven’t noticed, just take a look at his Twitter/X feed. His most recent dalliance into crooning for Canada? He posted a story from CultMtl that named Canada among the top five countries with the best quality of life, based on a 2024 study by U.S. News & World Report.
“I would rank it higher!” posted Heyman. By the way, the top 10 countries are: 1. Denmark 2. Sweden 3. Switzerland 4. Norway 5. Canada 6. Finland 7. Germany 8. Australia 9. Netherlands 10. New Zealand. The U.S. ranked No. 22.
Heyman, 67, who is from Chicago and a big Chicago Cubs fan, said he’d one day like to see a “cross border World Series, sister series” between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Chicago Cubs.
“Canada has a lot of supporters and fans in the U.S.A, and as the former U.S. ambassador to Canada, I am proudly at the front of the line,” he has pinned to the top of his X feed. Heyman is now the CEO of Power Sustainable, an asset management subsidiary of Power Corporation. He was also a major fundraiser for Obama’s two presidential campaigns.
Rick Anderson roots for Erin O’Toole
Rick Anderson, once a former top adviser to the federal Liberal Party and later to the Reform Party and its United Alternative campaign among other political experience, had only good things to say on social media recently about former federal Conservative leader Erin O’Toole, 52, who was ousted by his party in 2022 and replaced by Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre in 2023.
“Too bad the federal Conservatives do not have @erinotoole around these days, to help them produce more insightful, substantive, contributions to the global trade discussion,” Anderson posted on July 15.
O’Toole, who was considered a more moderate member of the Conservatives, is now the president and managing director of ADIT North America. On July 15, O’Toole told CBC News that he thought Prime Minister Mark Carney has “generally done a really good job” on setting a new tone of negotiations with U.S. President Donald Trump on tariffs, and said there needs to be a resolution, “but not at all costs.”
Akin named acting bureau chief at Global News, steps in for Stephenson
Global News Ottawa bureau chief Mercedes Stephenson announced on social media on July 22 that she will be taking her parental leave soon, “as baby will arrive in the not so distant future,” and that David Akin will taking over as acting bureau chief. Stephenson said she will be back in 2026, but urged sources to send “political, investigative, or just plain good story tips to David,” and national security stories to Stewart Bell.
Stephenson took to social media on May 2 to ask for advice on having a baby at 44 years old. “OK wisdom of fellow Xers … do your thing. First baby arriving in September. I’ll be 44… What do I need to know? What do I need to get? What should I avoid? I have no idea what I’m doing. Thank you to those who have reached out with advice, so kind!” Stephenson wrote.
Best, to Stephenson and to Akin.
The Hill Times