Doug Finley

The Conservative campaign manager and senator dies at the age of 66

Conservative Senator Doug Finley, one of the primary architects of the Conservative party’s electoral success, who is now stricken with cancer, reflects on death and politics.

A tribute dinner was held to honour Conservative Senator Doug Finley at the War Museum. Proceeds went to the Scottish Society of Ottawa.

Joe Soares has the endorsements of Rod Bruinooge and Doug Finley, while Greg McLean has the endorsement of Lee Richardson, Calgary Centre’s last MP. Now, Joan Crockatt announces the endorsement of Mike Duffy.

Stages in the legislative process that make a bill law in the Canadian Parliament; ministers (not including the Prime Minister) on cabinet’s powerful Priorities and Planning committee; former political figures (not including sovereigns or social activists) memorialized in bronze around Parliament Hill—twelve is the number in each of these interesting categories. But for our purposes here, in this second annual stocktaking of the year just ending, it’s the 12 calendar months that matter. Pick just one political story for each page, and 2011’s kaleidoscope might just take a turn from jumbled to intelligible.

Elections Canada has now issued a short statement, including the official charges.

An anonymous Conservative official tells the CBC, Postmedia, CTV and the Star, that four party officials have been charged by Elections Canada in connection with in-and-out campaign financing: Doug Finley, Irving Gerstein, Michael Donison and Susan Kehoe.

Doug Finley on Harper’s election playbook

A day after a Conservative senator gleefully threatened an election over a legislative dispute, with the NDP leader “challenging” the Prime Minister to recall the House, the Prime Minister appointed a failed Conservative candidate to the Senate, thus rendering the previous 24 hours of facetious chest puffing entirely moot.

Two of Stephen Harper’s senators are now openly quibbling with the idea of a fully elected Senate—another three apparently reluctant to say where they stand.

The Canadian Friends of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem held a special reception on the Hill to celebrate Canadian-Israeli partnerships. Below, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development Diane Finley with her husband, Senator Doug Finley.

Richard Albert bravely makes the case for senators Finley, Stewart-Olsen and Plett.