Amid an upcoming cabinet shuffle, Conservative Senate Leader Marjory LeBreton has resigned the cabinet and a few other Conservative MPs have indicated they won’t run for re-election. The spring sitting was mired in scandal and the upcoming cabinet shuffle may be Harper’s only hope at reviving a severely tarnished brand.

The NDP aren’t thrilled with the way the Conservatives are handling the Grace Foundation’s “political gift” to them. All the while, the Conservatives are under fire over PMO resources that went to this partisan attack. The NDP had hoped to make political gains by having the Conservatives take the brunt for attacking Liberal leader Justin Trudeau who is ahead in the polls.

On March 25, the Commons Board of Internal Economy decided to give MPs a pay increase and larger travel allowance. MPs will be getting a 1.6% raise while also receiving 6.7% more money for their travel allowances. The changes were only made public Thursday when it was tabled in the House of Commons. In a time of economic uncertainty and a focus on reducing deficits, increasing MP salaries and travel allowances proves to be reckless and irresponsible.

The party that wanted to position itself as Canada’s “ethical alternative” to the Liberals and Conservatives has shocked Canadians Tuesday with their outright dismissal of Liberal leader Justin Trudeau’s motion to make MP finances public. The NDP has further surprised taxpayers yesterday when the party refused to publish their finances online and refused to comment on their stance.

The list of Conservative MPs against taxpayer-funded attack ads against Justin Trudeau has grown to include some well known names, notably and most recently, Defense Minister and Deputy leader Peter MacKay. While the PMO and Prime Minister Stephen Harper think it is alright to use taxpayer money to fund a campaign of smears and deceit, a growing number of Conservative MPs are standing up for their principle and rejecting petty and desperate politics.

One week after the Conservatives launched a major “he’s in over his head” campaign to congratulate Liberal leader Justin Trudeau, the Liberals have released their first ads to counter. The ads are in English and French and both center around the message of change and hard work. While the ads change the channel on messaging techniques, could they have been improved?

Voting for the next Liberal leader may only end on Sunday but for former Progressive Conservative Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, Justin Trudeau is the clear choice. Mulroney infuriated the Conservative party Monday as he endorsed their toughest adversary in an interview with CTV’s Power Play. Ever since Trudeau entered the race, polls have shown a sharp incline for the party which would give them a majority government.

Political parties are strategizing these days and Canadians are weighing in. Despite the party members and their views, the electorate will inevitably get the final say and recent polling numbers paint an interesting story about Liberal-NDP cooperation and prospective Liberal Leadership candidates.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has approved the CNOOC-Nexen takeover deal and Canada is now trapped in a 31 year deal where China will almost always get the final say. The Chinese government does not believe in our free and capitalist society, remaining totalitarian with a communist system that has one of the worst standards for human rights in the world. This was once a concern for Harper whom slammed the door on China but now, out of virtually nowhere, not only is China an important trade partner, it is trusted enough to own, for 31 years, one of Canada’s most strategic resources that is in very high demand and low supply around the world. In other words, Canada got royally ripped off with its flat rate $15 billion in one-time revenue.