Patrick Gossage

Columnist

Political commentator and writer Patrick Gossage was Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau’s press secretary. In 1985 he founded Media Profile, a public relations agency. He was a political adviser to former Ontario premier David Peterson and former Toronto mayor David Miller. He was a board member of the East Toronto social service agency Dixon Hall for ten years.
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Justin Facing a Wall of Troubles. Can he Surmount Them?

Justin Facing a Wall of Troubles. Can he Surmount Them?

ABOVE: Justin Trudeau with then Governor General David Johnston at the 2015 Liberal Party swearing-in ceremony. (Photo: www.kamloopsbcnow.com) The wonderful gentleman and former Governor General David Johnston, rather than providing Justin Trudeau with a clear, credible path to unravelling the critical [...]

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Should He Stay or Should He Go? Justin Trudeau’s Political Future

Should He Stay or Should He Go? Justin Trudeau’s Political Future

Justin Trudeau faces two more years of tough sledding, with every week bringing new reputational challenges. Recently trying to live down the latest demeaning revelation — whether about his father’s foundation, admitting he will never meet the two percent NATO promise of military spending [...]

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Chinese election interference story shows enduring power of the press.

Chinese election interference story shows enduring power of the press.

Recently, the entire nation became seized by the threat of organized interference in our elections by the Chinese government. It’s time to recognize that this frightening issue was put on the map last month by the work of two journalists from the Globe and Mail, namely veteran reporters Robert [...]

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Love can conquer all — inspiring stories for the New Year.

Love can conquer all — inspiring stories for the New Year.

In 1955 Frank Sinatra recorded Love and Marriage – go together like a horse and carriage. It took the popular music stoked yearnings for the enduring love of the 50s into new generations when it became the theme song for the American 1987-1997 TV series Married With Children. Unlike many non-human [...]

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Where are the politicians who put the public interest first?

Where are the politicians who put the public interest first?

Whether it is the use of the Constitution’s Notwithstanding Clause by Ontario Premier Doug Ford to deny collective bargaining to CUPE workers and legislate them back to work, or his blatant promise breaking to open up thousands of acres of protected land for his home building buddies, or the ganging [...]

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We all witnessed the failure of police to control the Freedom Convoy

We all witnessed the failure of police to control the Freedom Convoy

When thousands of angry, Trudeau-hating anti-vaccine truckers and their raging hangers-on from across the country occupied our capital for over three weeks, Canadians watched blanket TV coverage with horror and wondered what kind of country allows the lawless terrorizing of its national capital by “yahoos,” [...]

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Can a nuclear crisis like the Cuban Missile Crisis happen again?

Can a nuclear crisis like the Cuban Missile Crisis happen again?

ABOVE: Russian President Vlademir Putin. (RIGHT) Screen capture of a Russian Nuclear division train heading toward the front line in Ukrainian. (Image via The Telegraph) On October 22, 1962, President John Kennedy made a scary TV address that showed the world aerial photos of Soviet nuclear missile [...]

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Being seriously informed is the only way to save us from real political decline.

Being seriously informed is the only way to save us from real political decline.

Canadian Politics is facing a double whammy: A CPC leader who mistrusts journalists and believes in conspiracy theories, and growing distrust and reduced influence of journalists. The degradation of Canadian politics continues with the convincing crowning of Pierre Poilievre as the undisputed [...]

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Can Justin Trudeau rebuild his popularity?

Can Justin Trudeau rebuild his popularity?

Written in collaboration with Karen Gordon Politicians don’t go into elections to lose. It’s possible that the current low poll standings for Liberals against Conservatives and Justin’s personal popularity will remain low for the next three years. If Pierre Poilievre wins as CPC [...]

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Is renewal at the CBC another fruitless attempt at being relevant?

Is renewal at the CBC another fruitless attempt at being relevant?

The CBC’s flagship nightly news program, The National, enjoyed good ratings when helmed by national news figures like Knowlton Nash and Peter Mansbridge before changes led to a decline in ratings. Further format and host changes saw ratings pale beside CTV’s consistently strong nightly national [...]

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