Let’s give this a try.
Hi there, and welcome.
I’m George. If you’re here, you probably already know that.
This is Behind the Backbench. If I’m being honest, this is a little nerve-wracking. Writing regularly for The Hill Times was already a step outside my comfort zone, but this? This feels like a giant leap.
I’m still figuring out what this space will be. For now, it might just be a place to get the voices out of my head—a bit of personal catharsis to make sense of the political noise. If you’ve ever yelled at the TV because someone botched a great line or let an obvious bit of nonsense slide without challenge, you’ll know where I’m coming from.
What I do know is that I want this to be a space where I can share my thoughts on politics. Not just theory, but the real, messy, human part of it. I’ve been lucky to see it up close, from working with and travelling the country with Jack Layton to helping Rachel Notley govern in Alberta and getting to be a part of rebuilding the Saskatchewan NDP.
Right now, politics feels scary… and, at very least, out of touch with people. And that’s screwed up.
Twice, when I wanted to push maybe a little too far, I was reminded by the leader (once by Jack and once by Jagmeet) that politics - even partisan politics - are not a game. It’s becoming obvious that leaders on both sides of our border need that reminder.
The Liberals are drowning in their own scandals and infighting, and the Conservatives are riding high, but there’s something brittle about their confidence. And the NDP? Quietly climbing, with a scrappy caucus that’s focused on delivering for people. It’s early, and there are no guarantees, but I’ve been here before—when no one believed something big was possible, and then it was.
I don’t have all the answers. I don’t even know all the questions. But I have found some relief in working through it all, one column at a time. If nothing else, I can now say I officially write on the same website as
. So, if nothing else, there is that.Thanks for stopping by. I hope you find something here worth your while. And who knows? Maybe we’ll figure some of it out together.
—george
