A tale of two newspapers covering the Liberals in Ottawa

In Canadian political science and literature, there is this term called "two solitudes." It refers to English and French Canadians living and operating in their own space and never the two shall meet. So, I compared two mid-market daily broadsheet newspapers with stories on the federal Liberals, Toronto Star and Montreal's La Presse. The Star reported that the Liberal shadow cabinet held a meeting yesterday and immediately went on the attack. Ken Dryden said Liberals went to Ottawa to carry out national projects, and Conservatives, they dismantle. Joe Fontana said the Conservative promise to fix the fiscal imbalance is a "code word" to dismantle the federal government and download federal spending to Quebec and other provinces. The Star even reported on a nostalgia for Prime Minister Trudeau. Talk about Trudeau's Babies / Baby Boomers reliving the good ol' days. On the other hand, La Presse yesterday and today had stories on Martin Cauchon's speech to University of Ottawa students. Yesterday Cauchon hinted at a possible campaign to succeed Paul Martin Junior. Cauchon would challenge traditional Liberal thinking and consider changes in the current health care system and agree on a need to bring fiscal fairness among Ottawa and the provinces. Two cities, two newspapers, two entirely different coverage and emphasis. Bear in mind of the political leanings and competitive markets of these two newspapers. In Toronto, there are four dailies plus two subway handouts. The Star has decidedly social democratic operating principles and editorials and compete with National Post and Toronto Sun, both decidedly neoconservative and with The Globe and Mail, the dominant Bay Street national newspaper. The Star disagrees evidently with Prime Minister Harper's government and is generally on side with Liberals. On the other hand, there are four dailies in Montreal plus two subway handouts. Le journal de Montréal is nationalist-sovereigntist. Le Devoir is nationalist. Both print in French. La Presse and Montreal Gazette are federalist English and French dailies. "Fiscal imbalance" is a term invented by the federalist Quebec Liberal government. Fixing fiscal imbalance is Premier Charest's way to fix Quebec, and hence, avoid the urge to separate. Most Quebec federalists have bought into this idea--except the Liberals in Ottawa led sucessively by Prime Ministers Chretien and Martin. So, it's natural La Presse would cover Martin Cauchon, who served as Prime Minister Chretien's Attorney General, when Cauchon acknowledged and agreed to the need to fix the fiscal imbalance. By the way, Premier McGuinty of Ontario uses the term "Ontario's Fair Share." Ironic isn't it? Liberals in Ontario and Quebec running governments in 2006 are at odds with the Liberal Official Opposition Caucus stuck in political philosophy of 1966 and 1976.