Tag: reputation management

This article traces how reputations in Newfoundland politics are recycled and scaled beyond local disputes. It follows Tony Cornect’s shift from MHA to FFTNL president, an oral testimony from Garden Hill showing politicians inserting themselves into industry, and the continuity of influence across offices and generations. The piece then reflects on the very meaning of “kingmaker,” introduced to me in 2016 while working at Le Gaboteur. Finally, it connects these local patterns to global ones: Canada’s selective use of UNDRIP, the role of French consulates in Atlantic Canada as external arbiters, and the Canada–Germany hydrogen deal that crowned Newfoundland as Europe’s energy province without local consent. The article argues that, whether in local halls or international boardrooms, kings are appointed — not elected. Read More...

This article examines how Newfoundland’s politics and activism are shaped less by policy and more by gatekeeping. Using the Port au Port water crisis as a stage, it shows how the Environmental Transparency Committee frames legitimacy through process, how Jeff Todd Young’s career has been carefully groomed across Franco-Jeunes, Mi’kmaw Cultural Foundation, and Liberal nomination, how Tony Wakeham’s silence operates as a deliberate strategy, and how Jasen Benwah leverages Indigenous authenticity as a form of power. The piece argues that reputations in Newfoundland are not won at the ballot box but managed by those who decide who is allowed to speak. Read More...