The Globe and Mail

There is strong speculation that Paul Zed, chief of staff to Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff, is poised to announce he will run again in his hometown, Saint John. Mr. Zed was defeated in the 2008 election, but he has been working hard in the riding, while at the same time working for his friend, the Liberal Leader, in Ottawa. With expectations of a fall election, Mr. Zed has been all over the local newspapers and recently raised thousands of dollars in his community to fight poverty. It is expected that Ian Davey, Mr. Ignatieff's principal secretary, would replace Mr. Zed as chief of staff.

Coincidentally (or maybe, not), Mr. Ignatieff is headed east next week on a major tour, hopping from province to province in a little plane. The leader, who has been criticized for being in hiding this summer, is stopping in Nova Scotia, PEI and New Brunswick. He is making a substantive speech in Saint John and attending an exclusive $2,200 a ticket fundraiser event at Frank McKenna's New Brunswick cottage. Mr. McKenna is the former Canadian ambassador to Washington and former New Brunswick premier. About 50 people have purchased tickets, making this a $110,000 event. And who may accompany him? Paul Zed? Not bad exposure for a potential candidate.

Elizabeth May: on the move

Green Party Leader Elizabeth May was unsuccessful in her bid to unseat the popular Defence Minister, Peter MacKay, in his Nova Scotia riding in the last election. She raised some eyebrows about her judgment in picking a winnable riding. Now she is shopping for a new riding, saying she expects a fall election triggered by a no-confidence vote in late September. She visited the Ontario riding of Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound on Thursday where the Green candidate came second by 10,000 votes to the Tory in 2008. Said Ms. May, “I do plan to be in the House after the next general election.” If not, she may not survive as leader.

Carolyn Stewart-Olsen: Senate speculation

The departure from the PMO of Harper loyalist Carolyn Stewart-Olsen has the rumour mill in overdrive about Senate appointments. If Prime Minister Stephen Harper wants to load up the Senate with Tories before an expected fall election, (which is not a slam dunk for the Tories), now is the time to do it. It is expected that Ms. Stewart-Olsen will be rewarded with a seat, likely the one available in New Brunswick. That leaves seven other vacancies in the 105-seat chamber, which the Liberals still dominate: one each in Nova Scotia, Manitoba and Nunavut and two each in Ontario and Quebec. Former Nova Scotia premier Rodney MacDonald, who just quit politics after losing the provincial election, is a possibility as is Doug Finley, the mastermind behind the Harper victories, for an Ontario seat. Don Plett, the Conservative Party president, is a possibility for the Manitoba seat.

Flu and vaccines: an emergency meeting on Parliament Hill

The all-party House of Commons health committee has called an emergency meeting for Wednesday, following the industry committee, which met yesterday on the Nortel sale. MPs on the health committee are coming back to deal with preparedness and response around the H1N1 crisis. “We want to … make sure that all Canadians have confidence in what they should do in the fall,” said physician Carolyn Bennett, a Liberal MP and committee member.

Hot and not

Hot: Nathan Cullen, the B.C. New Democratic MP, helped raised awareness for the health of the Skeena River by swimming a portion of it with an environmental activist this week. Mr. Cullen has recently competed in two triathlons and is a strong swimmer, a requirement for a dip in the powerful Skeena.

Not: The bipartisan working group on employment insurance reform met Thursday from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., getting nothing done. This was its second meeting and the Liberals say the Tories have yet to put forward one proposal. This does not bode well for a resolution and all signs are pointing toward a potential defeat of the Harper minority government in late September.