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A daily look inside Canadian politics and power. | | | | |  | | By Nick Taylor-Vaisey and Andy Blatchford | Welcome to the Ottawa Playbook. Late last night, Russia launched military operations in Ukraine. Foreign Minister MELANIE JOLY called the unprovoked attack a challenge to democracy, "the likes of which reached new heights today." This morning at 9 a.m., Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU will attend a G-7 meeting where he said the partners will work with NATO and other allies to “collectively respond to these reckless and dangerous acts." Earlier Wednesday evening, POLITICO's ANDY BLATCHFORD spoke with Defense Minister ANITA ANAND about the deteriorating situation. Keep up to developments on POLITICO's live blog with news from Ukraine, Russia, across Europe, Canada and the U.S.
|  | RUSSIA-UKRAINE | | FIRST THING — Russian President VLADIMIR PUTIN announced a "special military operation" in Ukraine. In a pre-recorded speech, Putin warned his geopolitical foes to steer clear of intervention: "If you do, you will face consequences greater than any you have faced in history." — From the POLITICO defense team: "His pronouncement at 5:45 a.m. Moscow time — during a simultaneous U.N. Security Council meeting in New York, at which Western nations pleaded for Putin to exercise restraint and de-escalate — could spark the largest land war in Europe since World War II, one that could result in the deaths of thousands of Ukrainian and Russian troops and civilians, and send a crush of refugees fleeing west." ALEXANDER WARD, NAHAL TOOSI and PAUL MCLEARY report:"Russian missiles struck airports, military positions and cities across Ukraine, including the capital of Kyiv, early Thursday as Vladimir Putin launched the most dangerous phase of his eight-year war. Witnesses and reporters heard blasts from Kharkiv in the east to Kyiv in the north to Odessa in the south, signaling Russian’s sights are set far beyond the Donbas region." — The view from Canada's man at the UN: "Vladimir Putin is a war criminal. Every possible assistance must be provided to the people and government of Ukraine," tweeted BOB RAE . He added: "When Pearl Harbor happened the meetings stopped. C’mon people, stop pretending. War has started." Related video: 'President Putin, stop your troops.' — The view from Cabinet: Innovation Minister FRANCOIS-PHILIPPE CHAMPAGNE was first out with a statement , saying "the world order and its rules-based system which has underpinned international relations for decades — including respect for national sovereignty and territorial integrity — has now been shaken to the core." Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU condemned the attack "in the strongest possible terms" and promised Russia would face "severe consequences." — Canada's next steps: ANAND says sanctions announced Tuesday are just the beginning. “Our response as a country and as a member of the NATO alliance will match the rising Russian escalation [in Ukraine],” Anand told Andy Blatchford. “The invasion has begun — our response has begun as well.” Anand said Canada is prepared to target even more of Russia's financial sector and its oligarchs. The Trudeau government has also put together a “significant announcement” related to Canadian exports to Russia, she added. — Russia's response: The Ottawa embassy fired off a Wednesday missive that warned Canada. “Unilateral sanctions against Russia imposed by the Government of Canada are illegitimate and illegal,” read a tweet. “Following the principle of reciprocity Russia will respond to this unfriendly gesture.”
| | On the Hill | | EMERGENCY UNDECLARED — Like that, it was over. Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU revoked the Emergencies Act just as senators down the street were hotly debated its invocation. — From the debate: Senators weren't rubber-stamping the measures. On Tuesday, former journalist and current livetweeter Sen. PAULA SIMONS noted Trudeau appointee and former judge Sen. PIERRE DALPHOND's view: part of the invocation — banks freezing accounts of blockade supporters — violated a Charter right barring "unreasonable search and seizure." But the Senate won't officially get to pass judgment. The end of emergency orders rendered the Senate's opinion technically irrelevant. Simons was still on the fence about her vote. She defended her Red Chamber colleagues: "I know the Senate makes a good national whipping boy. But I think we did our job and did it well. I think many of us are feeling a bit let down that we weren’t asked to make this historic decision — and some of us may be feeling a bit relieved." — Still to come: The Emergencies Act requires that a parliamentary committee study the decision to enact emergency powers. The government is also required to conduct a public inquiry. Expect opposition politicians to positively salivate at the opportunity to poke holes in Team Trudeau's legal, political and moral judgment. Further reading: The Globe's ANDREW COYNE on nine days that didn’t really shake the world all that much.
| | Covid-19 Update | | THE NEXT DEBATE — The moment Trudeau revoked the Act, conservatives across Canada pounced on the question they really wanted to ask: When will the PM end vaccine mandates and restrictions? "It is past time for the Trudeau government to detail a return to normal for all Canadians," said Saskatchewan Premier SCOTT MOE. "The question still remains-when will he lift the unscientific mandates and restrictions?" wondered Tory leader CANDICE BERGEN. It's true that Trudeau fought an election on forcing most public servants to get vaccinated (or leave their jobs), and mandating shots for anyone who boards airplanes or trains. The feds demand international arrivals show vax proof. The mandates most Canadians experience on a regular basis — say, anyone who wants to eat at a restaurant — are enforced by provinces. But as premiers like Moe, Alberta's JASON KENNEY and Ontario's DOUG FORD announce plans to wind them down, Trudeau's restrictions might be some of the only ones left standing. — The power of polling: For now, public opinion seems to be mixed. Ipsos found in a January poll that 38 percent of Canadians support mandatory vaccination — but two-thirds said governments "are not doing enough to facilitate the return to normal." The race to normalcy is officially on. — How to launch a Twitter trend: At 4:36 eastern, Tory nogoodnik STEPHEN TAYLOR got up to some mischief. "Canadians are tweeting #ThankYouCandice for leading the charge to defeat Trudeau's Emergencies Act," he claimed. Strictly speaking, that was almost true. Sure, no one else had tweeted anything of the sort. But Taylor is Canadian, and his tweet did thank Bergen for opposing the federal measures. Within minutes, dozens of acolytes had answered the call. MP MARILYN GLADU, elevated to the shadow Cabinet on Tuesday, joined the effort. Trend unlocked. — Influencing the discourse: Taylor experiments constantly with Tory-friendly spin. Amidst the push for Bergen love, he played up Trudeau's revocation of the Emergencies Act as capitulation to the Official Opposition. He was outdone by leadership hopeful PIERRE POILIEVRE, whose own victory lap achieved exponentially more virality. It's all about the discourse. — You know that crisis is over: …when Liberals return to doling out federal dough all over Canada. Immigration Minister SEAN FRASER is announcing support for long-term care in Nova Scotia. Rural EcDev Minister GUDIE HUTCHINGS is sprinkling funding across Newfoundland and Labrador. MP RENÉ ARSENEAULT is doing the same in New Brunswick. Public Safety Minister MARCO MENDICINO and MP EMMANUEL DUBOURG have something to say about reducing youth violence in Quebec. Environment Minister STEVEN GUILBEAULT has money for electric vehicle charging infrastructure in southwestern Ontario.
| | PAPER TRAIL | | DIGGING FOR DETAILS — Three members of Congress are pressing the Biden administration for answers about the controversial takeover of a Canadian lithium mining company by a Chinese state-owned enterprise. MICHAEL WALTZ (R-Fla.), ELISE STEFANIK (R-N.Y.) and LANCE GOODEN (R-Texas) penned a letter Wednesday to members of Biden’s Cabinet, including Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN, to find out what the administration knew — or didn’t know — about the acquisition. The letter was obtained by POLITICO. In the letter, the U.S. lawmakers say Canada’s “complicit approval” of the deal, which never faced a national security review, raises questions about how much the two neighbors truly are cooperating. The trio is requesting a briefing on the U.S.-Canada “Joint Action Plan for Critical Minerals,” any communication between the governments about the Neo Lithium deal and transcripts from Commerce Secretary GINA RAIMONDO’s November meetings with Industry Minister FRANÇOIS-PHILIPPE CHAMPAGNE.
| | TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS | | International Development Minister HARJIT SAJJAN is heading to the Big Apple in advance of Friday's Galvanizing Momentum for Universal Vaccination debate headed up by U.N. General Assembly president ABDULLA SHAHID. 9 a.m. PM TRUDEAU will participate in the G-7 Leaders’ Meeting, hosted by German Chancellor OLAF SCHOLZ. 9 a.m. The Ottawa Police Services Board holds a special meeting. 12 p.m. Transport Minister OMAR ALGHABRA and Employment Minister CARLA QUALTROUGH will talk supply chain resiliency with ROBIN SILVESTER, president and CEO of the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority. 1 p.m. Trudeau will deliver remarks at the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s National Housing Supply Summit. 2:30 p.m. The B.C. government will announce funding to fight climate change. Cabinet ministers on hand: Finance Minister SELINA ROBINSON, Public Safety Minister MIKE FARNWORTH, Forests and Lands Minister KATRINE CONROY and Environment and Climate Change Minister GEORGE HEYMAN. 8 p.m. Trudeau will participate in a roundtable with leaders from the Black community in Edmonton.
| | ASK US ANYTHING | | TELL US WHAT YOU KNOW — What are you hearing that you need Playbook to know? Send it all our way.
| | MEDIA ROOM | | — JANE LYTVYNENKO, a Canadian journalist who hails from Ukraine, writes in The Atlantic about how she can't take her eyes off a Kyiv livestream: "What happens next isn’t clear, but I’ll be watching part of it unfold through a strange little portal on the internet. It helps." — In Slate, Ottawa-born DAHLIA LITHWICK writes about returning to her hometown — "one of the sturdiest, conventional, and least dramatic cities I knew" — to find parallels with Charlottesville rallies (and key differences). — The latest Herle Burly pod asks a question on a lot of minds: Who are the alienated Canadians?DAVID HERLE canvasses a panel of pollsters: Ekos's FRANK GRAVES, Innovative's GREG LYLE, the Gandalf Group's ALEX SWANN, and JANET BROWN from her eponymous shop. — CBC's AARON WHERRY writes about the central challenge for politicians who face populist rage: embrace compassion without capitulation. — CHRYSTIA FREELAND sat down for a lengthy Report on Business Q&A . A key excerpt: "A politician I look back to is SIR CLIFFORD SIFTON, maybe because I grew up on the Prairies. He thought about Canadian growth as people plus railways plus land equals a growing Canada. For me, it is people plus homes plus education — I would add early learning and childcare as part of that — equals a growing Canada."
| | PROZONE | | For s, here’s our Pro Canada PM memo:Roadmap report card: 'Much work to be done' In other headlines for Pros: — The Pentagon is working on an algorithm to detect Covid early
— Russian forces on Ukraine border ‘literally ready to go now,’ U.S. official warns
— As Ukraine crisis deepens, U.S. and Russia maintain fragile peace in space
— White House imposes sanctions on Nord Stream 2 pipeline company and CEO
— Three men plead guilty to targeting power grid to spread white supremacy
| | PLAYBOOKERS | | Birthdays: HBD to former U.S. ambo KELLY CRAFT. … Former deputy Quebec premier LINE BEAUCHAMP also celebrates another spin around the sun. Spotted: Birthday boy MARC GARNEAU, gifted a collage of his children's artwork dating back 40 years. … Tory MP BRAD REDEKOPP, skating and talking Ukraine with Deputy British High Commish DAVID REED. … Ottawa city council, moving Valentine's Day ahead a month. … Royal Canadian Geographic Society fellow DAVID MCGUFFIN taking a polar plunge in a Gatineau Hills ice hole. Movers and shakers: Former PMO staffer NEIL MCKENNA is now at the Senate, where he's parliamentary affairs adviser to Saskatchewan Sen. MARTY KLYNE. From the tenders: The Saskatchewan Research Council scored a C$154,580 contract to help the feds figure out the best hydrogen economy R&D strategy. … Parks Canada is paying Wisconsin-based Reconyx C$279,790 for cameras meant to monitor wildlife patterns (e.g. these pics ). … Environment Canada is on the lookout for a helicopter that can transport federally funded birdwatchers around B.C. Media mentions: ROBERTO ROCHA is pulling up his stakes at CBC News for a new gig at the upstart Investigative Journalism Foundation: "I'm really excited to help build a new Canadian news organization from the ground up with my data analysis background." … CBC's ASHLEY BURKE reports an anti-mandate protester in Arnprior, sporting a "Defund CBC" toque, towed a CBC van out of a ditch. ... MATTHEW CONRAD is leaving Global Calgary.
| | PALATE CLEANSER | | Playbook alerted readers to Dominion Carillonneur ANDREA MCCRADY's "final surprise" during her last Peace Tower concert. If you missed it, here's the original version of the song she played. (Please accept our apology in advance.)
| | TRIVIA | | Wednesday’s answer: The former PM who was "competent enough to enjoy the challenge of a good course" was none other than ROBERT BORDEN. He officially opened the Brightwood Golf & Country Club in Dartmouth, N.S. — but only hit a single drive off the first tee, because the course wasn't yet operational. Props to NICK MASCIANTONIO, JOHN ECKER and ROBERT MCDOUGALL. Thursday’s question: Finish this sentence. On this day in 1905 (or 1906, depending on the source), the Ottawa Silver Seven celebrated their Stanley Cup championship by kicking the iconic trophy into _______. (Note: This actually might not have happened.) Send your answers to ottawaplaybook@politico.com
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