Who’s who in the backrooms

By Nick Taylor-Vaisey

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WELCOME TO OTTAWA PLAYBOOK. I'm your host, Nick Taylor-Vaisey. TGIF. JEAN CHAREST is officially in. We have senior campaign staff for both major declared campaigns. We have budget speculation. And we have Playbook Virtual Trivia Night final results. Scroll to the bottom for the winners!

FIRST THING — Ukrainian President VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY will address Parliament next Tuesday. Government House Leader MARK HOLLAND tweeted the news Thursday afternoon. Speaker ANTHONY ROTA still has to formally approve Holland's request to reopen the House chamber for the day for a joint address to MPs and senators.

BUDGET GOSSIP — A leaky minister's office let slip the timing of a federal budget news blackout — a pause on announcements that could steal CHRYSTIA FREELAND's thunder.

Word is the blackout will blanket the first week of April. Let's do some deducing. More than half of federal budgets tabled since BRIAN MULRONEY took power have fallen on Wednesdays. But four of the last six were tabled on Tuesdays. Last year's came on a rare Monday.

— The date: Playbook's best guess, because we simply can't help ourselves, is that Budget Day will fall on April 5. Or maybe April 6. Or maybe April 4. Place your bets now.

Are you a political staffer who knows the budget date? Are you suffering under the weight of the burden of knowledge, trapped in your own version of the unending beating of the Tell-Tale Heart? Relieve yourself by telling us!

3, 2, 1 … LIFTOFF —JEAN CHAREST wowed precisely nobody with his first tweet: a 22-second campaign launch video with a nondescript background, a half-visible red mug and a slightly slouched potential future Conservative leader.

One of the easy knocks against Charest is he's yesterday's man, a tireless campaigner from another era who can't keep up with PIERRE POILIEVRE 's memes. Mission accomplished in proving critics right, which put all the pressure on the old-school real-life campaign launch at a craft brewery (hip!) in Calgary.

— The buzz in the room: Charest packed the modest-sized space and delivered what the Toronto Star's STEPHANIE LEVITZ called an "energized speech." Watch CPAC's tape here.

— Worth noting: Charest's brand-new Twitter and Facebook and Instagram and LinkedIn accounts were crickets all night long.

RUNNING THE SHOW — Leadership campaigns may only be as strong as their candidates, but everyone who's ever knocked on a door knows the team behind the boss is essential to winning a competitive race.

Playbook will dig up all the latest developments on every campaign team. Today, we're focused on the two biggest ones — that's Charest and Poilievre, for everyone who's been living under a rock — and who's who of their senior staff. Prepare for BOLD-FACE NAMES.

— Team Charest: Because the former cabinet minister and party leader and premier launched last night, we'll start with him. MICHAEL COATES is Charest's campaign chair. The campaign manager is CHRIS ROUGIER, a longtime federal and provincial Tory operative who's worked on election readiness and voter contact operations.

MICHELLE COATES MATHER is director of communications, and LAURENCE TÔTH reports to her as press secretary.

Veteran organizer TANNIS DRYSDALE is also on the team. Her lengthy resume includes clients like ERIN O'TOOLE, BRIAN PALLISTER, VIC FEDELI, CHRISTINE ELLIOTT, GREG RICKFORD, PATRICK BROWN and KELLIE LEITCH.

— Remember him? Mr. Wonderful, aka KEVIN O'LEARY, endorsed Charest. Coates chaired O'Leary's 2017 run for the leadership. Rougier managed it.

— Team Poilievre: JEREMY LIEDTKE is campaign director. Crestview's GINNY ROTH is director of communications. ANTHONY KOCH , a frequent TV commentator, is press secretary. RYAN GUPTILL, the VP of strategic communication at Loyalist Public Affairs, handles scripting.

They have organizers in the field: MIKE WILSON, BEN LEVITT and JOHN SINCLAIR in Ontario; KATY MERRIFIELD in B.C.; JAMIE MOZESON, SHANE SASKIW, and JONATHON DENIS in Alberta. HAMISH MARSHALL, the campaign manager on the ill-fated 2019 Tory campaign, is also helping out.

Hill+Knowlton's STEPHANIE DUNLOP will handle the campaign's tour. And the ubiquitous JENNI BYRNE is an adviser (the understatement of the century).

— Caucus count: Poilievre boasted Thursday of 40 MP endorsements.

— Further reading: Tory leadership candidate LESLYN LEWIS being sued by former campaign manager

A CANDID INSIDER — JODY THOMAS is the prime minister’s top security adviser. While her boss was Poland addressing the refugee crisis created by Russia’s war on Ukraine, Thomas was dropping truth bombs at the CDA Institute’s defense conference in Ottawa. Pro s can read Andy Blatchford’s report here.

Some highlights:

— NATO, then: “A year ago, two years ago, at a conference like this, the Halifax International Security Forum, any of the defense and security conferences any of us attended — there was always an agenda topic: Whither NATO: Is there a purpose? Were the cracks showing and were they now overtaking the unity of the alliance?

… and now: “What we have seen is NATO leaders coming together to understand the threats and the consequences to the world if NATO did not act.”

— On Canada’s defense strategy: “The world accelerated much more quickly than we anticipated. We've been overtaken by events, and there may be a different ordering of things that need to be invested in.”

— On defense of the Arctic: “The United States and Canada would respond if little green men showed up on Ellesmere Island.”

— On threats at home: “We are increasingly seeing domestic actors radicalized online in spaces filled with hate and misinformation threatening to use violence to reach their ideological objectives.”

— On military acquisitions: “We talk about procurement a lot. The government blames the private sector, private sector blames the government. We talk about the three departments involved in that they're each individually and collectively the problem in defense procurement.

“We have a problem with deciding what we want to buy — big time — and sticking to what that is and sticking to a budget. That causes a lot of PTSD.

“Our rule set is onerous. There are opportunities when you should just simply sole-source because there is one supplier. … You should be able to bring that to Cabinet and have Cabinet decide.”

THAT'S NOT A NO — Former Cabinet minister JODY WILSON-RAYBOULD didn't run for reelection last summer, even though she'd pulled off the rare feat of winning as an independent candidate in 2019. But JWR isn't bowing out of politics forever.

She joined CATHERINE CLARK and JENNIFER STEWART on The Honest Talk pod. They got to talking about any leadership ambitions she may be kicking around. Wilson-Raybould left the door wide open in deliciously cryptic fashion.

— The talker: "I'm not necessarily thinking about politics or running for a leadership position right now. I never say never. I've always run for positions that I think can be a means to an end.

"If the opportunity presents itself, I'll be there. I believe in callings, and I am in this place which I have never been in before where I made a decision to not run. There's lots of amazing opportunities that people have presented to me, and I am waiting for the right thing to appear, and I think it is coming.”

— PM TRUDEAU and Deputy PM FREELAND depart Poland for Canada.

8:30 a.m. Statistics Canada will release its Labour Force Survey for February.

9 a.m. The Parliamentary Budget Officer will post a new report: “Planned Capital Spending Under Strong, Secure, Engaged — Canada's Defence Policy: 2022 Update.''

12:20 p.m. Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard Minister JOYCE MURRAY will hold a press conference at the Vancouver Convention Centre (at 9:30 a.m. PST) to release a “What We Heard” report related to the development of a Blue Economy Strategy.

1:30 p.m. NDP leader JAGMEET SINGH meets with Vancouver-area MLAs.

1:50 p.m. Defense Minister ANITA ANAND gives a speech to the CDA Institute’s Ottawa Conference.

5 p.m. Singh participates in a discussion with Windsor Elementary school students.

TALKING WITH AMERICANS — U.S. Ambassador to Canada DAVID COHEN opened with a crack about winter. “There’s cold — and then there’s Ottawa cold,” he told a virtual audience gathered by the Wilson Center on Thursday to discuss the first anniversary of the Roadmap for a Renewed U.S.-Canada Partnership. 

“It's not an overstatement to say that the roadmap has brought the U.S.-Canada relationship to a new level of cooperation and collective purpose,” he said.

Canada’s Ambassador to the U.S. KIRSTEN HILLMAN argued that it is moments of challenge and upheaval that strengthen the bilateral relationship. She paused during her remarks to return to the day U.S. President JOE BIDEN emerged from the roadmap summit and implored China to free MICHAEL KOVRIG and MICHAEL SPAVOR.

“He called their names out and called for their release in a way that I don't think had ever been done by another leader,” she said. The men would be released later that year.

— The elephant in the Zoom room: The top diplomats did not dwell on irritants, though there was no avoiding the Ambassador Bridge.

Cohen said working groups studying supply chain resiliency have been asked to explore border security.

For her part, Hillman acknowledged there will be lessons learned: “We want to look at what happened there and see how we can make sure we have systems in place to react more quickly and in a more coordinated way with our American friends and amongst different levels of government in the U.S. and in Canada,” she said.

— With that out of the way: Free of his official notes, Cohen spoke with urgency about issues he said he’s discussed with Foreign Minister MÉLANIE JOLY:

On protests: “Free speech is easy when you agree with the speech, it gets harder when you disagree. But it's a hallmark of our societies to try to respect free speech but not let it take over in an inappropriate way. I am a believer that the best way to combat speech that you do not agree with is with more speech.”

Fear and grievance: “This is a concern around the world — people who don't like government. They don't like big companies, they don't like being told to do anything. There's a resentment, there's a fear, there's a dissatisfaction with life. There is a concern about jobs and employment. And that's what generates this unrest.”

Disinformation: “I've been actually somewhat entertained, but it isn't funny, to look at some of the analyses of the way Russian media is covering the Russian-Ukraine conflict. Of course it's not called a war. There's no mention of an invasion — it's a tactical move to protect Ukrainians and to remove certain disturbing elements from Ukrainian society. That's like the classic disinformation. It's what you come to expect in a totalitarian country.”

Cohen closed his comments on the trucker protests with a defense of Covid mandates. “I think that Covid mandates adopted by both countries are spot on and saved millions of lives and have helped to bring us to the point today where both countries are opening up — and opening up very substantially.”

FROM THE TENDERS — On Wednesday, Transport Minister OMAR ALGHABRA announced the next phase of a federal high-frequency rail plan: a request for expressions of interest from potential procurement partners. The Logic's DAVID REEVELY found no actual REI and only a website with details TBD. The feds published the procurement docs on Thursday.

— The big news: Ottawa is looking for a new rail operator — not VIA — for decades to come on the vaunted high-frequency line.

For POLITICO Pro s, our policy newsletter by ZI-ANN LUM: Long-game planning for a ‘dangerous future.’

In other headlines for Pros: 

— Ukrainian official says war has destroyed $100B in assets.
— Kyiv’s hackers seize their wartime moment.
— Florida tells FDA to stop abiding pharma blockade on Canadian drug importation.
— Securities and Exchange Commission to consider historic rule requiring climate disclosure.
— Biden administration extends travel mask mandate through April 18.

— Maclean's Ottawa bureau chief SHANNON PROUDFOOT pens the first big profile of PIERRE POILIEVRE since he formally launched a bid to lead his party.

A choice excerpt: "He didn’t have to be the internet troll of Canadian politics, because he had ample other capabilities at his disposal, but here we are. Poilievre has been the spiritual leader of the Canadian conservative movement, if not the party’s leader, for some time. Now he’s looking to make it official."

— Memo from ANDREW COYNE:“Clowntime is over.” 

— On this pandemic anniversary, have a listen to SARB JOHAL in conversation with PITA CHATTOPADHYAY about chronic uncertainty and our collective existential crisis. (What? You thought it was just you?)

— This week served up back-to-back feature interviews with JUSTIN LING: The Big Story (subject: CHRYSTIA FREELAND) and The Herle Burly (subject: misinformation, conspiracy and extremism).

— From our colleagues in Washington: How Biden scuttled the deal to get MiGs to Ukraine

— On March 21, Air Canada President and CEO MICHAEL ROUSSEAU will appear at the House official languages committee. Topic of study: “Importance of Official Languages at Air Canada.”

Birthdays: HBD to Ontario Labor Minister MONTE MCNAUGHTON. … Happy birthday to former Tory MP ANDREW SAXTON, too. … BILL SIKSAY , an NDP MP from just across Burrard Inlet, also celebrates. … Former Quebec MNA and interim leader of the Parti Québécois, STÉPHANE BÉDARD, turns 54.

Spotted: DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME.

A few of the faces we noted during Playbook’s trivia night: ASHLEY CSANADY, AARON WHERRY, ERIC GRENIER, JIM PIMBLETT and JOHANNA LEFFLER.  

Movers and shakers: First Lake Solutions founder ROB LEFORTE was asked by his very own mother what lobbyists do. Here's his answer. … French ambo KAREEN RISPAL is leaving her posting, reports OBJ. "Everyone loves her," said luxury realtor MARILYN WILSON. … The Trudeaus' chef, CHANTHY YEN, filed standard paperwork with the ethics commissioner. Not that we get to see it.

MARÍA PAGÁN will be U.S. ambassador to the World Trade Organization. Pro s can read more about her here.

Media mentions: Canadian Press reporter TARA DESCHAMPS was named one of the 2022 Women of the Year by the Toronto business incubator The DMZ. … Rad-Can's NAËL SHIAB is shifting to a new role as (bilingual) senior data producer, interactives and visualizations at CBC News.

RESULTS — The third Playbook Virtual Trivia Night is in the books. The heroic BROCK STEPHENSON couldn't pull off a three-peat. We have a new champ. Here are the standings and scores out of 30 in parentheses.

— The winners: #TeamVantage (29)

— Second fiddle: Rookie and the Pros (27)

— Still a podium: Team LPC of the 80s, Riddell Alumni (25)

— 80 percent: Brock Stephenson, Lester B. PAPM (24)

— Not quite 80 percent: Riddell Faculty, H+Killers, Trivia if Necessary But Not Necessarily Trivia (23)

— A solid B-: H+K Centres of the Universe, The Points of Order (21)

— Two out of three ain't bad: Canadian-Style Trivia, Cs Get Degrees (20)

— 70 percent: The Sauga Capital Hillers (16)

— More than 8: Hair Force One (9)

— A valiant effort: Waterloo Politico (7)

The last question of the night spurred controversy. Just how tall is the Peace Tower? Official sources disagree. Many say 92 meters. Others say 98 meters. Playbook will fact-check this answer to avoid all-out trivia chaos.

Thursday's answer: Former prime minister KIM CAMPBELL’s memoir starts with Ecclesiastes, 9:11. Hear her talk about Time and Chance here.

Props to JOHN GUOBA.

Friday’s question: Name the future PM who saved a former PM from drowning.

Send your answers to ottawaplaybook@politico.com

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Nick Taylor-Vaisey @TaylorVaisey Sue Allan @susan_allan Andy Blatchford @AndyBlatchford Maura Forrest @MauraForrest Zi-Ann Lum @ziannlum POLITICO Canada @politicoottawa

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