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A daily look inside Canadian politics and power. | | | | |  | | By Maura Forrest | Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Maura | Follow Politico Canada WELCOME TO OTTAWA PLAYBOOK. I’m your host, Maura Forrest, with Nick Taylor-Vaisey and Zi-Ann Lum. Today, we bring you highlights from the first Conservative leadership debate. The Liberals face questions on abortion access. And you told us what you think about lowering the voting age to 16. BONJOUR/HI — We’re delighted to announce that PHILIPPE FOURNIER, political columnist, poll guru and creator of 338Canada, will be sharing his insights in a regular column for POLITICO Canada. You can find his first piece here, on why the Conservatives are keeping quiet on abortion. — Today: Join Philippe in conversation with NICK TAYLOR-VAISEY on Twitter Spaces at 12:30 p.m. ET. We’ll debrief the Conservative debate and dip into the Ontario election campaign. If you have questions you’d like us to put to Philippe, shoot us a DM or email us here.
|  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | 
Conservative leadership candidate Pierre Poilievre gestures toward Jean Charest as Roman Baber, left, Scott Aitchison and Leslyn Lewis, right, debate at the Canada Strong and Free Network conference, May 5, 2022. | Adrian Wyld, The Canadian Press | POSTMORTEM — Five of the six Conservative hopefuls faced off for the first time Thursday night in a debate that proved when JUSTIN TRUDEAU isn’t in the room, they’re more than happy to attack each other instead. PIERRE POILIEVRE , the perceived frontrunner, was a master of the one-liner and presented himself as an unapologetic conservative. Rival JEAN CHAREST pitched himself as a unifier, but struggled to overcome some of his political baggage. PATRICK BROWN was the only candidate who elected not to attend. Here are some of the debate highlights: — Attack of the night: “Mr. Charest learned about the trucker convoy on CBC, like other Liberals. … The average trucker has more integrity in his pinky finger than you had in your entire scandal-plagued Liberal cabinet.” — PIERRE POILIEVRE, who touted his support of the Freedom Convoy and was rewarded for it with big cheers — Most misjudged line: “Mr. Poilievre… supported an illegal blockade. You cannot make laws and break laws and then say ‘I will make laws for other people.’” — JEAN CHAREST, before being drowned out by boos — Most hopeful statement: “We’ve got to stop demonizing each other. Canadians are amazing people, and there’s more that unites than divides us.” — SCOTT AITCHISON, to tepid applause — Gloomiest statement: “The fabric of our nation is being torn apart by cancel culture and wokeism.” — LESLYN LEWIS — Most heated exchange: Poilievre went at Charest like a bulldog, demanding to know how much (“How much? How much? How much?”) he was paid as a lobbyist for Huawei. Charest, in turn, went after Poilievre for saying he wouldn’t fight Quebec’s Bill 21, which prevents teachers, lawyers and police officers from wearing religious symbols, in the Supreme Court of Canada: “That speaks to his concept of freedom, ladies and gentlemen. Is there anything more important than freedom of religion? I don’t think so.” — Timeliest comment: “Pierre Poilievre has run from the media the last few days because he doesn’t want to declare whether he’s pro-life or pro-choice. As a leader, he’s going to have to declare that.” — LESLYN LEWIS — Most self-aware comment: “Here we are, calling each other names. What Canadian is going to trust this lot? We’ve got to do better.” — SCOTT AITCHISON — Most notable omission: Housing prices have been a top policy issue for many of the candidates, but scored barely a mention during the debate. — Best quip: “I’m not just putting on temporarily a blue shirt to cover up a red shirt underneath it in order to take over the party.” — PIERRE POILIEVRE — Lowest blow: This one goes out to moderator JAMIL JIVANI, who used PATRICK BROWN’s absence to suggest he’s “sowing division in our country” and “manipulating diaspora politics to bolster his campaign.” — Line of the night: “I don’t even like politics.” — ROMAN BABER And there you have it. Here’s a link to the full debate, though we’ve given you most of the good bits. Did someone forward you this Playbook? Click here to sign up for your own subscription to this free newsletter. — Spotted in the crowd: The godfather of the western Conservative movement and founder of the conference that hosted the debate, PRESTON MANNING, held court in the Shaw Centre. It was a who's who of Tories from here and far. There were former premiers! MIKE HARRIS and GORDON CAMPBELL. There was a current premier! JASON KENNEY. There were MPs! ED FAST, KELLY BLOCK, RACHAEL THOMAS, MELISSA LANTSMAN, ED FAST, KERRY-LYNNE FINDLAY, TRACY GRAY, RAQUEL DANCHO, STEPHANIE KUSIE and RICK PERKINS. There were senators! DENISE BATTERS and CLAUDE CARIGNAN. There were lots of familiar faces! AARON WUDRICK, DAN MADER, STEPHEN TAYLOR, ASHTON ARSENAULT, DAN NOWLAN, WALTER ROBINSON, CORY HANN, COLE HOGAN, CHRIS MCCLUSKEY, NEIL BRODIE, NARESH RAGHUBEER, KEVIN BOSCH and YAROSLAV BARAN.
| | AROUND THE HILL | | ABORTION RIGHTS — Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU could be accused of ambiguity in his response to questions this week about where his government is headed on abortion. As has been much discussed in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court leak suggesting Roe v. Wade will be imminently overturned, there are no restrictions on abortions in Canada, but a right to abortion has never been enshrined in law. “If we need to pass legislation, we’ll be able to do it,” Trudeau said in French Wednesday, when asked about legislating on abortion. Later in the day, he had this to say, also in French: “I’m not ruling it out, but it’s not the only way.” Other Cabinet ministers were quick to steer away from the possibility of new legislation, focusing instead on a Liberal promise to add regulations to the Canada Health Act to ensure access to abortions. And it seems unlikely, to put it mildly, that there would be any serious discussion of a new law to govern abortion. (If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, etc.) But the exchanges with reporters suggest it’s not just the Conservatives who will have to navigate the fallout from the court’s eventual decision on Roe v. Wade. The Liberals, too, may feel pressure to respond with something that isn’t just finger-pointing at pro-life MPs across the aisle. A series of platform commitments to improve abortion access that have largely sat dormant since the election could suddenly become bigger priorities. — The real barriers: In a bit of posturing this week, Public Safety Minister MARCO MENDICINO made it known he’d spoken to the Canada Border Services Agency to ensure Americans traveling to Canada for abortions wouldn’t be denied, even though there was no reason they should have been denied to begin with. POLITICO’s ANDY BLATCHFORD has this look at the real barriers facing people seeking abortions in Canada (spoiler: it’s not border guards, it’s wait lists). — Elsewhere: Here’s the National Post’s CHRIS SELLEY hoping the whole affair focuses Canadians “on the real issues at hand, rather than on cartoonish predictions of the country turning into a dystopian misogynist nightmare.” OUT OF TOWNERS — The Greater Toronto Area’s Cantonese food scene played a part in drawing U.S. Trade Representative KATHERINE TAI to Canada. International Trade Minister MARY NG is hosting Tai for a two-day visit that wraps today in Toronto. Speaking to reporters in Ottawa Thursday, Ng said their stop in Markham, Ont., to visit a tech lab and General Motors facility, includes a working meal over hot pot (which isn’t necessarily Cantonese cuisine but OK). — Why now: A senior government official tells Playbook the idea of a Canadian trip had been toyed with for a while, as they waited for pandemic restrictions to relax. It also comes ahead of the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles next month. — Spilled milk: Dairy remains a “difficult” area in the relationship, Tai said, but neither leader would confirm if they expect a resolution before the USMCA Secretariat meeting in July. Playbook has learned some progress has been made. The official said next steps will be announced in the coming days and weeks, a prelude toward resolution. — Budget beef : A USTR readout of Thursday’s meeting stated Tai raised concerns about the Liberals’ proposed digital service tax and underused housing tax. The housing tax is a measure Rep. BRIAN HIGGINS (D-N.Y.) had urged Tai to bring up during the bilat earlier this week. In related reading for Pro s: — Tai wants tariff review to produce 'durable, effective' China strategy. — Tai: U.S. and Canada exploring 'all options' over Mexican energy policy. WISE OWLS — The Senate has extended hybrid sittings due to the pandemic, and Conservative Senate Leader DON PLETT isn’t thrilled about it. “As Canadians across the country are back at work, isn’t it a little rich for the Senate to insist that it isn’t safe to do our work in person…?” he said in a statement. “The Senate has suffered a public image challenge in the last decade. I doubt this decision to prolong a hybrid model will improve the image of the institution.”
| | PAPER TRAIL | | BETTER LATE THAN NEVER — The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission could use a little help with climate change adaptation . The federal regulator is looking for a researcher who can beef up its understanding of the impact "extreme climate events" will have on the structural loads of reinforced concrete containment structures — i.e. buildings that stop radioactive materials from escaping. — Crisis for Dummies: The docs neatly summarize the scope of the global challenge for anyone who's lived under a rock for decades. "Climate scientists are confident that Canada's climate has warmed. These changes are projected to continue in the future, with the magnitude of change proportional to the mean temperature change." — The problem: CNSC flags temperature, humidity, precipitation, wind, waves and tides as potential contributors to concrete degradation. When carbon dioxide meets the calcium hydroxide in cement paste, they make a damage-prone combo. "Long-term cumulative effect of these processes can reduce the service life of concrete structures, impair safety, and cause an economic penalty," reads the tender. The more volatile the climate, the worse. "Canadian weather conditions are very aggressive for concrete structures. One of the most severe issues concerns freeze-thaw cycles, and it is more severe when the ambient conditions are wet. This situation is common in Canada during autumn, spring, and warm winter when the daytime temperature is slightly above 0°C and by night below zero." — The solution: "A comprehensive report that the CNSC and nuclear industry professionals can use as a single source of information on climatic impact on Canadian nuclear power plant concrete structures."
| | TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS | | Deputy Prime Minister CHRYSTIA FREELAND is in “private meetings.” 8:35 a.m. Interim Conservative Leader CANDICE BERGEN speaks at the Canada Strong and Free Networking Conference. 9:30 a.m. International Trade Minister MARY NG and U.S. Trade Representative KATHERINE TAI start their day in Toronto with a session on inclusive trade and the USMCA hosted by MaRS Discovery District. 10:20 a.m. Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU will meet with families who have resettled from Afghanistan. 11 a.m. Government officials will provide an update on Covid-19. 11 a.m. Governor General MARY SIMON will invest 10 officers and 14 members into the Order of Canada at Rideau Hall. Saturday, 7 p.m. Astronaut DAVID SAINT-JACQUES will speak about Canada’s role in lunar exploration during AstroFest at the Planetarium in Montreal.
| | WE GET MAIL | | SWEET 16 — On Wednesday, we asked if you think the voting age should be lowered to 16, as the NDP are hoping to do with a private member’s bill. Here’s some of what you had to say, alongside responses we’ve been hearing from Cabinet ministers on the Hill. “My understanding is that the human brain is not fully formed until the age of 18. This fact should preclude unformed brains from making decisions of such importance. These people are vulnerable, impressionable and incapable of making informed choices. This is not to say that other segments of society are not in the same boat. But still.” — MAUREEN MACGILLIVRAY, Welland, Ont. “What I think is that you have to be 18 to go into bars. It takes a certain maturity.” — National Revenue Minister DIANE LEBOUTHILLIER “Yes” — EDWARD MARCHEWKA, Owen Sound, Ont. “Yes to lowering [the] voting age to 16… since decisions today on climate change & housing will affect them dearly in their future” — DW PERRY, Gravenhurst, Ont. “Leave the voting age as it is!!!” — CHUCK PHELPS, Calgary, Alta. “I’m of two minds. There are lots of issues we’re dealing with today that are very important for young people, like climate change. But 18 is the age we use for almost everything, so I have to think about it. But I think there are good arguments on both sides.” — Natural Resources Minister JONATHAN WILKINSON “No.” — BETTY MAURICE, West Kelowna, B.C. “I look forward to a robust debate and hearing a number of different perspectives.” — Government House Leader MARK HOLLAND, who introduced a similar bill in 2004
| | MEDIA ROOM | | — From the CBC's DAVID COMMON and MURRAY BREWSTER: A Canadian veteran describes weeks under fire in Ukraine. — GREG LYLE is a guest on The Herle Burly this week where they discuss the Ontario campaign so far. h/t Pundits’ Guide, who tweeted: “Top-notch discussion … will challenge your first impressions of what works in an election campaign.” — Noted in the WSJ: Facebook deliberately caused havoc in Australia to influence new law, whistleblowers say. — On The Hub Dialogues, SEAN SPEER talks with friend and YouTuber J.J. MCCULLOUGH. — The pandemic may have been good for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but it wasn't good for plastics recycling, POLITICO’s JORDAN WOLMAN writes in the Long Game newsletter.
| | PROZONE | | For POLITICO Pro s, our policy newsletter by ZI-ANN LUM: Honest talk on the dairy dispute. In other headlines for Pros:
— Antibiotic use to treat Covid raises antimicrobial resistance fears.
— AHCA presses FDA again for answers on Canadian drug import program.
— FDA dramatically narrows use of Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine.
— Why Newsom is talking about saving California's last nuclear plant.
— Meta faces threat of German antitrust action.
— FDA updates guidelines for prescribers using Paxlovid.
| | PLAYBOOKERS | | Birthdays: Sen. TERRY MERCER is 75 (see below). Also celebrating birthdays today: Power & Politics host VASSY KAPELOS, DIANE ABLONCZY and MICHELLE COURCHESNE. Saturday: LISA RAITT, MARILYN CHURLEY, MARIA CHAPUT (80!) and TOM HEDDERSON. Sunday: IRWIN COTLER, NAOMI KLEIN, GARY LUNN, TREVOR HOLDER and NATHALIE ROY. Send birthdays to ottawaplaybook@politico.com. Media mentions: Nominees for the Digital Publishing Awards are out! Find the full list here. Spotted: VIGGO MORTENSEN speaking excellent French during a heartfelt tribute to GUY LAFLEUR. … Intergovernmental Affairs Minister DOMINIC LEBLANC and Alberta Premier JASON KENNEY making nice at a Calgary steakhouse. Jeopardy! whiz MATTEA ROACH co-hosting CANADALAND to talk Roe v. Wade and Canada’s new blood donation policy. … RICHARD CANNINGS with the constellations’ view of Bobcaygeon. … Sen. KAREN SORENSEN, making her inaugural speech in the Red Chamber. GREG MACEACHERN watching tributes to Sen. TERRY MERCER on the occasion of his retirement. … JAIME BATTISTE shouting out his mom MARIE BATTISTE in the House, “an innovator in Indigenous education and Cape Breton’s most recent recipient of the Order of Canada.” The Globe and Mail’s JANA PRUDEN, unexpectedly becoming a cat lady. … Conservative interim leader CANDICE BERGEN, isolating in Ottawa with Covid. What are you hearing that you need Playbook to know? Send it all our way. Farewells: White House press secretary JEN PSAKI is leaving the Biden administration on May 13, to be replaced by her deputy, KARINE JEAN-PIERRE. Our colleagues in Washington have the story.
| | HOUSE BUSINESS | | Keep up to House committee schedules here. Find Senate meeting schedules here. 8:30 a.m. Statistics Canada to release its labor force survey for April. Other reports slated for release Friday: Farm product prices (March 2022), real-time local business conditions, stocks of principal field crops (March 31, 2022) and Canadian Tourism Activity Tracker (February 2022). 1 p.m. Indigenous Services Minister PATTY HAJDU will appear before the House Indigenous and northern affairs committee alongside six department officials to answer MPs’ questions about the non-insured health benefits program. 1 p.m. Veteran Affairs Minister LAWRENCE MACAULAY will field main estimates-related questions at the House veteran affairs committee. Deputy Minister PAUL LEDWELL joins him with three assistant deputy ministers. 1 p.m. Liberal MPs PAM DAMOFF and ANJU DHILLON are witnesses at the House status of women committee related to its study of Bill C-233, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Judges Act (violence against an intimate partner). 1 p.m. The House justice and human rights committee continues its study of Bill C-5, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, with witnesses from the Brantford Police Service, Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police and the National Police Federation. 1 p.m. Restaurants Canada is on the witness list at the House industry and technology committee related to its study of small and medium-sized businesses. VASS BEDNAR from McMaster’s Master of Public Policy in Digital Society Program will also appear. 1 p.m. The House government operations and estimates committee resumes its study on the national shipbuilding strategy. Check out POLITICO Pro’s calendar for additional committee activity, events and more.
| | For your radar | | Join us for real-life Playbook Trivia: Thursday, June 9 at the METROPOLITAIN in Ottawa! Festivities will get underway at 7 p.m. There will be special guests. There will be fierce competition. There will be drama. There will be bragging rights. Space will be limited, so gather your team and then send us an RSVP.
| | TRIVIA | | Thursday's answer: JEAN CHRÉTIEN was the first to use the nickname, “the flying Taj Mahal.” WAYNE EASTER and JIM MUNSON were among the first in our inbox with the correct response. Reader LESLIE SWARTMAN writes: “Truth be told, it was not as opulent as it was made out to be. When I worked at PMO in the early Chrétien years, I flew on it with the Queen during one of her trips across Canada and had the chance to snoop around. It was functional, like a nice RV — benches that turn into a bed, a very small shower, an office and a sitting area — the things a PM would find useful while traveling overseas. Instead, when Mr. Chrétien wanted to catch some shut-eye, he would enter the coach section filled with staff and media, and stretch out on a middle row of seats.” Props also to BEN ROTH, ANNE-MARIE STACEY, JOANNA PLATER, CHRIS LEGGETT, CHRISTOPHER LALANDE, ROBERT MCDOUGALL, WILLIAM J PRISTANSKI, GARY ALLEN, KEVIN COLBOURNE, BOB GORDON, WAYNE FLEMING, CHRIS MCCLUSKEY, DIANNE SHERRIN, STEPHEN HAAS, PAUL GILLETT and DANIEL PROUSSALIDIS. Friday’s question: Today’s question comes from Playbook reader ROBERT MCDOUGALL: Which Liberal MP, during a 1987 debate, called then-Minister of Transport JOHN CROSBIE “Mr. Potato Head”? Bonus points: What did Crosbie call him/her back? Send your answers to ottawaplaybook@politico.com Have a petition you want signed? A cause you’re promoting? Seeking to increase brand awareness amongst this key audience? Share your message with our influential readers to foster engagement and drive action. Contact Alejandra Waase to find out how: awaase@politico.com. Playbook wouldn’t happen without Luiza Ch. Savage, editor Sue Allan. | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |  |
