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A daily look inside Canadian politics and power. | | | | |  | | By Zi-Ann Lum and Nick Taylor-Vaisey | Send tips I Email Nick l Email Zi-Ann l Email Maura l Subscribe here WELCOME TO OTTAWA PLAYBOOK. We’re your hosts Nick Taylor-Vaisey, Zi-Ann Lum, Maura Forrest and Andy Blatchford. Today’s the day PATRICK BROWN joins the A-show in Edmonton. We sit down with JEAN CHAREST and listen to him compare himself to ATTILA THE HUN . Plus, the federal leaders’ debates commission compares Canadian viewership to the Super Bowl. Do you enjoy Ottawa Playbook? Maybe you know others who may like it, too. Hit forward. Click here to sign up to this free newsletter.
|  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | 
Former Quebec Premier Jean Charest formally launches his campaign for the Conservative leadership campaign at an event in Calgary, Alberta on Thursday, March 10, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Dave Chidley | Dave Chidley, The Canadian Press | THE UNDERDOG — When Playbook caught up with JEAN CHAREST on Tuesday at the Delta hotel in downtown Edmonton, the former Quebec premier who wants to lead Canada was in the middle of debate prep. We had 10 minutes in a quiet corner of District 102, a restaurant not far from the undisclosed location where his team was finalizing strategy for tonight's first official debate of the Conservative leadership race. Seated in a couple of comfy chairs, we crammed politics, policy and personality into the conversation. For months, the informal consensus of the chattering classes has positioned PIERRE POILIEVRE as the frontrunner. Charest embraced the longer odds assigned to him. "Definitely, he's the frontrunner and I'm the underdog. But that's fine. I've been an underdog all my life. I've never been anything else but the underdog. And if I weren't the underdog, I wouldn't recognize the race." This is an emerging strategy for the Charest team. The campaign's co-chair, TASHA KHEIRIDDIN, advised Poilievre on Monday to "never take a lead for granted" — with Rich Strike's stunning comeback at the Kentucky Derby as the unsubtle metaphor. — A compliment for Poilievre: "He's a very good communicator. And he's obviously bright." The frontrunner came out early with accusations that Charest was just another Liberal — a tax-and-spender who has more in common with JUSTIN TRUDEAU than a true Conservative like STEPHEN HARPER. During the first unofficial debate of the race, Charest confronted the accusation by repeating it — a cardinal sin in the eyes of any political strategist worth their salt. He gave it another go in conversation with Playbook. "It is an interesting experience for me to go through this and have other people say, 'Well, you're a Liberal.' When I was in Quebec, for 14 years I was Attila the Hun. I was an extreme right-winger! I'm not complaining, but I just smile to myself and say, 'Okay. Somewhere in the middle is the answer.' " — Why he's running: For one, because he secured permission from the one person who held a veto after 42 years of marriage. "I wasn't in until my wife, Michele, agreed to it. That is something that's very important. It's been that way all our lives. We always did it together," Charest told Playbook. It wasn't a sure thing. Charest said he was persuaded to run by people he respected. "And then Phase 2 is actually convincing my wife that we should stop what we're doing now and do this. It wasn't an easy thing to do, honestly," he says. "She's given a lot. And it wasn't obvious to her that this was something that she thought that we should be doing. But in the end, she said yes. She felt very strongly about it." — The policy brain: Charest has so far pitched nine broad policy themes and dozens of detailed proposals. Playbook asked how he came up with everything. "There is a team that's led by a guy named FRASER MACDONALD," he says. Macdonald is a corporate lawyer who specializes in banking and finance. He's a longtime Tory, having worked on federal and provincial campaigns going back to 2007. Macdonald also spent time with grassroots conservatives at the Manning Centre — now the Canada Strong and Free Network — where he "learned the value of building coalitions outside of partisan politics in order to build momentum for significant policy changes." That's who's driving the policy bus. Okay, back to Charest. "[Our policy] stems from an extensive working session that we had together at the outset of the campaign, to run through what it is that I wanted to do. That's what allowed us to move on policy much more than typically we would in a leadership campaign. If you've watched other campaigns, usually it's thematic, or headlines, but not being granular." — The most transformative idea: Playbook asked Charest to pick one policy that would change Canada more than any other. He refused. And then he picked four, anyway: economic growth, resource development, national defense and the Arctic. As Charest wrapped up his final answer — total interview time, 12 minutes, 53 seconds — he was already on his feet and walking out the door — much to the relief of LAURENCE TÔTH, his increasingly anxious press secretary. Debate prep beckoned.
| | PARTY POLITICS | | CONVOY’S SHADOW — Last week’s debate smackdown over which Tory leadership candidate is the No. 1 convoy supporter made newly minted POLITICO columnist PHILIPPE J. FOURNIER curious. Curious enough to comb through new data from EKOS Research Associates to throw some light on how Canadians, specifically conservative voters, feel about this issue. A clear majority, 63 percent, opposed the convoy, while 23 percent expressed support for the protests. — By polling region: The data shows a majority of voters opposed the blockades in all polling regions of the country, including 68 percent in Quebec, 63 percent in Ontario, 55 percent in British Columbia, and even 51 percent in Alberta. So then why would leadership candidates spend so much time and political capital focused on an issue that most Canadians object to? The answer lies in the breakdown by voting intentions.
|  | Almost 90 percent of Liberal voters and 83 percent of NDP voters opposed the convoy. But among CPC voters? A plurality of respondents, 46 percent, actually supported the convoy, against only 30 percent who opposed it, which helps to explain why last week’s debate was designed not so much for the general public as it was for internal CPC consumption. For those yearning to know the survey methodology: Read Philippe’s column here.
| | AROUND THE HILL | | LUCKI LESSONS — RCMP Commissioner BRENDA LUCKI bore the brunt of MPs’ and senators’ questions in Tuesday evening’s special joint committee on the declaration of emergency. Bloc MP RHÉAL FORTIN asked what Mounties would do differently if a similar situation occurred again. Lucki took the opportunity to share lessons learned from the convoy that were applied to the Rolling Thunder protest that didn’t stick to downtown streets for weeks. — Benefits of hindsight: “No stopping, blocking off certain areas, not allowing people to park and stop,” Lucki said. “A slow-moving protest is fine. Engaging with the protest organizers. In the motorcycle one, there was one. In the protest in Ottawa, there were over seven or eight different organizers so it was hard to get any agreement amongst the various groups that were there because there were team captains from every part of the country.” NDP MP MATTHEW GREEN quipped the lessons seemed “pretty obvious.” He asked Lucki to acknowledge double standards in policing between the treatment of covoyers by Mounties at the Coutts border blockade and Indigenous land defenders on Wet'suwet'en territory. Lucki did not. GRANT US WISDOM — The House of Commons will vote today on a Bloc Québécois motion to scrap the prayer that marks the beginning of official business each day. Didn’t know that was still a thing? It is! The motion, sponsored by MP MARTIN CHAMPOUX, would replace the prayer with a moment of quiet reflection. Champoux told Playbook the prayer is a contradiction for a Liberal government that champions inclusivity. But his motion is likely to go precisely nowhere. The Liberal response Tuesday was essentially: “There’s a war in Ukraine and a climate crisis going on, and you guys want to talk about what now?” Which is effective as a deflection, sure, but pretty weak sauce as an actual response. Champoux accused them of “appalling intellectual hypocrisy.” — Pressed by reporters: A few Liberals also suggested the prayer, which begins with “Almighty God” and ends with “Amen,” is OK because it doesn’t mention any religion in particular. Which is a bit like Quebec Premier FRANÇOIS LEGAULT claiming the crucifix that hung in that province’s National Assembly wasn’t a religious symbol. (By the way, that crucifix is gone now.) It’s worth pointing out here that the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in 2015 that prayers before city council meetings infringe on freedom of conscience and religion, prompting many cities to scrap them. But Parliament and provincial legislatures are protected by parliamentary privilege, so the tradition has continued. — Not everywhere, though: Nova Scotia’s Progressive Conservative government did away with the daily prayer just last October. Quebec and Newfoundland also do not recite prayers. It can be done! But some Liberals surely remember the price their provincial cousins paid a while back for daring to threaten the prayer. These things have a way of getting heated. Former Liberal premier DALTON MCGUINTY famously tried to scrap the reciting of the Lord’s Prayer in the Ontario Legislature back in 2008, only to back down in the face of public backlash, including from his own mom. After all — tradition! (Insert Fiddler on the Roof gif here.) What do you think? Should the daily prayer stay or go? Tell us at ottawaplaybook@politico.com.
| | For your radar | | GOING BALLISTIC — Former Liberal Cabinet minister JOHN MANLEY put Defense Minister ANITA ANAND on the spot Tuesday with a question on missile defense. And Anand’s response produced some headlines. Following Anand’s speech in Ottawa to the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, she invited the audience to ask her a question. Manley, sitting directly in front of the stage, spoke up right away. Manley asked Anand if, given the new threats in the world, the government was rethinking its decision nearly 20 years ago to decline to participate in U.S. ballistic missile defense. Anand suggested that the door may have opened a crack, at least. “We are certainly taking a full and comprehensive look at that question as well as what it takes to defend the continent across the board,” Anand said before adding: “We are leaving no stone unturned in this major review of continental defense.” She then promised there will be more to say “in the months to come.” POLITICO’s ANDY BLATCHFORD has the full story. BILLIONS FOR TMX BACKSTOP — Cabinet approved a special C$10 billion loan guarantee to entice investment in the government-owned Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project. The transaction, administered under the Canada Account at Export Development Canada, was signed off on April 29 to protect creditors. Pipelines have become easy targets in Canada, a major oil-producing country with ambitious net-zero ambitions, especially one where project costs have jumped to C$21.4 billion this year from C$12.6 billion in 2020. POLITICO’s ZI-ANN LUM has the full story. FUTURE OF DEBATE — The federal debates commission has the answers. That’s the central conclusion of the commission’s report to Parliament on the 2021 leaders’ debates, published Tuesday by commissioner DAVID JOHNSTON. After those debates, which featured as many journalists on stage as party leaders and little time for actual debate, some called for the commission to be scrapped. More than one critic labeled the debates a “farce.” The commission claims it thought about recommending its own demise. But in the end (surprise!), it decided that wouldn’t best serve the public interest. Instead, the commission’s solution is to give the commission more power. It should be made permanent, ideally through legislation. It should have final approval over the debate format, instead of the consortium of TV networks that broadcast the debates. And it should get to choose the moderators (likely just one per debate), instead of having every network offer up one of their own. “We are increasingly concerned about what we consider to be a growing gap between network television imperatives and what the public expects of debates,” the report reads. By way of evidence, it points to survey results showing Canadians are least concerned that a debate “be exciting.” Oh, Canada. Here are a few other notable stats from the report: — The 2021 English-language debate included 45 questions, compared to eight in 2008 and six in 2011. — The debate attracted 10.3 million viewers, compared to 8.8 million Canadians who watched the Super Bowl. But that’s down from the 14.2 million people who watched the English debate in 2019. — The debates were aired on 36 TV networks, four radio networks, and more than 115 digital streams. They were available in 16 languages, including six Indigenous languages, ASL and LSQ. — Aside from the English- and French-language broadcasts, Tagalog, Punjabi and Mandarin broadcasts attracted the most viewers.
| | TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS | | 10 a.m. Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU will attend the Liberals’ national caucus meeting. Question period at 2 p.m. is also on the PM’s itinerary, as well as a meeting with Organisation internationale de la Francophonie Secretary General LOUISE MUSHIKIWABO. 9:30 a.m. NDP Leader JAGMEET SINGH will attend his party’s national caucus meeting, hold a media availability at 12:30 p.m., and take in question period in person at 2 p.m. 9:00 a.m. The Conference of Defence Associations kicks off its inaugural Montreal Climate Security Summit. Speakers include NATO Chief Scientist Dr. BRYAN WELLS and BERNICE VAN BRONKHORST, the World Bank’s global director on climate change. 9:30 a.m . Campaign Life Coalition will hold a press conference in front of the Supreme Court to talk about Thursday’s National March for Life rally on Parliament Hill and “to address the implications to Canada regarding the leaked U.S. Supreme Court decision on Roe v. Wade.” 10 a.m. Public Safety Minister MARCO MENDICINO makes an announcement related to the government’s “ongoing efforts to protect Canadians from the threat of gun violence.” 10:05 a.m. Governor General Mary Simon lands at Kangiqsujuaq Airport for a visit in her home region of Nunavik. Her day trip will include facetime with Kangiqsujuaq Mayor QIALLAK QUMALUK NAPPAALUK and elders at the Qilangnguanaaq Assisted Living Centre before flying to Inukjuak where the GG will be greeted by the Inuit community’s mayor, PAULOOSIE KASUDLUAK. 12:30 p.m. Health Minister JEAN-YVES DUCLOS and Women and Gender Equity and Youth Minister MARCI IEN will make an announcement to “strengthen access to abortion.” 6 p.m. The Canada-Ukraine Parliamentary Program holds a fundraiser at the Metropolitain. In attendance: "Forty young Ukrainian women, just arrived in Canada, who will be the first interns to restart the program after two years of the pandemic." 6 p.m. Across the street at 45 Rideau, the Cardus think tank hosts a talk on the history of federal emergency measures by XAVIER GÉLINAS, curator of political history at the Canadian Museum of History. 6:00 p.m. (Mountain) The Edmonton Convention Hall is the place to be as the first official Conservative Party debate takes place in English with all six candidates on stage. — Parliamentarians abroad: Innovation Minister FRANÇOIS-PHILIPPE CHAMPAGNE is in Düsseldorf, Germany. Foreign affairs parlsec ROB OLIPHANT is visiting Egypt and Morocco.
| | MEDIA ROOM | | — Top of POLITICO this morning: Trump gets knocked down in Nebraska. — PEDRO ANTUNES, chief economist of the Conference Board of Canada, is this morning's guest on THE BIG STORY pod. Topic of discussion: Has inflation peaked? Could it still get worse? How will we know? — For the CBC, JASON MARKUSOFF writes: This is where the Albertans deciding Jason Kenney's future live (think small). — New video from POLITICO’s REBECCA KERN: How ELON MUSK could change political Twitter. — Nunatsiaq News shared a photo slideshow of Gov. Gen. MARY SIMON’s Kuujjuaq homecoming. — On The Hub, HOWARD ANGLIN responds to critics of the first CPC leadership debate: "Blaming politicians for the tone of politics in a democracy confuses cause and effect. This is on us, not them." — How would the overturn of Roe v. Wade affect Canada? DALE SMITH considered the answer in Xtra. — CBC News’ ALEX PANETTA reports on a congressional hearing Tuesday when Sen. DAN SULLIVAN (R-Alaska) disparaged Canada as a NATO freeloader. “And it’s getting a little tiring,” Sullivan said.
| | PROZONE | | If you’re a POLITICO Pro , don’t miss our latest policy newsletter by ANDY BLATCHFORD: Is Canada going ballistic? In other headlines for Pros:
— In letters, U.S. tries to reshape Taiwan’s weapons requests.
— White House to roll out plan to catalyze infrastructure investments.
— Cryptocurrency mining moratorium: Advocates push for Senate passage.
— 50-50 chance planet will temporarily overshoot 1.5 degrees before 2026.
— Biden administration urges Supreme Court to reject social cost of carbon challenge.
| | PLAYBOOKERS | |
Birthdays: HBD to Conservative House leader JOHN BRASSARD. His Liberal counterpart, MARK HOLLAND, congratulated him last week by extending sitting hours to midnight today: “He gets an opportunity to celebrate in this august place!”
— Other birthdays today: Alberta’s ED STELMACH, Manitoba Premier HEATHER STEFANSON, former senator NANCY GREEN RAINE, producer and director THERESA BURKE, journalist REBECCA ECKLER, former MPs LAURIE HAWN and GUY ARSENEAULT. HBD + 1 to DAVID AKIN of Global News, who celebrated by flying to Edmonton for the CPC leadership debate. Send birthdays to ottawaplaybook@politico.com. Spotted: QUEEN’S UNIVERSITY, on the Hill … and at The Met. MP LENA METLEGE DIAB shouting out Jeopardy champ MATTEA ROACH in the House: “She is a role model for women, youth, members of the LGBTQ community and, indeed, everyone who knows the value of knowledge, no matter how obscure it may be.” UN Development’s ULRIKA MODÉER lunching with Liberal MPs ANITA VANDENBELD, SAMEER ZUBERI, SVEN SPENGEMANN and NATE ERSKINE-SMITH … Ottawa City Councilor CATHERINE MCKENNEY in conversation with MAUDE BARLOW. Treasury Board President MONA FORTIER touting tulips. … And, just in time for the Canadian Tulip Festival: Her Royal Highness PRINCESS MARGRIET OF THE NETHERLANDS and her husband PIETER VAN VOLLENHOVEN will arrive in Ottawa on Thursday for a five-day visit. Media mentions: THE DECIBEL pod just turned one. Movers and shakers: RAPHAËL BEAUCHAMP joins Natural Resources Minister JONATHAN WILKINSON’s team as a senior policy adviser. BRETT THALMANN announced it’s his last week in the PMO. Transport Minister OMAR ALGHABRA’s operations director ANGAD SINGH DHILLON credited Thalmann for his first job at Ontario Liberal HQ. True to post-Ottawa bubble form, Thalmann, the ex-executive director for planning, administration, and people said he’s “looking forward to reconnecting with friends and am open to taking on short term consulting opportunities.” Send Playbookers tips to ottawaplaybook@politico.com.
| | HOUSE BUSINESS | | Keep up to House committee schedules here. Find Senate meeting schedules here. 9:30 a.m. Action Hepatitis Canada is in West Block to hold a press conference marking the inaugural Canadian Viral Hepatitis Elimination Day. 12 p.m. The Senate subcommittee on veterans affairs meets to hear from the Veterans’ ombudsman’s office. 3:30 p.m. The House national defense committee continues its study on “Rising Domestic Operational Deployments and Challenges for the Canadian Armed Forces.” Witnesses will include representatives of the Canadian Red Cross, Emergency Management NGO Consortium of Canada and the Government of Yukon. 3:30 p.m.The House international trade committee continues examining Canada’s trade opportunities for Canadian businesses in the Indo-Pacific. MPs will hear from witnesses representing the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec and the Canadian Sugar Institute. 3:30 p.m. The House official languages committee meets in camera to consider a draft report of its study on government measures to protect and promote French in Quebec and Canada. 3:30 p.m. The House heritage committee is also behind closed doors to consider its report Covid-19 and its impact on the arts, culture, heritage and sports sectors. 4 p.m. The Senate social affairs, science and technology committee meets to dig into Part 8 of Bill S-6, An Act respecting regulatory modernization and will hear from Treasury Board and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship officials. 4:15 p.m. The Senate legal and constitutional affairs committee meets to study Bill S-4 . The government Senate bill proposes Criminal Code reforms such as accommodating hybrid participation and expanding court powers by amending case management rules “permitting court personnel to deal with administrative matters for accused not represented by counsel.” 6:30 p.m. The Senate banking, trade and commerce committee meets to sort the details in the government’s budget implementation bill and will hear from witnesses representing the C.D. Howe Institute, Centre for International Governance Innovation and Banks and Trust Companies Association. 6:30 p.m. Transport and Treasury Board officials will make an appearance at the Senate transport and communications committee where “Part 10 of Bill S-6, An Act respecting regulatory modernization” is on the day’s agenda.
| | Talk of the town | | YOU ARE INVITED — Join us June 9 at the METROPOLITAIN in Ottawa for Playbook Trivia. Gather a team of friends and co-workers, then send us an RSVP to reserve. — The competition so far: THE BLUESKY BRAINY BUNCH, H+K KILLERS, TEAM EARNSCLIFFE, RIDDELL, TEAM LPC OF THE 80s, AMY BOUGHNER and her pals … and many more.
| | TRIVIA | | Tuesday’s answer was the Peace Tower. As ROBERT MCDOUGALL, KEVIN BOSCH, BEN ROTH and NICK MASCIANTONIO very nicely pointed out, Prime Minister MACKENZIE KING was the recipient of the letter we quoted, not the author. Follow this link for more on the history of the Peace Tower. Props to SOPHIE NICKEL, JASON KERR, JOANNA PLATER and KRISTIN BALDWIN. Wednesday’s question: Tell us the name of the giant spider in front of the National Gallery of Canada. For bonus marks, tell us who the artist credits as the inspiration for the sculpture. Send your answers to ottawaplaybook@politico.com Playbook wouldn’t happen without Luiza Ch. Savage, editor John Yearwood and Sue Allan.
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