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Presented by CPAC: A daily look inside Canadian politics and power. | | | | |  | | By Maura Forrest, Zi-Ann Lum and Nick Taylor-Vaisey | | | Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Maura | Follow Politico Canada WELCOME TO OTTAWA PLAYBOOK. I’m your host, Maura Forrest, with Zi-Ann Lum and Nick Taylor-Vaisey. JOE BIDEN is coming to Canada (sometime, eventually). New Democrats face down a threat to their blue-collar flank. And the Conservative leadership race gets friendlier (just kidding).
| | | | A message from CPAC: Unfiltered access to the people and events that shape our democracy. | | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | POTUS INCOMING — President JOE BIDEN agreed to visit Canada in the “coming months” during a bilateral meeting Thursday with Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU at the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles. The promise, vague as it is, has been a long time coming. Canada is the first international stop for many U.S. presidents, but Biden’s election during the Covid pandemic complicated matters. The two leaders first met during a (slightly awkward) virtual visit in February 2021, after Biden’s January inauguration. — Left out: Biden has since made a number of in-person international trips. His first was in June 2021, when he visited the U.K., Belgium and Switzerland. He’s also visited Italy and was in Poland earlier this year, where he met with Ukrainian refugees. Last month, he made his first Asian tour to South Korea and Japan. — Also on the agenda: Trudeau and Biden discussed the war in Ukraine, irregular migration, disinformation, Canada’s recent decision to ban Huawei from its 5G network, energy security and climate change during their meeting, per an official readout from the Prime Minister’s Office. WORKING-CLASS HERO — Ontario Premier DOUG FORD won a landslide victory last week in part by successfully appealing to working-class voters in former NDP strongholds. It was the first time the migration of blue-collar support toward conservative parties — which has been well-documented in the U.K. and the U.S. — has been so visible in Canada. This morning, we take a look at what Ford’s victory and the NDP’s loss mean for their federal counterparts. The question on the minds of many political operatives and observers is whether Ford’s success can be recreated on a national scale, and whether New Democrats can fend off the attack. — Key quotes: Here’s what’s on the mind of some of the folks we spoke to. “When I was in the labor movement back in the 1970s and into the 80s, working-class people saw themselves differently. It wasn't just that they identified as New Democrats. They saw themselves as trade unionists. [Now] it depends on the dynamics of the election and who appeals to those people.” — GILLES BISSON, a veteran NDP MPP who lost Timmins to the PCs “We are the party of the working class, and we are the party of labor. And we should never, ever take that for granted.” — NDP MP CHARLIE ANGUS, who wouldn’t say whether he’s considering a run for the provincial leadership “Just because Mr. Trudeau or Mr. Ford have occupied space that the NDP have traditionally occupied doesn't mean that those voters cannot be brought home.” — NDP strategist BRAD LAVIGNE “We are on the right side of the right issues for people who are working for a living and I don't see that changing in the near future.” — JENNIFER HOWARD, chief of staff to NDP Leader JAGMEET SINGH — Speaking of the Ontario election: Here’s the Toronto Star’s ROBERT BENZIE with the inside story of Ford’s victory. — In other #onpoli news: Queen’s Park Today’s ALLISON SMITH tweeted that Liberal MP NATHANIEL ERSKINE-SMITH is “seriously looking at” running for the Ontario Liberal leadership. The Star’s ROB FERGUSON and Benzie ran with the same headline later in the day, also pointing to MPPs MITZIE HUNTER and TED HSU as potential Liberal candidates, and to MPPs JOEL HARDEN, MARIT STILES and CATHERINE FIFE as possible contenders for the NDP’s top job. — (Mostly) unrelated: Speaking of federal MPs considering provincial leaderships, Conservative MP MICHELLE REMPEL GARNER is “atypically elusive” about her interest in the race to replace JASON KENNEY, the Calgary Herald’s DON BRAID reports.
| | | | A message from CPAC:   | | | | | AROUND THE HILL | | UNDER PRESSURE — The Liberals are facing increasing pressure to lift remaining Covid-19 restrictions, and it looks like the calls are coming from inside the house. The Hill Times’ ABBAS RANA reports that some Liberals say the vast majority of their caucus wants travel vaccination mandates to end. Here’s one quote that got our attention: “Sources told The Hill Times that Liberal MP Brendan Hanley (Yukon), a former chief health officer of the territory, has done more than one presentation at national caucus meetings to make the case for dropping COVID-19 restrictions.”
| | | | DON'T MISS THE 2022 GREAT LAKES ECONOMIC FORUM: POLITICO is excited to be the exclusive media partner again at the Council of the Great Lakes Region's bi-national Great Lakes Economic Forum with co-hosts Gov. JB Pritzker and Mayor Lori Lightfoot. This premier, intimate networking event, taking place June 26-28 in Chicago, brings together international, national and regional leaders from business, government, academia and the nonprofit sector each year. "Powering Forward" is this year's theme, setting the stage to connect key decision-makers with thought leaders and agents of change to identify and advance solutions that will strengthen the region's competitiveness and sustainability in today's competitive climate of trade, innovation, investment, labor mobility and environmental performance. Register today. | | | | | POILIEVRE VS. EVERYONE — Bank of Canada Governor TIFF MACKLEM has finally responded to PIERRE POILIEVRE’s threat to fire him, and… well, basically, he opted not to respond. “I’m going to leave politics to the politicians,” he said during a press conference Thursday. “We have a job to do for Canadians and we are not going to sleep easy until Canadians can stop worrying about inflation.” — So, not the most cutting rejoinder. But that’s OK! Because Poilievre has moved on to another target, this time with spicier results. — On Thursday, Poilievre sent out a news release demanding that Public Safety Minister MARCO MENDICINO resign over the government’s use of the Emergencies Act during the trucker protests in February. Mendicino has been taking heat for saying the Liberals invoked the act “on the advice of law enforcement,” since three current and former police chiefs have now said they didn’t explicitly ask for the government to invoke emergency powers. “The Minister made false statements,” Poilievre said. “If he messed up, then he’s incompetent. If he lied, then he’s dishonest. Either way, he can’t keep this important job.” — Well, Mendicino wasn’t going to take that lying down. Unprompted, he told reporters Thursday that Poilievre “egged on the illegal occupation” and used “weaponized” language in his support of the Freedom Convoy. “On this side of the House, we will always place public safety as a paramount objective and Pierre Poilievre can come and debate me on that any time he wants,” Mendicino said. “He knows exactly where to find me.”
| | | | A message from CPAC: Unfiltered access to the people and events that shape our democracy and real-time coverage of Parliament, politics and public affairs since 1992. | | | | | ALSO FOR YOUR RADAR | | CHINESE INTERFERENCE — Yesterday, POLITICO’s ANDY BLATCHFORD had this story about former Conservative leader ERIN O’TOOLE claiming on a podcast that Chinese interference cost him up to nine ridings during the 2021 election. — A quick update: On Thursday, BRANDON CHAMPAGNE, a spokesperson for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, told Blatchford a public notification must be made after voting day if top national security officials determine something happened that might have compromised the election. “No public announcement was made related to the 2021 federal election,” Champagne said in an email. So … make of that what you will. — Searching for evidence: Playbook called former Conservative MP KENNY CHIU, who lost his seat in Vancouver’s Lower Mainland in the 2021 election. Chiu spoke about a private member’s bill he introduced in the last session of Parliament, and its reception online, as a factor in how he lost his seat. The bill proposed the creation of a public registry for “individuals acting on behalf of a foreign principal” when they interact with public office holders. He said the bill was picked up by Chinese state media and framed as an anti-Chinese bill. When he went door-knocking, he said, some Chinese residents asked him: “Why do you hate us so much?” The following is a snippet of the conversation. It has been edited for length and clarity. PLAYBOOK: You were the Conservative incumbent in Steveston—Richmond East. Did the Chinese state interfere in your bid for re-election? CHIU: I believe yes … They have done it very carefully. And they've done it very professionally, having a lot of experience in that realm. PLAYBOOK: What’s your evidence? CHIU: [The Communist Chinese] have exclusive control of a social media called WeChat. And nothing is posted on WeChat without their approval. WeChat has become a conduit for their messaging. There are groups that are formed with the dedication of unseating Conservative MPs, such as myself, and also defeating the Conservative Party of Canada in the election. I got screenshots of this and I passed it on to CSIS who actually interviewed me a couple of times during the election. I had the opportunity to attend a Taiwanese community function during the election. The Taiwanese director general was also there. But they went as far as to hide themselves in a car in the parkade in order to avoid being captured in a picture with me. What do you think? Tell us at ottawaplaybook@politico.com.
| | | | STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president’s ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today. | | | | | | | CONSERVATIVE CORNER | | THE BIG TENT — In case anyone was under the illusion the Conservatives will reunite to form one happy family after this divisive leadership race, PATRICK BROWN and PIERRE POILIEVRE are here to burst your bubble. On Thursday, the Brampton mayor told CBC’s Power & Politics he won’t run for the federal Conservatives if rival PIERRE POILIEVRE wins the leadership in September. "With Pierre Poilievre, I just don't believe he could win seats in the GTA. I think his message is too divisive. Even as a popular mayor in the GTA, I don't think I could win a seat with a leader like him,” Brown said. — Clapback: Shortly after the interview aired, JENNI BYRNE, Poilievre’s senior adviser, fired back with an attack ad targeting Brown, reminding viewers that he broke ethics laws when he was leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservatives. “Patrick Brown is a liar,” Byrne wrote on Twitter. “He will say and do anything.” — Who’s lying? During his interview, Brown cast doubt on Poilievre’s membership sales. Poilievre’s team has said he signed up more than 300,000 new members ahead of the June 3 deadline. Brown says he’s sold more than 150,000 memberships. The Conservative Party sent out a news release Thursday saying it’s expecting well over 600,000 eligible voters for the leadership election. Given the number of existing members, Brown told CBC, Poilievre’s figures don’t add up. "If Pierre Poilievre's claims are true, essentially no one else has sold memberships," he said. Byrne has also accused Brown of lying about his numbers. — Key dates: The party says it will send each campaign a final voters list by June 29. It’s expecting to send ballot packages to eligible voters in late July or early August. Completed ballots must be received in Ottawa by Sept. 6, with the new leader to be announced Sept. 10.
| | TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS | | Liberal MP PETER FONSECA reminded the House this week that today is Portugal Day. Deputy Prime Minister CHRYSTIA FREELAND is in “private meetings.” 8:30 a.m. Statistics Canada releases its labor force survey for May. 10 a.m. Heritage Minister PABLO RODRIGUEZ makes a funding announcement to support Quebec’s tourism industry at Montreal’s PHI Centre. 10:45 a.m. Tourism Minister RANDY BOISSONNAULT will hold a press conference from Paris, where he’s attending the OECD’s ministerial council meeting. International Trade Minister MARY NG is also at the meeting. 11 a.m. Public health officials will provide an update on monkeypox. 11:30 a.m. Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU will meet with U.S. House Speaker NANCY PELOSI at the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles. 1 p.m. Mental Health and Addictions Minister CAROLYN BENNETT will announce proposed regulations for tobacco products. 4 p.m. The PM will hold a bilateral meeting with Jamaican Prime Minister ANDREW HOLNESS. 4:40 p.m. The PM will hold a bilateral meeting with the president of the Dominican Republic, LUIS ABINADER. 7:15 p.m. The PM will hold a press conference.
| | PAPER TRAIL | | BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY — As the feds issue a new travel advisory to Canadians amid global concern about the spread of monkeypox, procurement bureaucrats aren't just stocking up on smallpox vaccine that's effective against the worrying virus. They're also buying up Tembexa , an antiviral used to treat smallpox. — What exactly is that? Tembexa, also known as Brincidofovir, is manufactured by Chimerix — a North Carolina-based pharma company that received U.S. FDA approval for the drug about a year ago. The tender docs state the FDA's green light is enough to qualify for a contract. — Why Chimerix? The Public Health Agency of Canada says that manufacturer is "the only known supplier capable of providing an antiviral that is a nucleotide analog DNA polymerase inhibitor and also for treatment of smallpox in pediatric patients" — i.e. kids. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control is currently developing a plan to "help facilitate use of Brincidofovir as a treatment for monkeypox." But the CDC's latest update says the drug "is not currently available" from that country's Strategic National Stockpile. The number of monkeypox cases detected in Canada is at least 100.
| | MEDIA ROOM | | — The Jan. 6 select committee opened its case to America last night. Here’s POLITICO’s KYLE CHENEY, JORDAIN CARNEY and NICHOLAS WU on the panel’s first public hearing. — The New York Times reports from the Summit of the Americas: A joint declaration from the U.S. and Latin American countries is expected Friday to address surging migration rates that have affected the region. And Star contributor THOMAS WALKOM asks: Should Canada have supported Mexico and other nations by also boycotting the Summit of the Americas? — Q. from ANGELA MISRI in The Walrus: Why are there still so few women leaders in politics? — MARCO MENDICINO is the subject of two columns — one from COLBY COSH, another from LORRIE GOLDSTEIN. — DAVID MOSCROP writes in The Washington Post: Trudeau’s sweeping gun control bill is no knee-jerk reaction.
| | PROZONE | | For POLITICO Pro s, our policy newsletter by ZI-ANN LUM and ANDY BLATCHFORD: Macklem to Poilievre: You do you. In other headlines for Pros:
— Budget watchdog: Canada's defense spending will still be short of NATO target in 5 years.
— The lobbying war over cutting EU emissions.
— Kerry: Fossil fuel backers 'trying to exploit' Ukraine war.
— What the White House initially missed about the infant formula shortage.
— House Science Committee probes tools to track methane emissions in oil and gas sector.
| | PLAYBOOKERS | | Birthdays: HBD to PRESTON MANNING, 80 today! Not to be outdone, former lieutenant governor of Ontario HAL JACKMAN is 90. Also celebrating today: Sen. VICTOR OH, retired justice MICHEL BASTARACHE, former Conservative Cabinet minister JAMES MOORE, Quebec politician PIERRE NANTEL and Quebec MNA ÉRIC LEFEBVRE. Spotted: Conservative MP JOHN NATER, winning the 2022 Parliamentarian Recipe Contest (apparently that’s a thing!) with his chicken salad wrap … BOB RAE, waxing poetic about having Covid. JEAN CHAREST, in conversation with PETER LOEWEN, director of the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy. Saskatchewan Premier SCOTT MOE, meeting with U.S. Sen. JOE MANCHIN, Sen. LINDSEY GRAHAM, Majority Whip JAMES CLYBURN and Sen. CHUCK GRASSLEY in Washington, D.C. Movers and shakers: Foreign Affairs Minister MÉLANIE JOLY on Thursday announced the creation of an Indo-Pacific advisory committee, meant to provide recommendations for Canada’s long-awaited Indo-Pacific strategy. The co-chairs are JANICE GROSS STEIN, PIERRE PETTIGREW and FARAH MOHAMED. The committee members are FRANK MCKENNA, HASSAN YUSSUFF, RONA AMBROSE, DOMINIC BARTON, JONATHAN HAUSMAN, ODETTE MCCARTHY, DARREN TOUCH, TABATHA BULL, SALIM TEJA, TAMMY HARRIS and KASI RAO. VICTOR V. RAMRAJ, PASCALE MASSOT and YVES TIBERGHIEN are advisers to the co-chairs. On June 20, CATHERINE BLEWETT will become deputy minister of economic development at Innovation, Science and Economic Development. TRICIA GEDDES will become associate deputy minister of Public Safety. And MOLLIE JOHNSON will become associate deputy minister of Natural Resources.
| | On the Hill | | Keep up to House committee schedules here. Find Senate meeting schedules here. 1 p.m. Public Services and Procurement Minister FILOMENA TASSI will appear at the government operations and estimates committee, plus five senior officials, to answer questions related to supplementary estimates (A). 1 p.m. The House industry and technology committee meets to continue its study of small and medium-sized enterprises. Witnesses include the Union des producteurs agricoles’ MARTIN CARON and Canadian Institute of Plumbing and Heating president RALPH SUPPA. 2 p.m. The Senate Aboriginal peoples committee will hear from witnesses about inequities in registration under the Indian Act. 4 p.m. Emergency Preparedness Minister BILL BLAIR and B.C. Public Safety Minister MIKE FARNSWORTH hold a press conference in Ottawa following a meeting of the Committee of British Columbia and Federal Ministers on Disaster Response and Climate Resilience. Behind closed doors: 10 a.m. The subcommittee of the House committee on budgets of the liaison committee meets in camera to discuss “budget submissions.” 10:30 a.m. The Senate fisheries and oceans committee meets in camera to review a draft copy of its report studying implementation of Indigenous rights-based fisheries across Canada. 1 p.m. The House status of women committee meets in camera to review a draft copy of its report on intimate partner and domestic violence in Canada. 1 p.m. MPs on the House justice and human rights committee will meet in camera to go through a draft report of its study reviewing the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act. 1 p.m. The House veteran affairs committee meets in camera to consider two separate draft reports, one related to service dogs and another about fairness in services to different communities.
| | TRIVIA | | | 
The players from McMillan Vantage show off their win in Ottawa Playbook's first-ever in-person trivia night. | POLITICO/Zi-Ann Lum | YES, TRIVIA! — We packed the back room of the Met for the first-ever in-person Playbook trivia night. Fifteen teams duked it out for bragging rights. — Sample Q: "Name the one location in Ottawa city limits where you can work out on exercise bars within view of an empty Bank of Canada vault." How geeky was the room? Geeky enough that people knew that one. — The winners: After four virtual nights and an IRL evening in the books, it doesn't matter who #TEAMVANTAGE signs up for trivia duty. The McMillan Vantage gang always competes. They took the final virtual trophy and, last night, claimed the first IRL title. Congrats to everyone on the team, including — FIRST IN PLAYBOOK! — brand-new #TeamVantage recruit RACHEL RAPPAPORT, a veteran Liberal spox whose last Hill gig was d-comm to Labor Minister SEAMUS O'REGAN. Until now. Second place went to the political management nerds at RIDDELL EXPERIENCE. The bronze was salvaged by THE GRITS, a hard-scrabble table of MINO chiefs of staff. — Spotted: C'mon. Don't make us list 80 people. Just come to the next round.
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A room of trivia players listen closely to POLITICO's Zi-Ann Lum. | POLITICO/Sue Allan | Thursday’s answer: Public Works architect STIG HARVOR designed the indoor pool and sauna at 24 Sussex. In 2015, JON WILLING shared the legend. Thanks to BRAM ABRAMSON for pointing us to these words from Harvor in a BILL CURRY story from 2016: "Some people know the cost of everything and the value of nothing. It's very important I think for any nation to have a sense of its own history and how we came to be what we are today. And when we replace these old memories of the past, we really lose something in our own lives today." Props to ROBERT MCDOUGALL, PETER MCKINNEY, GREG MACEACHERN, DOUG RICE and BOB GORDON. Harvor worked closely with then-PM PIERRE ELLIOTT TRUDEAU — an answer many of you sent our way. Friday’s question: Fresh from last night’s trivia at The Met: Which PM spoke the following words shortly after an election loss: “I don't know why there is this prurient interest in my private life. Yes, I have a social life and one of the compensations of not being prime minister is to have both the time and privacy to pursue it. It's just such an invasion of my privacy to be talking about that.” Send your answers to ottawaplaybook@politico.com Playbook wouldn’t happen without Luiza Ch. Savage and editor Sue Allan
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