— What's the point? Few Canadians have witnessed as many caucus retreats as DON BOUDRIA, a senior counselor at Hill + Knowlton who was a Liberal MPP from 1981–1984 and a Liberal MP from 1984–2006.
Boudria was on the sidelines in St. Andrews. The point of the retreat for MPs, he told Playbook over a beverage in a hotel restaurant, is to confide in each other what they heard from constituents over the summer. In his day when JEAN CHRÉTIEN and PAUL MARTIN were PMs, staff weren't allowed in the room. MPs would plan for weeks before presenting an issue to colleagues. They'd figure out where else in the country their issues mattered, and enlist relevant MPs. If he were still an elected person, Boudria said he’d flag ArriveCan as a thorny issue. When Poilievre railed against the border-crossing app in his victory speech, the room roared. Those were Tory partisans. But clearly, said Boudria, there's real discontent on that issue. His solution: Talk behind closed doors in a relaxed setting, where being candid is the expectation, not the exception. That's the hope. — A retreat is also a bunch of meetings: And meetings can drag on. And people can get distracted, popping out for a rejuvenating cup of joe. It's a marathon. Sub-caucuses (e.g. eastern Ontario) report to regional caucuses (e.g. Ontario). They run down the issues at some length. Boudria recalled the retreat as an excellent chance to talk politics, not policy. Asked how much Poilievre came up in conversation, a pair of MPs insisted to Playbook: not much. Reporters asked about him, but that's where it ended. "People are under the impression politicians watch each other all the time," said one Liberal. The truth? When Poilievre was firing up his caucus back in Ottawa on Monday morning, Liberals were catching up on their summers far from TV screens. — Back to basics: One of the knocks against Trudeau's government all summer was the constant repetition of Canada's place in various global rankings — say, post-Covid employment recovery. But Liberal speechwriters have started to acknowledge that Poilievre's emergence as Tory leader, and his relentless focus on out-of-control cost of living issues, requires a different touch. Remember the "hope and hard work" mantra Trudeau rode to government in the halcyon days of "sunny ways"? It's back. Trudeau's speech made only passing mention to global issues like the war in Ukraine. Mostly, the PM stuck to rhetoric that got him elected. Case in point: "Let's remember that positivity, inclusiveness, hope and hard work are always the best ways to move us forward," he said. "Let's remember the work that we must do to build an economy that works for all Canadians — to make life more affordable, to create jobs, to build more housing, to grow the middle class, to fight climate change, to build safer communities." — Relishing a fight: There were patio whispers this summer of succession in the Liberal Party. Maybe, some mused, Trudeau would be pressured to step aside in favor of new leadership: CHRYSTIA FREELAND, ANITA ANAND, MÉLANIE JOLY and FRANÇOIS-PHILIPPE CHAMPAGNE were on the tips of tongues. Tory MP CHRIS WARKENTIN tried to spin that yarn on his way into his party's first caucus meeting since Poilievre walked away with the CPC leadership Saturday. The Conservatives aren’t divided, he insisted Monday morning. That's now a Liberal problem. But succession talk in any imminent sense appears to be a thing of the past. Trudeau reportedly told his Cabinet at a Vancouver retreat that he'd seek a fourth term. (Then again, what else would he say?) But some Liberal Hill staffers have started to relish a PMJT showdown with Poilievre. As Playbook reported out of the Conservative leadership event, the feeling is mutual. | 
