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Presented by General Atomics Aeronautical: A daily look inside Canadian politics and power. | | | | |  | | By Maura Forrest | | | Send tips | Subscribe here | Follow Politico Canada Thanks for reading Ottawa Playbook. I'm your host, Maura Forrest, with Nick Taylor-Vaisey. Today, the world says goodbye to QUEEN ELIZABETH II. As we await the return of the House, we get you prepped for Trudeau vs. Poilievre. And the RCMP gets (more) bad news. Did someone forward you this edition? Click here to sign up for your own. |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | 
In London this hour. | AP | THE END OF AN ERA — As Playbook lands in your inbox this morning, the state funeral of QUEEN ELIZABETH II is getting underway at Westminster Abbey in London. Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU is in attendance, alongside Governor General MARY SIMON and a delegation of former prime ministers, former governors general and Indigenous leaders. For those interested in following along, our colleagues in London have a comprehensive guide to the funeral. — Elsewhere from POLITICO: ANNABELLE DICKSON has a rundown of the many, many world leaders who descended on London over the weekend. And JAMIE DETTMER draws parallels between the end of the first and second Elizabethan ages. And POLITICO’s MATTHEW KARNITSCHNIG traveled to Oban to take the pulse of royalist Scotland. | 
The Trudeaus arrive at Westminster Abbey. | AP |
— Meanwhile, in Ottawa: A memorial parade will begin just after noon in the national capital, featuring members of the RCMP musical ride and a 100-person Canadian Armed Forces guard of honor.
The parade will travel through downtown Ottawa, past the National Aboriginal Veterans Monument and the National War Memorial, to arrive at Christ Church Cathedral. A 96-gun salute will take place at LeBreton Flats during the parade, and there will be a flyby at about 12:30 p.m. At 1 p.m., a commemorative ceremony will begin at the cathedral. Former governor general ADRIENNE CLARKSON and former prime minister BRIAN MULRONEY will deliver addresses, and Algonquin spiritual adviser ALBERT DUMONT will pay tribute to the queen. Another flyby will mark the end of the ceremony at 2 p.m. OTHER BUSINESS — For Trudeau, the trip to London hasn’t been all about the queen. He seized the opportunity to meet with U.K. Prime Minister LIZ TRUSS, Australian Prime Minister ANTHONY ALBANESE and Ukrainian Prime Minister DENYS SHMYHAL, to discuss the war in Ukraine, inflation and climate change, among other issues. He also had an audience Saturday with KING CHARLES III. — One-of-a-kind gathering: Trudeau is traveling with a delegation of dignitaries rarely seen in the same room. On Sunday, former prime minister STEPHEN HARPER was invested into the Order of Canada by the governor general, in a ceremony attended by Trudeau, former prime ministers PAUL MARTIN, JEAN CHRÉTIEN and KIM CAMPBELL and former governors general DAVID JOHNSTON and MICHAËLLE JEAN. Chrétien told reporters there was “no fight” between the PMs of different political stripes on the trip. “Just like when we play hockey, we can be tough on the ice, then we go and have a beer after the game,” he said. — Except: The investiture wasn’t included on the PM’s daily itinerary, and it was closed to media without explanation, as were other events in London over the weekend, per reporters on the ground. IS IT THE RIGHT TIME? — Even as the funeral gets underway, chatter continues in Canada about the future of the monarchy in this country. Over the weekend, Trudeau made clear in several media interviews where he stands on the issue: In a nutshell, Canadians have bigger fish to fry. “I don’t think there’s any big urgency to open the Constitution,” he told LISA LAFLAMME for CityNews . — On the other hand: Global News reported Friday on new survey results showing 60 percent of Canadians want a referendum to determine whether the country should cut its ties with the monarchy. That same day, journalist ANDREW COHEN wrote an impassioned plea in the Globe and Mail for Canada to become a republic. “This is the moment to have an honest debate on dissolving the monarchy, severing ties with Great Britain and taking the last momentous step on our journey to maturity,” he wrote. “We spared Queen Elizabeth the conversation. We cannot spare ourselves.” On Saturday, former Liberal cabmin CATHERINE MCKENNA threw her support behind the idea. “Absolutely agree,” she tweeted. — Related: It would be “practically impossible” to get rid of the monarchy in Canada, JACQUES GALLANT reports for the Toronto Star. — Elsewhere: Here’s the CBC’s MURRAY BREWSTER with a look at how the Canadian military is responding to the queen’s death. | | | | A message from Team SkyGuardian Canada: Leveraging the well-proven MQ-9 platform that has supported Five Eyes and NATO missions for more than a decade, Team SkyGuardian brings together the best in business and technology to serve Canada, the Canadian Armed Forces, and the many industries that support them. Our government and industry team will help ensure Canada’s safety and security for the long term. | | |
| | For your radar | |
THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM — The House of Commons was supposed to be back in session today, but the Queen’s funeral pushed that back till Tuesday. And now that Trudeau is headed to the United Nations General Assembly right after the funeral, his much-anticipated first showdown with newly elected Conservative Leader PIERRE POILIEVRE will have to wait until question period on Thursday.
In the meantime, the new Conservative leader has now been in place for just over a week, but hasn’t been in public much since his victory. So to fill the vacuum, this past weekend served up all kinds of fresh Poilievre content — profiles, analyses, dire warnings, predictions, tidbits of news, you name it. Here’s a rundown of some of the best readings out there, to tide you over until the real news begins. — The long read: CAMPELL CLARK’s profile for the Globe and Mail clocks in at more than 5,000 words, but is absolutely worth your time. “Mr. Poilievre is driven, combative and a calculated communicator. He has for decades criticized lukewarm conservatives. His goal is moving the public to the right, not moving the party to the centre,” Clark writes. “He is a lifelong proselytizer, and the mission has always been both his small-government cause and his political ambition.” — The post-mortem: The Toronto Star’s STEPHANIE LEVITZ tells the inside story of a campaign that “unfolded beyond [Poilievre’s] or anyone else’s wildest imagination.” — The cautionary tale: For the Globe, JUSTIN LING warns that conservative parties in the United States, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Italy and Alberta have all pandered to and then tried to “tame paranoid populism,” only to be devoured by it. Now it’s Poilievre’s turn at bat. — The scoop: For the Star, Levitz reports that MIKE CRASE, executive director of Ontario’s Progressive Conservative party, has been hired to run the federal party. — The analysis: “The Liberal and Conservative parties may now be more ideologically distinct from each other than they have ever been,” the CBC’s AARON WHERRY writes in a set-up of the fall sitting. “And they're being led by two of the most interesting characters in recent Canadian political history.” — The resistance: The president of the Conservative riding association in Quebec’s Brossard—Saint-Lambert district has resigned, saying the party under Poilievre has become “the party of right-wing anarchists,” OLIVIER DU RUISSEAU reports for Le Devoir. Sen. JEAN-GUY DAGENAIS has also quit the Conservative party over Poilievre’s victory, STEPHANIE TAYLOR reports for the Canadian Press. — The way forward: Poilievre’s path to victory runs through the Greater Toronto Area, ROBYN URBACK writes for the Globe and Mail, and he’s making a pitch that may resonate. | | TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS | |
6 a.m. (11 a.m. BST) Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU and his wife, SOPHIE GRÉGOIRE TRUDEAU, will attend the funeral of QUEEN ELIZABETH II at Westminster Abbey in London. He will be accompanied by Governor General MARY SIMON, former governors general, former prime ministers and Indigenous leaders.
11 a.m. (4 p.m. BST) Trudeau and Grégoire Trudeau will attend the queen’s committal service. 1 p.m. Deputy Prime Minister CHRYSTIA FREELAND will attend the commemorative ceremony in honor of the queen at Christ Church Cathedral in Ottawa. Former governor general ADRIENNE CLARKSON, former prime minister BRIAN MULRONEY and Algonquin spiritual adviser ALBERT DUMONT will speak at the service. NDP Leader JAGMEET SINGH will also attend. 3 p.m. (8 p.m. BST) Trudeau will depart for New York City to attend the United Nations General Assembly. 10:45 p.m. Trudeau will arrive in New York. | | | | A message from Team SkyGuardian Canada:   | | | | | Talk of the town | |
You are invited: Join us for a live edition of Playbook Trivia on Sept. 29 at 7:30 p.m. at the Metropolitain in Ottawa. The smart people at McMillan Vantage are defending champs.
Book your table now — teams of up to six — first come-first reserved. RSVP here. | | PAPER TRAIL | |
A MESSAGE FOR THE MOUNTIES — To the surprise of precisely nobody who has paid attention, the RCMP is mired in a spiraling lack of confidence among Canadians.
The national police force enlisted Ekos Research Associates for an annual polling exercise. Turns out the price of bad news is C$83,765.15 in a pollster's pocket. The results were recently published online. Here are the lowlights from the poll of 2,976 adults conducted in February and March: — 57 percent are "satisfied with how the RCMP fulfils its role in maintaining public safety," down 20 points since 2019. The number for LGBTQ2 respondents: 31 percent. — 52 percent "feel safer because of the Mounties," down 18 points since 2019. The number for LGBTQ2 respondents: 25 percent. — 53 percent say they trust the RCMP, down from 74 percent in 2019. — 56 percent say the police force is "effectively responding to threats to national security," down 20 points since 2020. — 37 percent agree the RCMP "provides the same quality of service to all citizens." Another 47 percent disagree. — 35 percent say the Mounties have effective national leaders, down from 57 percent in 2019. More respondents — 37 percent — now say those leaders are ineffective. — 50 percent say the RCMP isn't an "open and transparent organization." Only one in four respondents say it is. — 35 percent of Indigenous respondents say the RCMP treats Indigenous peoples fairly. 11 percent of LGBTQ2 respondents say the police force treats their communities fairly. PLEASE STAND BEHIND THE LINE — Passport Canada is looking for 120 crowd control barriers for use at various locations in Quebec. The barriers “will be used for providing a physical barrier to limit proximity at public transaction counters,” per the public tender. Quebec saw some of the worst lineups at the height of the passport backlog in the summer. — Related: For any procurement wonks out there, the government is beta-testing a new online platform for tenders, called CanadaBuys , which will eventually replace Buyandsell. It claims CanadaBuys “makes our procurement processes simpler, more efficient, and easier to use and access by moving everything online.” | | MEDIA ROOM | |
— Global’s ASHLEIGH STEWART reports from James Smith Cree Nation.
— In the HILL TIMES this morning: Expect nasty, divisive political ‘fist fight’ this fall between Poilievre and Trudeau. — TIM MURPHY, CEO of McMillan LLP, warns that hyperpolarization rewards slogans over policy. “Ultimately, civil society — business leaders, unions and engaged citizens — must demand better. Because politicians will always respond to the market of voters that are out there.” — CBC’s West of Centre pod begins a new season with a conversation about diversity on the Prairies featuring NAHEED NENSHI and GINA STARBLANKET. — From POLITICO’s PHELIM KINE: Six things to know as Xi Jinping moves to be China’s dictator for life. | | | | A message from Team SkyGuardian Canada: Learn about the remotely piloted multi-mission aircraft building Canadian industrial partnerships that deliver sovereignty and security for Canada. | | | | | PROZONE | |
For POLITICO Pro s, our latest policy newsletter from ANDY BLATCHFORD: Trudeau and Poilievre toe to toe at last.
In other news for s: — New York City considers legal action against Texas over migrant buses. — Biden’s ‘scofflaw’ EV tax credit may outdo Trump’s damage to WTO. — New change at the Pentagon waters down focus on Taiwan, critics say. — To fight, or not to fight? Progressive Caucus warily eyes Manchin's energy deal. — California commits to emission-free power as Gov. Gavin Newsom signs climate package into law. | | PLAYBOOKERS | |
Birthdays: HBD to former agriculture minister LYLE VANCLIEF.
Send birthdays to ottawaplaybook@politico.com. Arrivals: STÉPHANIE CHOUINARD has updated her job title to “Maman.” Welcome bébé Loïc. Spotted: FRANÇOIS-PHILIPPE CHAMPAGNE, in California Friday to meet with Tesla. (Not to brag, but Playbook called it.) … Alberta Premier JASON KENNEY in London — “entirely at personal expense” — to pay his respects to the queen. MP CHARLIE ANGUS at the New Liskeard fall fair. … MP SHELBY KRAMP-NEUMAN at the Madoc agricultural fair … The Wilson Center’s CHRISTOPHER SANDS with Tim Hortons at a gathering of the American Political Science Association in Montreal. At the Terry Fox Run: JOCELYN LUBCZUK for the win … MP SHERRY ROMANADO in Greenfield Park … MPP CAROLINE MULRONEY at North Gwillimbury Park … MP ERIN O’TOOLE with the 172 Clarington Air Cadets. … Defense Minister ANITA ANAND in Oakville. … MP ROB OLIPHANT with Toronto Mayor JOHN TORY at Wilket Creek Park … MP GREG FERGUS at the Aylmer Marina … MP ANTHONY HOUSEFATHER in the Town of Mount Royal … MP ERIC DUNCAN in Cornwall … CP’s COLETTE DERWORIZ with the Globe’s CARRIE TAIT in Banff. | | TRIVIA | |
Friday’s answer: GEORGE DREW was the first leader of the opposition to live at Stornoway. It was vacant between 1993 and 1997 because the Bloc Québécois refused on principle to use it.
Props to JOHN ECKER, SHEILA GERVAIS, LAURA JARVIS, WAYNE FLEMING, JUSTIN MARGOLIS and NANCI WAUGH. Today’s question: What gifts did Deputy Prime Minister CHRYSTIA FREELAND bestow on U.S. Secretary JANET YELLEN when they met in Toronto in June? Send your answers to ottawaplaybook@politico.com Playbook wouldn’t happen without Luiza Ch. Savage and 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 | | | | |  |
