| | | | |  | | By Zi-Ann Lum and Kyle Duggan | Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Nick | Follow Politico Canada Welcome to Ottawa Playbook. Let's get into it. In today's edition: → A look at Canada’s most exuberant cabinet minister outside his natural habitat → News blocking warnings in Canada gain global attention → Counting down to the NATO summit |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | | 
Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne at the Paris Air Show. | Julie Glassberg for POLITICO. | BUBBLES OUTSIDE THE BUBBLE — Industry Minister FRANÇOIS-PHILIPPE CHAMPAGNE is a master of blowing up his schedule. If he’s stuck in a line of never-ending handshakes and a meeting is imminent, his team will try to launch an extraction. Two aides will assume the role of human blinders, moving Champagne toward the door. It never works because there’s always another hand to shake. — Reporter’s notebook: Playbook witnessed the maneuver while shadowing Champagne at the Paris Air Show. The assignment offered a glimpse into Canada’s new industrial strategy — and a window to observe what catalyzes the minister’s cartoonish high energy. — How he travels: Business class. He travels with a protocol officer on international trips, just like Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU, Foreign Affairs Minister MÉLANIE JOLY and sometimes Deputy Prime Minister CHRYSTIA FREELAND. The arrangement sets him apart from other Cabinet ministers. He prefers sushi for away meals, viewing the food as a healthy option for his demanding schedule. His staff plan for it. — Going hard on the ‘north’ in North America: Champagne’s role in beating countries, including the United States, for new Volkswagen and Stellantis factories has leaned heavily on his European business background. The wins have increased his political stock and his tactics are turning heads in the international subsidies race that the federal government is frank in acknowledging Canada will never win. — But it’s not win-lose with the U.S.: “I don't see that really as competition but more as complementarity in the sense that thanks to the [Inflation Reduction Act] and I would say the CHIPS Act, we are reindustrializing North America,” Champagne insists over coffee and chocolatines at a cafe on a busy corner in the 8th arrondissement. — Ride share: Champagne traveled with his deputy minister and senior department officials. They’re allergic to reporters, especially ones with whom they have to share golf cart and 45-minute car rides. Millennial and Gen Z staff were friendly and chatty. — His calling card: Champagne doesn’t do business cards, preferring instead to borrow pens or markers to scratch his cell phone number on any available piece of paper. A personal touch, he said, “Like concierge service.” |  A reception for Champagne at the Canadian ambassador’s residence in Paris. | Julie Glassberg for POLITICO | — That “Energizer Bunny” nickname: Champagne finds it funny. His partner, ANNE-MARIE GAUDET, does not. The nickname, he said, was an inside joke before Trudeau put it in a public speech. His staff emblazoned the Energizer bunny on his birthday cake last year, which was decorated to look like a drum. “Frankie Bubbles was one at some stage,” he said. “This, I don't know who came with that.” — How he charges his batteries: If Champagne is tired or having a bad day, his staff is known to bring him to a busy street, fundraiser, cafe, or grocery store. “That's my element … that’s where I get my energy,” he said. People glom onto Champagne as he makes his exit from an air show pavilion. One aviation executive shakes the minister's hand while leaning in to ask him to do something about the Liberals' luxury tax. Champagne smiles and says nothing. — Where he unwinds: On the water. Champagne, it turns out, enjoys boating. — His “perfected” campaign strategy: Stand outside of IGA supermarkets. “I would probably shake hands to 3,000 people in a day,” he said. He’s given some thought to the social science. “When they go for grocery, they have at least, like, half an hour … 45 minutes. You don't want to stand in front of the hardware store. Because you know that someone who's going to a hardware store, something broke at home they need to fix — the last thing they want to do is to talk to a politician. Or a pharmacy, because most of the time you go to pharmacy, you’re sick, you don't want to waste time.” — Cost of public life: Friends and colleagues tell Playbook that Champagne, while highly social, is actually reserved, which can make connecting with him a trick. The schedule that bounces him between home, Ottawa and abroad has a price, he said. “I've never had any challenge in politics or in business that would compare or come close to the feeling sometimes of not being there for those you love.” Champagne said the job follows his family even when they go to restaurants. “There's very few moments where you're not the minister, that you're just the average guy — although I would say my partner is pretty good at reminding me that when I come home.” His role is clear when he walks through the doors of their Shawinigan home: “I'm responsible for the garbage.” → POLITICO Canada exclusive: Read how Trudeau’s pitchman is outplaying America. | | THREE THINGS WE'RE WATCHING | | | 
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, June 14, 2023. | Virginia Mayo/AP Photo | NATO COUNT DOWN — It’s T-minus eight days until the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, where Canada will find itself on the defense over defense. And the country’s credibility is on the line. NATO members like British Defence Minister BEN WALLACE are heaping pressure on Canada to up its spending commitments. Canada has long been a laggard when it comes to the famous 2 percent target, one of two NATO members behind the pack, and now it’s being prodded to pony up ahead of discussions about a new spending target. In the coming days, will there be more jabs? Leaks, even? The Liberals will have to make a move next week to stave off Canada finding itself on the outs with its friends. But a former senior defense official told Reuters that they would be surprised if the coming defense review “doesn't disappoint.” → Catch our summit set-up piece here, if you haven’t already: NATO vs. Canada, its nicest truant. WHO’S DRIVING THE C-18 DEBATE — Google and Meta, you have our attention. Near constant attention, actually. The fight over bargaining for using news links is getting international pickup, with Heritage Minister PABLO RODRIGUEZ telling BBC Friday that tech firms pulling news from services in Canada over the bill could put “people’s lives in danger” given the wildfires raging across the country. The Globe then reported Google will not block crucial public safety information. California also has eyes on Canada, since lawmakers there are considering similar measures (U.S. Congress briefly considered it last year but immediately gave up). With the implementation plan still months out, this could be on the agenda throughout summer. And with the political news cycle geared down to a small thrum now that Parliament has risen, even the smallest development can earn a headline. — Twitter quiets down: While those large firms are pledging to pull the plug on news sharing, another is blocking access to some news on its platform for other reasons. Twitter, somehow still the medium of choice for many a politics junky and news-link sharer, is limiting the number of tweets users can read in a completely unrelated event, as owner ELON MUSK blames AI companies for causing system strain. JOBS, JOBS, JOBS — Looking down the week, June employment numbers land Friday. A CIBC analysts’ note says to expect “further signs of an easing in labor market conditions,” and suggests an employment bounce could hold the jobless rate firm at 5.2 percent. But all eyes will be on the biggest economic event of the month next week. Circle July 12 — the date when the Bank of Canada makes its latest decision on rates. So far, the data “have been leaning towards another hike in July,” according to TD Economics. Know someone who would like Ottawa Playbook? Please direct them to this link . Five days a week, zero dollars. | | MEDIA ROOM | | | | 
Firefighters use a water hose on a burned-out car in Nanterre, outside Paris, July 1, 2023. | AP | — POLITICO’s MARION SOLLETTY writes from a town under curfew amidst riots in France after the police killing of a 17-year-old of Algerian and Moroccan descent in the Paris suburb of Nanterre. — The Globe's BRENT JANG reports: B.C. port workers’ strike sparks concern over supply chain, inflation. — The Atlantic features CAROLINE MIMBS NYCE and a question: How long will Canada burn? — ALEX PANETTA of CBC News writes on Canada's stakes in the fight over electric vehicles now unfolding in Washington. — Mayor-elect OLIVIA CHOW may be the first immigrant woman and woman of colour to hold the title of mayor, but she cannot be the only and the last, ANJUM SULTANA, VICTORIA KUKETZ and RAMINA GHASSEMI write in the Star. — GLEN MCGREGORreports on his Substack that Campaign Life Coalition filed in Federal Court against the Parliamentary Protective Service, alleging that protesters in Ottawa were “wrongly refused the right to wave signs with graphic images of aborted fetuses.” — National Post’s CATHERINE LEVESQUEwrites that NDP Leader JAGMEET SINGH says he’s not about to let the Liberals dispense with a public inquiry into foreign interference in the same way it gave up on its 2015 promise to reform the electoral system. — Toronto Star’s ALEX BALLINGALLreports that CSE blocked 2.3 trillion malicious actions aimed at the federal government over the past year alone. — Canada’s film industry is watching closely for ripple effects if Hollywood actors strike a deal with the big studios and streaming platforms or pack for the picket lines, writes ETAN VLESSING for the Hollywood Reporter. Their June 30 bargaining deadline was extended to July 12. — Headspace Marketing President ERIC BLAISweighs in on Conservative Leader PIERRE POILIEVRE ditching his glasses. — Finally, from our colleagues in D.C.: These are the political books you actually want to read. | | PROZONE | |
For POLITICO Pro subscribers, our latest policy newsletter from SUE ALLAN and KYLE DUGGAN: A subsidy by any other name.
And from Pro trade reporter DOUG PALMER: A special report on the USMCA at three. In other news for Pro subscribers:
— Inside Manchin's war with Biden on electric vehicles.
— D.C. Circuit upholds Trump aircraft climate rule.
— Raimondo defends export-driven trade.
— Transatlantic data deal to be announced by mid-July.
— White House proposal for AI infrastructure faces Hill pushback. | | PLAYBOOKERS | |
Birthdays: Conservative MP CATHAY WAGANTALL celebrates today, so does Former Liberal MP ADAM VAUGHAN, Canadian billionaire businessman PAUL DESMARAIS Jr. and CAMERON PENNER of Proof Strategies.
Bonus birthdays: June 30: Sen. MARC GOLD. July 1: Former MP SCOTT DUVALL and MP ALEXIS BRUNELLE-DUCEPPE. July 2: Sen. JANE CORDY and BRYAN DETCHOU of Crestview Strategy. Got a document to share? A birthday coming up? Send it all our way. Spotted: RSVP callouts for a Canadian Global Affairs Institute online event on July 6: CAF Reconstitution & Culture Change: The RCAF Approach, featuring CHARLOTTE DUVAL-LANTOINE in conversation with Lieut.-Gen. ERIC KENNY … TC Energy senior VP PATRICK MUTTART, a familiar name in Canadian conservative circles, joining a panel at the Energy Asia conference in Kuala Lumpur. Crestview Strategy partner CHAD ROGERS, with some real talk on 24 Sussex: "Public officials don’t need public housing. Ever wondered if you’re in the Laurentian elite but didn’t know it? Share your opinion about Canada’s desperate need for a new mansion for our Prime Minister at a Tim Horton’s." Conservative Leader PIERRE POILIEVRE at McNiven’s Pub & Eatery in St. John’s. CP’s MICKEY DJURIC, writing on the kicks some MPs are lacing up these days. Movers and shakers: Consultant MARTIN RUST posted a pair of June meetings in the lobbyist registry on behalf of General Motors, which is interested in the Department of National Defense’s light utility vehicle procurement. Rust’s targets were THOMAS GAGNE, ANITA ANAND’s director of defense procurement and industry relations, and TROY CROSBY, DND's assistant deputy minister for materiel. GT & Company principal JULIE DEWOLFE signed up to rep Loblaw on the Hill. Top priority: “Engage government officials on the issue of grocery competitiveness and the price of food.” Media mentions: Carleton’s journalism program head ALLAN THOMPSONmarking 20 years since he became a professor there. Farewells: Former federal cabinet minister STEPHEN OWENS has died at 74. His son TAYLOR OWENS described him as a “kind, decent and wicked smart man, who chose to live his life with an unwavering and at times pathological optimism.” | | | TRIVIA | | | Thursday’s answer: On June 29, 2007, the first iPhone went on sale. Props to DAN ALBAS, WALTER ROBINSON, SIMONE RACANELLI, CHRISTOPHER LALANDE, SHANE O’NEILL, ALLAN FABRYKANT, SARA MAY, GERMAINE MALABRE, SHEILA GERVAIS, CAMERON RYAN, JOHN MERRIMAN, ROBERT MCDOUGALL, SHAUGHN MCARTHUR, JEFFREY VALOIS, MICHAEL HORNAK, GEORGE SCHOENHOFER and BENJAMIN WILES, Monday’s question: Which Indigenous language has the largest number of speakers in Canada? Send your answer to ottawaplaybook@politico.com Playbook wouldn’t happen without: Luiza Ch. Savage and Sue Allan. Want to grab the attention of movers and shakers on Parliament Hill? Want your brand in front of a key audience of Ottawa influencers? Playbook can help. Contact Jesse Shapiro to find out how: jshapiro@politico.com. | | | | 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 | | | | |
