| | | | |  | | By Kyle Duggan and Zi-Ann Lum | | | Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Kyle | Follow Politico Canada Thanks for reading Ottawa Playbook. In today's edition: → Another POILIEVRE presser turns into a boxing match. → Defense Minister BILL BLAIR considers a scale of disaster “without precedent.” → A war of words in Canada and a fight Ukraine was not expecting. |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | 
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre held a presser at the Shaarei Shomayim Congregation in Toronto on Thursday. | Frank Gunn, The Canadian Press | LEANING IN ON PUBLIC SAFETY — Conservatives and Liberals are battling over the national security narrative in the wake of that shocking explosion on the international Rainbow Bridge at Niagara Falls. And the media is caught in the middle. Conservative Leader PIERRE POILIEVRE popped up at a mic set up in a Toronto synagogue Thursday to address the triple threats of foreign interference, public safety and the rise in hate, all in one go, while attacking JUSTIN TRUDEAU for “censorial policies” and “weak laws” that let “criminals and other violent operators to walk free freely in our streets and terrorize their fellow citizens.” — Billed as: “A common-sense plan to keep all our people safe after terrorist attacks against synagogues and schools in Montreal, against innocent Muslims in Quebec City and London, harassment of other communities of faith across this country, including burning down of churches.” — Policies pitched: Review Canada’s terror threat assessment after a U.K. warning. Designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist entity and expel 700 potential Iranian agents reported to be in Canada. Create an anti-hate crime task force to counter the staggering rise of hate in Canada. And a few others. The policies and issues at play bear scrutiny, especially with security likely to be a major theme in the next election and diaspora groups on tenterhooks since the events of Oct. 7 opened the floodgates. — Stay on target: Other issues sucked up a lot of the oxygen on the Hill this week: that Ukraine/carbon tax thing (more later), ANDREW SCHEER’s wanted poster for Sen. BERNADETTE CLEMENT, and Poilievre’s previous comments in the House about media reports of a terrorist attack referring to the Rainbow Bridge explosion … resulting in a battle of words with a reporter.
|  Law enforcement personnel block off the entrance to the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls, N.Y., on Nov. 22, 2023, after a vehicle exploded at a checkpoint on the bridge. | Derek Gee/The Buffalo News via AP | — Scrap with the press: It wouldn’t be an out-of-Ottawa media appearance for Poilievre if he didn’t find a reporter far away from the press gallery to grapple with, netting media headlines and debate-club style clips to feed the base. Seen this movie before. → What Poilievre said Wednesday during QP: “We just heard media reports about a terrorist attack at the border in Niagara. Two people may have been killed and a third injured. Can the prime minister give us any information about this terrorist attack?” → What the Toronto CP reporter said: “Do you think it was responsible for you to call yesterday's explosion by the customs or by the checkpoint at the Rainbow Bridge terrorism, when no U.S. or Canadian officials or authorities said that was the case and when the New York governor also said there was no evidence to suggest terrorism activity?” → What Poilievre said Thursday: “Where you are wrong is that CTV reported that the government of Canada was presuming that the incident was terrorist.” → Curious timing: The online version of the CTV report he was referencing landed after his question to the prime minister in the House, which in turn came after U.S. media reported it as a terror attack. If this all wasn’t tiring enough, keyboard wars erupted over the timing of the CTV report and the bubble became even more absorbed with the sideshow. → Who outside the Ottawa fishbowl hears “CP” and doesn’t think of a railway. — The point-scoring: Poilievre taunted that he’s "thinking about checking with the Guinness book of world records” to see how the news outlet stacks up against record-setting newspaper corrections. Liberals got in some digs at Poilievre. “Instead of taking a step back and asking what is going on, demonstrating calm and leadership and reassurance to Canadians, he immediately jumped to the conclusion that this was a terrorist attack without any knowledge or information that this was the case,” said House Leader KARINA GOULD. MPs were more aggressive on social media. ADAM VAN KOEVERDENposted Poilievre “literally just says whatever he wants on the record in the House of Commons while refusing to get briefed by the government. Straight from Trump’s MAGA playbook.” And so on. — What’s next: Bet on more brawls with the press for clips. Count on increasingly over-the-top rhetoric and partisan games as the clock counts down to the House’s holiday break and everyone gets increasingly sick of each other. — The big question: How will the Liberal government set pace on public safety and national security narratives ahead of the next election as the world looks to be a scarier place. They spent the better part of Thursday mirroring the Conservatives’ “not worth the cost” criticisms by repeating, ad nauseam, that Poilievre is “not worth the risk.” Did someone forward Ottawa Playbook your way? Click here to sign up for your own edition. It’s free! | | | | A message from Amazon: Did you know more than 41,000 Canadian selling partners sell in the Amazon Canada store, including many small businesses? In 2021, Amazon’s Canadian selling partners sold more than 100 million products (more than 200 products every minute). Canadian entrepreneurs thriving in Amazon’s store include women, families, and artisans. Learn their stories, and discover how Amazon is inventing on their behalf with powerful and cost-effective tools and services to support their business growth. | | |
| | TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS | |
— Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU is in St. John's, Newfoundland for the EU-Canada Summit. He announced last night that Canada will join the European Union's C$100-billion scientific research program, called Horizon Europe. The Canadian Press has those details.
— Deputy Prime Minister CHRYSTIA FREELAND is in Ottawa with “private meetings.” | | WHO'S UP, WHO'S DOWN | |
UP: Orillia’s ugly Christmas tree.
WAY UP: Canadians’ rage toward … just about everything. DOWN: Canada’s rep on transparency after Public Safety Minister DOMINIC LEBLANC et al. left it mostly up to the Americans to keep us updated and fill in all the blanks Wednesday about what happened on the Rainbow Bridge. WAY DOWN: Certain U.S. news orgs and politicians who faced rebuke after going all in on terrorism claims, including Fox News, KARI LAKE, Sen. TED CRUZ (R-Texas) and Mr. Build-a-border-wall-with-Canada VIVEK RAMASWAMY.
| | HALLWAY CONVERSATION | | | | 
What's left of a forest in Fort Chipewyan, Canada, after the wildfires. | Victor R. Caivano/AP | WORST SUMMER EVER — Defense Minister BILL BLAIR has spent the week stumping for more money and resources for the military. The military had to respond to a spate of disasters in Canada this year, and that support “doesn’t come without a cost,” he told a House committee Thursday, where he also insisted expected budget cuts won’t affect Armed Forces members. Playbook caught up with the minister at the Halifax International Security Forum. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. How do you feel about having gone through the worst wildfire season in Canadian history? This has been an incredibly challenging year. We did see the worst wildfire season in Canadian history by a significant factor. The worst period that we'd ever experienced in Canada was about 7,500 million hectares of forest fire burned. This year we went over 17,000. Nova Scotia was hugely impacted by [Hurricane] Fiona last fall and then in the spring, unprecedented wildfires, and several hundred people lost their homes, and that was followed up by a pretty tough flooding season. In virtually every region of this vast country, people were really significantly impacted by natural disaster. Tens of thousands had to be evacuated from their communities. And we were very fortunate because we got an extraordinary group of search and rescue people, volunteer firefighters, and Canadian Forces members who stepped up to help Canadians. What was your experience guiding the airlifts and rescue efforts? I've been in the business of keeping Canadians safe for most of my life. And, frankly, it's the best job anybody can have. But the scale of disaster was without precedent. We were pretty used to having an event in one part of the country, we'd go there and help them, we would tidy up and then move on. This was one after the other. The Canadian Air Forces, for example, were involved in firefighting for 130 consecutive days. There's no history to that. Volunteer firefighters and people right across the country were working full out for months at a time. What do you think about the prospect that with climate change that this could happen again? The trajectory of climate-related emergencies appears to be on the increase. I'm very hopeful that next year will not be so bad, but over time, we're going to see more of these events in both frequency and severity and we need to be better prepared. How concerning is it to you when you look at something like the Departmental Results Report, which raises concerns about concurrent deployments? What would have happened if the wildfires happened at the same time as the Middle East evacuations and all these other events? It's a legitimate concern. And at the same time, the Canadian Armed Forces, and in my experience emergency responders, are remarkably adaptive and they go and get the job done. If you have something really tough to do, go ask busy people to do it. These are the men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces and first responders and emergency responders right across the country. They keep on answering the call. Gen. WAYNE EYRE is quite concerned in his remarks Saturday [about Canada’s aging fleet in the Pacific] and also with CBC recently [about the security situation around the world]. Gen. Eyre is chief of defense staff and it’s his job to be concerned but also to get prepared. My job as the minister of defense is to do everything I can to support him [with] the deputy minister. The three of us have the important task of doing everything we can that is necessary to support the Canadian Armed Forces. The world has become an increasingly dangerous place by threat of natural disaster, and by the hostile activities of some of our adversaries, and we have obligations to NATO and NORAD, obligations in the Pacific, and most importantly to Canadians to do everything we can to get to get the right men and women for the Canadian Armed Forces and make sure that they have the equipment and the platforms they need. That's the job. The trick is to win that fight with Finance. I wouldn't characterize it that way. There's a lot of really good work going on in the government because Canadians are facing a lot of challenges in health care and housing and affordability. But there's also the challenge of the security of our country, and the defense of our country and the safety of our communities. Those aren't competing interests. They're all important. And our job is to make sure that we make the investments that are necessary in all of those areas. But there’s not unlimited money and that's why it's also important that we spend money smart. Sometimes more isn't the answer to everything. Sometimes you’ve just got to figure out the best way to get the job done. | | | | A message from Amazon:   | | | | | For your radar | | |  Prime Minister Justin Trudeau welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy back to Toronto earlier this fall. | Katherine KY Cheng/Getty Images | WILD CARD WEDGE — There’s not actually a carbon tax clause in Canada’s new trade agreement with Ukraine, though the bluster on the Hill makes it hard to tell. On Thursday, Government House Leader KARINA GOULD charged Poilievre and the Conservatives with weaponizing a “red herring” when they voted in a bloc this week against an updated trade deal with the war-torn country. She accused the CPC of emulating “right-wing American politicians.” — Say that again: “We’ve seen in right-wing political circles in the United States a hard turn against Ukraine towards supporting Russia,” she told reporters Thursday when pressed to elaborate. “I didn’t believe that we would necessarily see that here in Canada.” — Drama 101: Bill C-57 implements a deal signed by VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY when the Ukrainian president visited Ottawa in September. Attention at the time was preoccupied with the Nazi in the House, rather than the 700-page free-trade deal. Conservatives argue that vague, unspecific wording — to “promote carbon pricing” — in the environmental chapter of the pact is really intended to force a carbon tax on Ukraine. DEAN FOSTER, Global Affairs Canada’s director of trade negotiations for Africa, the Americas, Europe, India and the Middle East, tells the Star's RAISA PATEL: “The chapter does not require the imposition of a carbon tax in Ukraine.” — Inconvenient truth: Ukraine introduced a carbon tax in 2011. And if it ever hopes to join the EU, a basic eligibility criteria will be either an emissions trading system or a carbon tax. — Behind the scenes: Ukrainian officials are taken aback. The Ukrainian embassy in Canada told The Globe and Mail’s STEVE CHASE that nothing in the renegotiated deal promotes “specific instruments” to cut emissions. — In front of the cameras: Poilievre insisted to reporters in Toronto on Thursday that his caucus did not, in fact, vote against the free-trade agreement — a deal first announced under former prime minister Stephen Harper. — Heart of the brawl: “Trudeau’s ideological obsession with taxing working-class people, seniors and suffering families has come ahead of what should have been a free-trade agreement,” Poilievre said during a presser inside a Toronto shul. — In return: Liberals are accusing Poilievre of “turning his back” on Ukraine. — Campaign state of mind: The Conservative leader was in Toronto for a fundraiser at a private residence for the party’s York Centre electoral district association. Former leadership candidate ROMAN BABER, billed as a “prominent attendee,” is angling for a political comeback. The seat is currently held by Liberal Cabinet minister YA’ARA SAKS. | | | | A message from Amazon: Did you know more than 41,000 Canadian selling partners sell in the Amazon Canada store, including many small businesses?
In 2021, Amazon’s Canadian selling partners sold more than 100 million products (more than 200 products every minute).
It takes a lot to run a small business. Canadian entrepreneurs thriving in Amazon’s store include women, families, and artisans. Learn their stories, and discover how Amazon is inventing on their behalf with powerful and cost-effective tools and services to support their business growth. | | |
| | MEDIA ROOM | |
— Top of the New York Times this hour on the Israel-Hamas war: Temporary truce appears to take hold.
— “The national media has given Poilievre a free pass when it comes to his policies — or more accurately his lack of policies,” writes Star columnist BOB HEPBURN. — From POLITICO’s BARBARA MOENS and ZI-ANN LUM: Trump looms over EU-Canada summit. — ANDY SERWER, Barron’s editor-at-large, profiles MARK CARNEY, a not-ruled-out Liberal leadership contender-at-large. A sample description of his global-elite superpowers and psychic-barista intuition: “Urbane and ultra networked — naturally, he did a stint at Goldman Sachs — [he] is able to move between British, Canadian, and American power circles better than anyone on the planet, requiring otherworldly emotional intelligence, or EQ. Carney may not be your cup of tea (or coffee), but he’ll likely know how you take it.” — Economist ARMINE YANIZYAN is on CBC's Front Burner pod this morning to talk about Canada's debt. — Canadian aid groups say Ottawa has yet to clear roadblocks so they can get aid into Afghanistan, CP’s DYLAN ROBERTSON reports. — Toronto Star’s ANDY TAKAGI feature-izes This Hour Has 22 Minutes’ CHRIS WILSON’s comedic antics impersonating PIERRE POILIEVRE. — “There are very few genuinely national institutions that serve to unify the country, and the CFL-LCF is — or at least ought to be — one of them,” ANDREW POTTER writes on The Line. That no one in charge of the Canadian Football League took responsibility for the absence of French signage at last weekend’s Grey Cup is a massive fail, Potter says, a case of “Canada shooting itself in the foot.” — Finally, LAURA RYCKEWAERT of The Hill Times reports: Remote simultaneous interpretation now in use for House committees. | | PROZONE | |
If you’re a subscriber, don’t miss our latest policy newsletter from ZI-ANN LUM: A fight Ukraine was not expecting.
In other news for Pro subscribers: — The king, the Cam and the PM: Britain’s COP28 identity crisis. — U.N. tax initiative likely to 'undermine' OECD talks, U.S. official says. — NATO frontrunner faces flak over low defense spending. — With SAM ALTMAN back at OpenAI: Now what? — U.S. prepares wave of methane rules on oil and gas industry. | | PLAYBOOKERS | |
Birthdays: HBD to former Saskatchewan premier BRAD WALL, ONEX founder GERRY SCHWARTZ, former Manitoba PC Leader STUART MURRAY and HOWARD SAPERS, Canada’s former correctional investigator.
Happy third birthday to RYAN JESPERSEN’s Real Talk pod. Celebrating Saturday: HBD to TYLER BRÛLÉ. On Sunday: Ontario Education Minister STEPHEN LECCE and NDP MP CAROL HUGHES. Send birthdays to ottawaplaybook@politico.com . Spotted: Premier WAB KINEW, introducing legislation that would recognize LOUIS RIEL as Manitoba’s first honorary premier. SAV JONSA of APTN News has more on Thursday's ceremony. A standing ovation in the House for Conservative MP LEN WEBBER, champion of a private member’s bill that advocated for tax forms that include a question about organ and tissue donation — a measure Ontario and Nunavut have adopted. “How many taxpayers in Ontario and Nunavut indicated through their tax returns their intent to become life-saving organ and tissue donors?” the Calgary MP asked National Revenue Minister MARIE-CLAUDE BIBEAU during Thursday’s QP. Cue the applause: “2.45 million people,” she replied. Sen. GIGI OSLER on CNN Philippines. NDP MP RICHARD CANNINGS, musing about starting the Radler party. Conservative MP DAN MAZIER, marking the start of deer-hunting season. “I wish all hunters a safe, responsible and successful harvest,” he said in the House. “I thank them for all they do for conserving and preserving Canada's environment.” Bloc MP NATHALIE SINCLAIR-DESGAGNÉ at a PACP hearing searching for errors in the Public Accounts by asking officials about BILL BLAIR’s transportation and communications expense of C$9: “Last year, someone found the only mistype in the document,” she said in French. “Perhaps I’ll find something like that this time around.” Conservative MP JAMES BEZAN sporting a yellow pocket square and a blue tie in a nod to the Ukrainian flag while giving a House members statement showing support for that country’s struggle against Russia ahead of Holodomor Memorial Day. Noted: ’Tis the season for the winter closure of the stairway and pathway behind Centre Block on Parliament Hill. Movers and shakers: DAVID LEONARD has been named new incoming executive director of the Writers’ Trust … MARTHA HALL FINDLAY, former Liberal MP and ex-chief climate officer at Suncor Energy, has been appointed the new director of University of Calgary’s school of public policy. Media mentions: The Globe and Mail’s TEMUR DURRANI is returning to Winnipeg to be the newspaper’s Manitoba reporter. KIRK LAPOINTE announced that he’s parted ways with Glacier Media Group and Business in Vancouver. “I'm a free agent, open-minded about what others think I could contribute, grateful for the support of family, friends, my business network and colleagues.” | | | AROUND THE HILL | | |
8:30 a.m. Statistics Canada will release retail trade numbers, plus the results of second quarter travel surveys.
9:30 a.m. Environment Minister STEVEN GUILBEAULT will join his Quebec counterpart, BENOIT CHARETTE, for an announcement about the management of Anticosti Island as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Guilbeault will join the press conference via video link. 10:15 a.m. (11:45 a.m.) Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU, European Commission President URSULA VON DER LEYEN and European Council President CHARLES MICHEL hold a joint media availability to wrap the EU-Canada leaders’ summit. 11 a.m. Advocacy group Justice For All Canada holds a press conference in West Block to call on the government to call for a ceasefire in Gaza to prevent civilian deaths. 2 p.m. Communist Party of Canada leader ELIZABETH ROWLEY holds a press conference in West Block about a petition to Parliament requesting “to raise wages and roll-back prices on food, fuel and housing.” | | | Talk of the town | | |
JOIN US IN D.C. — What former U.S. president and his wife attended the wedding of CAROLINE MULRONEY?
If you know the answer, you’ll fit right in at Playbook Trivia in Washington on Monday, Dec. 4 at Astro Beer Hall. But join us even if you don’t know. We'll have a special guest and returning quizmaster: Ambassador KIRSTEN HILLMAN. Doors open at 7 p.m. First question at 7:30. Registration is open. Space is limited. RSVP via this Google Form . P.S. It was GEORGE AND BARBARA BUSH. | | TRIVIA | |
Thursday’s answer: GEORGE FOOTE FOSS built the first gasoline powered vehicle in Canada.
Think you have a harder trivia question? Send us your best . Props to GERMAINE MALABRE, LUCAS MALINOWSKI, JOHN ECKER, GEORGE SCHOENHOFER, MARCEL MARCOTTE and ROBERT MCDOUGALL. Today’s question: Who was the first Canadian-born prime minister? Bonus mark: How is he connected to this day in history? Send your answer to ottawaplaybook@politico.com Playbook wouldn’t happen without: POLITICO Canada editor Sue Allan, editor Emma Anderson and Luiza Ch. Savage. 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 | | | | |
