| | | | |  | | By Kyle Duggan and Nick Taylor-Vaisey | | Presented by |  | | | Thanks for reading Ottawa Playbook. In today's edition: → The week is just about over, yet the government and its carbon tax are still intact. → BILL FOX tells Playbook readers about his last belly laughs with BRIAN MULRONEY. → Finally, today: Who will eulogize the great eulogizer? |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | 
"You'll never hear Pierre Poilievre talk about the impacts of climate change," Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault, shown here at COP28, said this week. | Rafiq Maqbool/AP | CARBON TAX JOUST — PIERRE POILIEVRE might still get his wish for a “carbon tax election” — just not soon. It’s Friday, aptly the two-year anniversary of the Supply and Confidence Agreement (SACA) that has the NDP propping up the Liberals in a minority Parliament, and the government is still standing. That, despite the non-confidence motion this week from the Conservatives pushing for a “carbon tax election,” which was shot down 204–116. The party shot out a news release saying the Bloc and NDP voted to save the PM’s “failing political career.” The move clearly was not going to topple the Liberals, but amped up the pressure once again and earned headlines during the only sitting week of the month before the next planned hike on April 1. — Red-letter date: If the next election is held fall 2025, the carbon levy will ramp up again next April as well, so go ahead and mark the déjà-vu date in your calendar. Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU expressed confidence in QP this week in fighting another election on the pricing system, while Poilievre warned it would impose “more misery and suffering on the Canadian people.” — Unpopular tax: Sure, sure. There’s that CTF/Leger polling figure floating around:70 percent opposition to the carbon tax the Conservatives point to, the premiers have fallen in line against it, etc. But the where of it remains the interesting part. “As long as the cost of living remains a primary concern for people in Ontario and Atlantic Canada, it's going to remain an issue that keeps enough voters motivated and focused on the Liberals as being a cause for at least some of their problems,” Abacus Data CEO DAVID COLETTO tells Playbook, who has taken the pulse on this. “More people [in Atlantic Canada] say they won't vote Liberal because of the tax itself and a carbon tax than anywhere else in the country. And while the carve out may have dissipated that a bit, it's still a factor, and we haven’t seen the Liberals rebound at all since that move in Atlantic Canada.” In other words, “a lot of perceptions” have to change to “neutralize at the very least” the issue for the Liberals, and even then it’s really hard to imagine it as a wedge they could use. — ‘Impossible’ to explain: Gandalf Group pollster and Canadian podcast celeb DAVID HERLE doesn’t think the posturing in Parliament matters much in the end. But he has also done opinion research on the policy and said it’s “impossible to communicate” and “really hurting the government right now.” Whether that's still the case whenever the election rolls around is “unknown, but I would assume it would be, if I was them,” he said. “People never really understood how it worked.” The rebate-and-redistribution aspect isn’t intuitive, it’s difficult to understand in areas of the country where there aren’t alternative options and it “belies everybody's experience with government” that it would tax them then return that money or even more. “It's not like everybody in Canada is against it, but it's sort of a 60/40 against this, and one party has 60 percent and the other four parties are scrambling for the 40 percent.” | | | | A message from Google: At Google, we know it can be tough keeping your family safe online. So we help make it easier by automatically turning on safety settings for kids and teens. With protections like filtering explicit content with SafeSearch, blocking age-restricted videos on YouTube, and more. To find online safety features for kids and teens, visit: g.co/families | | |
— Seen this movie before: Economist MARK JACCARD refrained from wading into the politics, but told Playbook he was not surprised by the sticky political situation and state of debate, explaining that all policies that “really reduce greenhouse gas emissions will be unpopular.”
“You don't have to have a carbon tax, but it is the most economically efficient,” he explained. “Sweden's carbon tax is now C$180 per tonne and they've survived [with it], but that's because they have more of a national consensus.” — Front-and-center: The Liberals were forced to spend much of their airtime defending the tax this week in the Commons, including Environment Minister STEVEN GUILBEAULT at committee Thursday, when quizzed by Conservative Deputy Leader MELISSA LANTSMAN if there was “anything that you would do to walk back — you personally … the 23 percent carbon-tax increase in April?” That was a no, and he emphasized that the rebates will also increase. — In related reading: From BENJAMIN SHINGLER of CBC News this morning: What's behind the carbon tax, and does it work? — In related listening: The Globe's KELLY CRYDERMAN joins "The Decibel" pod to discuss carbon politics.
| | IN MEMORIAM | |
THE LILT OF IRISH LAUGHTER — It was just another Tuesday when BILL FOX and his wife, BONNIE BROWNLEE, shared an evening with the Mulroneys.
Fox and Brownlee, former colleagues and close friends since the 1980s, were in Florida to escape the Canadian winter. Earlier in the month, they’d watched the Super Bowl with the Mulroneys. And on Feb. 20, the former PM threw a birthday party for Brownlee. — Business as usual: When the couple joined the Mulroneys on Feb. 27, they yakked about the old days, along with MICHAEL MCSWEENEY, another longtime confidant and aide, and his wife, Heidi. Fox was a journalist before serving as Mulroney's press secretary and communications director for four years, starting in 1983. Brownlee was an executive assistant and press officer for almost all of Mulroney's years in government. “Brian was regaling us with stories from the '83 leadership campaign, in incredible detail, just chatting and laughing,” Fox tells Playbook. “This wasn't halting. It was belly laughs.” Fox expected to chat again soon. Mulroney was planning to celebrate major milestones this year: his 85th birthday; the 60th anniversary of his employment at Ogilvy Renault (later Norton Rose); his daughter CAROLINE's 50th birthday this June; and the 40th anniversary this September of his historic majority win in 1984. Fox didn't speak much about Mulroney’s final trip to the hospital the next day; only that the former prime minister was surrounded by family, “the way he'd want it.”
|  Bill Fox and Bonnie Brownlee with the Mulroneys in Ottawa this week. | Adrian Wyld, The Canadian Press | — A final visit: Fox and Brownlee lined up like everyone else to pay their respects in Ottawa this week. Lending a hand to the Mulroneys this month had kept Fox busy — and helped him cope. As the pair approached the casket in the Sir John A Macdonald building, the TV cameras captured their reflection. “I wanted to have a moment there," Fox said. "I wanted to have a moment with the lying in state.” Fox once acknowledged his reputation in the Mulroney years as “an aggressive personality and a bit confrontational” — a journalist's approach to getting things done. On Thursday, he spoke through tears. | | For your radar | | |  The visitation for former prime minister Brian Mulroney continues today at Saint Patrick's Basilica in Montreal from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. | POOL/AFP via Getty Images | EULOGIZING THE GREAT EULOGIZER — The late Mulroney is remembered, alongside his transformative tenure as PM, as a tremendous orator and eulogizer — big shoes to fill come Saturday. But the people in the lineup to speak at the funeral held in Montreal’s Notre-Dame Basilica leave little room for doubt they will meet the occasion. → His daughter, CAROLINE MULRONEY, is set to deliver a eulogy. A member of Ontario Premier DOUG FORD’s Cabinet, heading up the Treasury Board, she’s racked up a lot of political and speaking experience, now in her third senior position and fourth Cabinet posting, carrying on the torch for the Mulroney political family dynasty. Just like how JUSTIN TRUDEAU’s eulogy for his father in October 2000, 23-and-a-half years ago, is emblazoned in the memories of Canadians, this will be one to watch. Speaking of, the PM is set to deliver remarks as well. → PIERRE KARL PÉLADEAU, the famous sovereigntist Canadian media baron, head of Quebecor, former head of the Parti Québécois and billionaire, ranks among those to speak. In 2014,La Presse billed the federalist Mulroney as an “improbable mentor” to PKP. But in an interview with CBC News on Thursday during his visit to pay respects in Montreal, he flipped that line: He was a “probable mentor,” who long stood by and helped the Péladeau family, with keen negotiating skills and business acumen. “Life is not always a very calm river; sometimes it's rocky and bumpy. And he was there. Mr. Mulroney was Mr. Loyalty,” he said. “I was having conversation [with him] a few days before he passed away and he was considering putting himself in good shape for the next [Quebecor] annual meeting that will come in spring, you know, and this is what Mr. Mulroney was all about.” → WAYNE GRETZKY, the Great One. What needs to be said that Canadians don’t already know? Well, maybe that the two were long-time friends. Mulroney and Gretzky knew each other for several decades, about 40 years, estimates Earnscliffe’s GEOFF NORQUAY, a former policy adviser and co-writer of speeches with the late PM. There was some media coverage of their relationship, though. The pair had been photographed beside each other in 1985 watching the Hull Olympiques face off against Shawinagan in Quebec’s Major Junior Hockey League, and the article noted the hockey great gave pointers to Caroline, Mark and Ben. Gretzky invited Mulroney and Mila to his wedding, though they apparently couldn’t make it. — Strange trivia: When Mulroney was pushing ahead on NAFTA, Gretzky was traded to the Los Angeles Kings, which set of a flurry of media reports and commentary suggesting losing the Canadian icon was a bad omen for the trade deal — one of Canada’s great natural resources pilfered by the Americans. An academic research paper on the phenomenon in 1994 noted angry hockey fans spoke with the Globe and Mail about it being a harbinger of what’s to come with free trade, Sports Illustrated made hay, and if you were a reader of the Beaver County Times in Pennsylvania, you’d have come across the headline: “Our Opinion: Gretzky Deal Could Scuttle Free Trade Bill.” Mulroney’s PMO had no official comment on the trade at the time. My, how these things age. → Former U.S. secretary of state JAMES BAKER is set to speak — another good friend to Mulroney for more than three decades and a friend to Canada, too, Norquay explains. He was the U.S. treasury secretary who led the American team during the free trade negotiations. In the 11th hour, the Americans refused to include a dispute settlement mechanism and Mulroney’s chief of staff DEREK BURNEY called to say the deal was off. As Norquay tells it, Mulroney phoned Baker and said he was going to call up RONALD REAGAN and ask, “How is it that the Americans can do a nuclear-reduction deal with their worst enemy, the Soviet Union and they can't do a free trade agreement with their best friend, the Canadians?” The deal was saved. Baker penned a piece in the Globe three weeks ago describing Mulroney as an “effective, shrewd and principled” negotiator, and Norquay shared his own reflections in Policy magazine. → Former Quebec premier JEAN CHAREST, also a member of Mulroney’s Cabinet, was a lifelong friend, both swept into office in 1984. Speaking to reporters outside St. Patrick's Basilica Thursday, he called it a “very sad moment, but it's also beautiful in some ways, as the country pauses to think and reflect upon the heritage of Brian Mulroney and what he's given to the country.” — Also at Thursday's visitation: LUCIEN BOUCHARD, GILLES DUCEPPE, PIERRE-MARC JOHNSON, GÉRALD TREMBLAY, RAYMOND BACHAND, MARIO DUMONT, PATRICE ROY, WAFIC and ROSEMARY SAID. The funeral service will be broadcast Saturday starting at 11 a.m. with most coverage starting hours before. — In related reading: JASON MAGDER of the Montreal Gazette has “Quebecers pay tribute." — In related listening: EDWARD KEENAN and SUSAN DELACOURT join the Star's "This Matters" pod to discuss "the last big-swinging prime minister."
| | | | A message from Google:   | | | | | Where the leaders are | |
— Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU is in the National Capital Region with no public events on his itinerary.
— Deputy PM CHRYSTIA FREELAND is in Toronto with nothing public planned. — Conservative Leader PIERRE POILIEVRE will headline a rally at the Grand Victorian Convention Centre in Mississauga, Ont. — Bloc Québécois Leader YVES-FRANÇOIS BLANCHET has not released his public itinerary. — NDP Leader JAGMEET SINGH is in Montreal for a town hall on pharmacare. In the afternoon, he’ll visit a seniors residence. Later, he’ll join the local Muslim community for a Ramadan Iftar. — Green Leader ELIZABETH MAY is in the Commons before she catches a train to Montreal for the Mulroney funeral. | | | DULY NOTED | |
10 a.m. Environment Minister STEVEN GUILBEAULT is in Montreal to make a conservation announcement for the St. Lawrence ecosystem. | | | WHO'S UP, WHO'S DOWN | |
UP: The laughter in the committee rooms during the ArriveCAN audit hearings.
DOWN: La Presse, which had to apologize after drawing widespread condemnation for running an antisemitic cartoon of Israel’s PM.
| | | MEDIA ROOM | | |
— The many mysteries swirling around the royal family are consuming official Washington. POLITICO’s West Wing Playbook has the details on a secret, Kate-obsessed text chain.
— Bloomberg gets the skinny on a big theme of Budget 2024: housing. BRIAN PLATT reports the fiscal plan is “likely to include a strategy for building homes on government-owned property.” — DAVID FRUM has written a moving memorial tribute to his daughter Miranda. — ANDRÉ PRATT returns to “The Herle Burly” to discuss the state of Quebec politics. — “The Conservatives are so committed to blaming anything going wrong in Canada on ‘eight years of this prime minister,’ that it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Poilievre blaming traffic jams, mosquito bites or a painfully stubbed toe on the machinations of the Liberal government,” STUART THOMSON writes in a National Post feature on lying politicians. — GINNY ROTH of Crestview Strategy is required listening on The Hub’s pod as she and SEAN SPEER discuss Poilievre’s wide appeal. — Courtesy the Globe: Why you can’t afford a home, in 10 charts. — “Will he go independent? Will he join the Conservatives, who voted against the amended NDP motion?” ALLISON HANES writes in the Montreal Gazette of Liberal MP ANTHONY HOUSEFATHER. “Not only is the château-fort riding of Mount Royal in play, but potentially much of the Jewish vote in Canada.”
| | | PROZONE | | |
Don’t miss our latest policy newsletter for Pro subscribers from ZI-ANN LUM: Softwood lumber rep need not apply.
In other news for Pro readers: — Washington state, California and Quebec look to link carbon markets. — Oil and gas companies not aligned with Paris goals — report. — Recycling can't keep up with the world's increase in e-waste, UN says. — NY lawmakers pass bill to expand fracking ban to include liquid CO2. — US appetite for cheap shrimp fuels contamination, labor abuse in India. | | PLAYBOOKERS | |
Birthdays: HBD to McMillan Vantage associate ANDREA DUARTE MUNOZ and Bluesky consultant EMILY SZEMETHY.
On Saturday: Texture Communications president MELANIE PARADIS and Toronto Star Queen's Park bureau chief ROB BENZIE, former Cabmin JODY WILSON-RAYBOULD, Conservative MP RICHARD MARTEL, Quebec Green Party leader ALEX TYRRELL, Manitoba MLA RALPH EICHLER, former P.E.I. NDP leader LARRY DUCHESNE and former Quebec politician MARIE MALAVOY. On Sunday: Sussex Strategy senior associate LIAM DALY, Mastercard Canada senior VP JENNIFER SLOAN, Toronto Mayor OLIVIA CHOW, former Cabmin LYNNE YELICH, politician and human rights activist ROSEMARIE KUPTANA (70!) and environmentalist DAVID SUZUKI. Birthdays, gatherings, social notices for this community: Send them our way. Spotted: Green MP ELIZABETH MAY recommending a New Yorker feature to fellow MPs: “Why is the Sea so Hot?” by ELIZABETH KOLBERT. Former NDP MP RYAN CLEARY, who ran for the Newfoundland Progressive Conservatives in 2015, attending PIERRE POILIEVRE's recent fundraiser in St. John’s. Cleary joined the party “a few weeks ago,” he tells Playbook. Bloc Québécois Leader YVES-FRANÇOIS BLANCHET being called a “Canadian samurai” by Japanese Ambassador KANJI YAMANOUCHI … Canadian astronaut JOSHUA KUTRYK celebrating his birthday meeting Treasury Board President ANITA ANAND. Media mentions: DYLAN ROBERTSON of The Canadian Press has been named this year’s JAMES TRAVERS foreign corresponding fellowship recipient. Farewells: Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief ALVIN FIDDLER paying tribute to his late mother EUNICE: “Today we will lay this beautiful woman to rest … Well done, good and faithful servant. You are home.” Send Playbookers tips to ottawaplaybook@politico.com . | | ON THE HILL | |
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→ Keep track of Senate committees here. We’ve built a 2024 mega-calendar. Send us events and download it yourself for Google and other clients . | | TRIVIA | |
Thursday’s answer: “Just setting up my twttr.” That was JACK DORSEY — @jack — sending the first public tweet March 21, 2006.
Props to NICK CHAN, NANCI WAUGH, NATALIE MCGEE, AMY SCANLON BOUGHNER, ROBERT MCDOUGALL, TOBY HARPER-MERRETT, SCOTT LOHNES, MARK RAMZY, GORDON RANDALL, MARCEL MARCOTTE, JIM CAMPBELL, CAMERON RYAN, ROB LEFORTE, CAMERON RYAN, ROB LEFORTE, KATE MCKENNA and DARRYL DAMUDE.
Friday’s question: What is the name of the famous bell in Notre-Dame Basilica of Montreal? Answers to ottawaplaybook@politico.com Playbook wouldn’t happen without: POLITICO Canada editor Sue Allan, editor Willa Plank and Luiza Ch. Savage. | | | | 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 | | | | |
