Everything is happening

Apr 08, 2024

Presented by

Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Nick | Follow Politico Canada

Welcome to Ottawa Playbook. Let's get into it.

In today’s edition:

→ One week, two cities, three policy conferences.

→ Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU is poised to testify at his second public inquiry in as many years.

→ Trudeau kicks off this week with a revamped military strategy.

THREE THINGS WE'RE WATCHING

CONFERENCE WEEK — Settle in for Chaos Week, as we’ve been calling it in Playbook meetings.

Anyone remember the last time three major policy confabs overlapped with a prime minister’s testimony at a public inquiry, the government’s reveal of a looooooong-awaited military strategy, a Bank of Canada rate announcement, the finance minister’s enthusiastic sharing of more budget goodies, and 400 gossipy insiders crammed into a room for the annual Press Gallery dinner?

Yeah, neither do we. Here we go.

— Public Policy Forum: Economists, business leaders, policy makers and politicians will take to the stage Thursday at Canada Growth Summit 2024, a Public Policy Forum event at which POLITICO is a media partner. We'll have plenty of coverage through the week, including conversations with some of the biggest names onstage.

Here are some of the bold-faced names in the room: ANA BAILÃO, RUPA BANERJEE, ADAM CHAMBERS, SEAN FRASER, SHARLEEN GALE, JP GLADU, JOHN HANNAFORD, SIMON KENNEDY, LISA RAITT, HEATHER SCOFFIELD, SEAN SPEER and CAROLYN WILKINS.

POLITICO's LUIZA SAVAGE and ZI-ANN LUM will moderate panels on productivity leadership and a case study on housing.

— Canada Strong and Free Networking Conference: The CSFN, still known informally as the "Manning conference" despite the years-old rebrand, takes over the Westin Hotel from Wednesday until Saturday.

"The change that lies ahead presents the greatest opportunity — perhaps generational opportunity — for conservatives willing to lead," reads the organizers' elevator pitch. "We have a seasoned elite that see conservatism as a threat to the global liberal project. Socialists never play by the rules and never fight fair."

Wednesday headliners include former PMs BORIS JOHNSON and TONY ABBOTT. Thursday's biggest name is PIERRE POILIEVRE, who delivers a morning keynote. New Brunswick Premier BLAINE HIGGS and Alberta Premier DANIELLE SMITH will also make appearances. JASON KENNEY wouldn't miss this conference for the world.

Playbook will have a full preview later this week.

— Progress Summit: Across town at the Delta, the Broadbent Institute's annual conference will get underway Wednesday — the first summit since ED BROADBENT's death, which will be marked in part by a piece of art created by participants.

Ottawa's lefties are meeting at a crucial time for the NDP, which has scored significant policy wins on the Hill — but struggles for the credit with a Liberal government actually implementing dentalcare and pharmacare. Meanwhile, Poilievre's Conservatives are gunning for working-class votes.

NDP Leader JAGMEET SINGH will deliver a Thursday keynote a couple of hours after Poilievre's remarks at the Westin. Afternoon headliners include SONIA GUAJAJARA, Brazil's minister of Indigenous peoples, and BEA BRUSKE, president of the Canadian Labour Congress.

Neither NDP premier will fly to Ottawa, but Manitoba Deputy Premier UZOMA ASAGWARA will appear in WAB KINEW's stead. Toronto Mayor OLIVIA CHOW is Friday's biggest name. She'll present the 2024 Jack Layton Progress Prize before joining a panel on housing alongside Liberal MP PETER FRAGISKATOS.

A message from Unsmoke Canada:

The best option is always to quit nicotine and tobacco use altogether, but smokers who choose not to quit should also be aware that alternatives exist. These alternatives still contain nicotine and are addictive. But, for those adult smokers who would otherwise continue to smoke, smoke-free alternatives provide an option that does not involve combustion - or "burning" - like smoking a cigarette does. Legislation can change how smoke-free products are regulated.

TRUDEAU IN THE HOT SEAT — At the Hogue commission down at Library and Archives HQ, senior public servants, Cabinet ministers, top political staff and the prime minister will all take questions this week.

— Monday: The commission on foreign interference will hear from the "Panel of 5" deputy ministers who oversaw federal efforts to secure the integrity of the elections.

The 2019 panel comprised NATHALIE DROUIN, MARTA MORGAN, GINA WILSON, GRETA BOSSENMAIER and MONIK BEAUREGARD. The 2021 group included Drouin, Morgan, JANICE CHARETTE, ROB STEWART and FRANÇOIS DAIGLE.

Also testifying: former national security and intelligence advisers Bossenmaier, DAVID MORRISON and VINCENT RIGBY.

— Tuesday: Charette, Drouin and Stewart will testify again, as will former Public Safety former senior assistant deputy minister DOMINIC ROCHON.

The commission will also hear from the Prime Minister's Office: chief of staff KATIE TELFORD, deputy chief of staff BRIAN CLOW, global affairs adviser PATRICK TRAVERS, and former senior adviser and campaign director JEREMY BROADHURST.

— Wednesday: Ministers BILL BLAIR, KARINA GOULD and DOMINIC LEBLANC will testify. The final witness of this round of hearings will be the prime minister.

MILITARY REBOOT — Two years plus a day after Budget 2022 tasked then-defense minister ANITA ANAND with updating Canada's defense policy, Anand's successor will unveil the finished product.

Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU, Deputy PM CHRYSTIA FREELAND, Defense Minister BILL BLAIR and Veterans Affairs Minister GINETTE PETITPAS TAYLOR will launch the defense policy update at CFB Trenton, where he'll hold an 11:30 a.m. press conference. (To address what space geeks are wondering: Yes, that lakeside air base lies in the solar eclipse's path of totality. The roadshow will move on before darkness falls.)

— The key questions: Will the phalanx of Liberals hint at their intention to boost defense spending to 2 percent of GDP? And how will the revamped strategy haul the military out of a recruitment "death spiral"?

— What's in a policy: The Canadian Armed Forces have worked to implement the "Strong, Secure, Engaged" strategy doc that dates to 2017. SSE replaced the Harper-era Canada First Defence Strategy.

Whatever this one is called, the point of the drawn-out exercise was to create a long-term vision that prepares the military for an ever-evolving world — aka a dangerous geopolitical landscape with a pile of risks for Canada and huge demands on its troops.

— Long time coming: Maj.-Gen. PAUL PRÉVOST told a parliamentary committee his department would submit the policy proposal to Cabinet in the fall of 2022. Last May, Anand promised the update in "the near future."

— Good timing: The Canadian Global Affairs Institute recently published a report from PAUL MADDISON, DAVID FRASER and JOHN SCOTT COWAN that concluded the government could responsibly hit the 2-per-cent mark in 2027.

— Allies are watching: Three ambassadors recently flashed diplomatic signals on Canadian spending. At a NATO 75th anniversary celebration at the Canadian War Museum, the CBC's MURRAY BREWSTER noted key distinctions between the U.S., U.K., and NATO newbie Finland.

→ U.S. Ambo DAVID COHEN: "We do look at the percentage of GDP that is spent on defense, but we look at a wide range of other factors."

→ U.K. High Commissioner SUSANNAH GOSHKO: "We were really pleased that all NATO countries agreed to [2 percent] at Vilnius and we're looking forward to seeing countries' plans to getting there. We do think it's important that every country has a plan to get there."

→ Finnish Ambassador JARI VILÉN said allies should live up to their commitments: "You have to obey it," he told the crowd.

Where the leaders are

— Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU and Deputy PM CHRYSTIA FREELAND will visit an air force training center at 10:30 a.m. before announcing a defense policy update at 11:30. Defense Minister BILL BLAIR and Veterans Affairs Minister GINETTE PETITPAS TAYLOR will also be in attendance.

— Conservative Leader PIERRE POILIEVRE and Bloc Québécois YVES-FRANÇOIS BLANCHET have not released their public itineraries.

— Before heading to question period, NDP Leader JAGMEET SINGH will speak to media at 2 p.m. about “reversing corporate handouts.”

— Green Party Leader ELIZABETH MAY will be in Ottawa.

DULY NOTED

11 a.m. JAMIL JIVANI will be sworn in as a Conservative MP at a West Block ceremony. Expect big names to take it in. Jivani will take his seat in the House and attend question period. He'll mark the occasion with a 7 p.m. reception off the Hill.

We're tracking every major political event of 2024 on a mega-calendar. Send us events and download the calendar yourself for Google and other clients .

A message from Unsmoke Canada:

For your radar

ROADSHOW AFTERSHOW — Alberta Premier DANIELLE SMITH is teasing a new fight with the feds. She wants the same housing deal Quebec has where the province acts as a broker of sorts for municipalities.

“Just a few months ago, he said that this wasn’t federal jurisdiction,” Smith said Friday, referring to remarks Trudeau made last summer. The premier said she’s “gravely concerned” the suite of new housing deals is “a mechanism to try to implement net-zero housing policies.”

The prime minister’s mandate letters task Energy Minister JONATHAN WILKINSON and Industry Minister FRANÇOIS-PHILIPPE CHAMPAGNE with long-promised new net-zero building codes.

— Watch this space: “In Quebec, they can’t go around the provincial government to make a special deal with individual municipalities,” Smith said. “That’s a healthier model.”

Trudeau and Deputy PM CHRYSTIA FREELAND have been cross-crossing the country, leaking budget details, keen to shift attention from carbon price pushback to their plans to address Gen Z and millennial anxieties over out-of-reach housing.

Smith says Team Trudeau is building its budget around housing because there is “trouble in the polls.” She suggested the strategy to land direct deals with municipalities is guided by political relationships. “They’ve overstepped the mark once again, as they often do,” she said.

MEDIA ROOM

— The federal budget will pump C$2B into AI and set up new safety institute, The Logic’s Murad Hemmadi reports.

— Top of CBC News this morning: The total solar eclipse is happening today. Here's what to know.

— From the Canadian Jewish News: We watched PIERRE POILIEVRE spend the weekend courting Toronto's Jewish community

— The 24 Sussex discourse rumbles on. In the Citizen, MARLO GLASS considers the latest Harper/Chrétien proposal to privately fundraise for the building's restoration.

— ALTHIA RAJ’s latest “It’s Political” pod looks at the Online Harms Act.

— “How to navigate post-fact politics: skeptically, but attentively,” SUSAN RILEY writes in The Hill Times.

— The Star's ALEX BALLINGALL sets the stakes for Finance Minister CHRYSTIA FREELAND.

PROZONE

For POLITICO Pro subscribers, our latest policy newsletter from ZI-ANN LUM and SUE ALLAN: The case for a productivity watchdog.

In other news for Pro readers:

— Baltimore's port could be fully functional by end of May, Maryland's governor says.

— Trump promises a ‘deal’ on abortion that will please everyone. It likely doesn’t exist.

— Navy cancels ship briefings after damning internal report.

— Top Treasury official presses case for global minimum tax.

— Regan pledges ‘robust’ EPA rules despite legal challenges, GOP attacks.

PLAYBOOKERS

Birthdays: HBD to the Toronto Star reporter ALEX BALLINGALL and to Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs VP CORY HANN.

Got a document to share? A birthday coming up? Send it all our way.

Spotted: WESLEY WARK, taking in the Hogue commission from the public gallery … Tory MPs JASRAJ SINGH HALLAN and LEN WEBBER, taking 100 door-knockers to Liberal MP GEORGE CHAHAL's northeast Calgary riding.

A federal purchase of carpets for dairy cows. Cost: C$37,050.69.

Movers and shakers: The NDP caucus has a refreshed slate of critics. HEATHER MCPHERSON is whip. LAUREL COLLINS is deputy whip. DON DAVIES replaces DANIEL BLAIKIE as the party's pointman on finance.

PETER JULIAN moves to health. ALEXANDRE BOULERICE takes on the high-profile housing portfolio. BLAKE DESJARLAIS focuses on Indigenous housing. MATTHEW GREEN goes to labor. TAYLOR BACHRACH keeps an eye on public services and procurement. LEAH GAZAN is in postsecondary education. ALISTAIR MACGREGOR watches the public safety file. LISA MARIE BARRON moves to democratic reform. And NIKI ASHTON is the new critic for culture.

— Former Ontario finance minister ROD PHILLIPS joins GT and Company as a senior adviser. "Great to welcome an old friend onboard," said founding partner DON GUY … LIAM O'BRIEN, a former senior Conservative staffer on the Hill and at Queen's Park, leaves Irving Oil's government relations team for a new gig as a Maritimes-based senior consultant at Earnscliffe.

CHIMA NKEMDIRIM and CHETHAN LAKSHMAN launched the Calgary-based consultancy Rishi Nolan Strategies.

Media mentions: KRISTENE QUAN is now deputy head of social media at The Economist … A big group of former W5 staff, including LLOYD ROBERTSON, AVERY HAINES and KEVIN NEWMAN, toasted the recently canceled investigative program at a Toronto pub.

In memoriam: IONA CAMPAGNOLO has died at the age of 91. The CBC News obituary is here. “For a time she was absolutely essential to the Liberal Party and she left it far stronger than she found it,” DAVID HERLE shared on LinkedIn. “To me she is one of the giants of Canadian politics.”

A message from Unsmoke Canada:

There’s no doubt Canada can be a global leader in reducing the harm caused by smoking, but it requires actionable steps. Governments should help adult smokers by openly recognizing the harm reduction potential of smoke-free products and modernizing Canadian legislation. Learn more about how we can accelerate change.

ON THE HILL

→ Find House committees here.

→ Keep track of Senate committees here.

— Estonian Foreign Affairs Minister JONATAN VSEVIOV will arrives for a two-day visit.

9:30 a.m. Amnesty International Canada will hold a press conference in West Block to promote its “2023 Human Rights Agenda” report.

11 a.m. The House industry and technology committee will meet to take Bill C-27 through clause-by-clause consideration.

11 a.m. The House government and operations and estimates committee will launch a study on postal services in rural and remote communities.

2 p.m. Industry Minister FRANÇOIS-PHILIPPE CHAMPAGNE will be in Montreal with Canadian astronaut DAVID SAINT-JACQUES to mark the solar eclipse.

3:30 p.m. The House natural resources committee will take Bill C-49 through clause-by-clause consideration.

3:30 p.m. The House official language committee will meet to continue its study on language obligations related to the recruitment process appointments to key positions. Farm Credit Canada President and CEO JUSTINE HENDRICKS is on board as a witness.

3:30 p.m. Canadian Labour Congress President BEA BRUSKE will be a witness at the House human resources committee’s study on Bill C-58.

3:30 p.m. The House health committee will continue its study on women’s health.

3:30 p.m. The House public safety committee will meet to take Bill C-26 through clause-by-clause consideration.

4 p.m. Defense Minister BILL BLAIR, Chief of Defense Staff Gen. WAYNE EYRE and Communications Security Establishment Chief CAROLINE XAVIER headline the Senate national security committee’s meeting for a general discussion about the issues facing Canada.

4:30 p.m. The Senate human rights committee will study forced global displacement.

5 p.m. The Senate official languages committee will study the study permit cap on French-language post-secondary institutions outside of Quebec.

6:30 p.m. Health Minister MARK HOLLAND will be in the hot seat at the special Canada-China committee to likely discuss Winnipeg lab documents released last month. Canadian Security Intelligence Service Director DAVID VIGNEAULT will be a witness in the second half during a meeting.

TRIVIA

Friday's answer: Former Toronto mayor ROB FORD attended Carleton University.

Props to: BOB GORDON, JOHN MERRIMAN, BOB RICHARDSON, RICHARD NIMIJEAN, MARCEL MARCOTTE, BROOK SIMPSON, DARREN MAJOR, GUY SKIPWORTH, GOZDE KAZAZOGLU, MATT DELISLE, JOHN ALHO, GORDON RANDALL, JOANNA PLATER, TRACY SALMON, ROBERT MCDOUGALL, LILY MESH, DUANE BRATT, SHANE O'NEILL, FRANCIS DOWNEY.

Today’s question: Who was the speaker of the House of Commons during the "bell-ringing episode," when the bells calling MPs to the chamber rang for two-straight weeks for a single vote?

Send your answer to ottawaplaybook@politico.com

Writing Playbook Tuesday morning: ZI-ANN LUM

Playbook wouldn’t happen without: POLITICO Canada editor Sue Allan 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