NO QUESTIONS — JUSTIN TRUDEAU appears to be skipping the Calgary Stampede this year. His schedule may change, but Playbook got its eyes on an email from the Prime Minister's Office that confirms Trudeau will not be attending the annual schmoozefest and celebration of western culture. Asked by Playbook, the PMO didn't confirm a decision had been made.
The prime minister has mostly avoided reporters since that stunning Toronto by-election loss. But Trudeau has not exactly been laying low. During the past few days, he took in Toronto Pride events and danced with vigor at the Taste of Asia festival in Markham, Ont. On Canada Day, he flew to St. John's for the Memorial Day repatriation of Newfoundland and Labrador's unknown soldier — and stopped by Canada Day celebrations in town. Trudeau did take questions from CBC's HEATHER HISCOX following the St. John's ceremony. The PM insisted he'd stay on as Liberal leader. The MO these days: Stick to the script; steer clear of reporters in the Ottawa fishbowl. — In the meantime, Playbook's texts were filling up with leaky Liberals. — Next on the agenda: Trudeau's itinerary includes a Wednesday evening fundraiser, co-hosted at Montreal's Place d'Armes hotel by Foreign Minister MÉLANIE JOLY and Tourism Minister SORAYA MARTINEZ FERRADA. — Western alienation: Trudeau once boasted about all the time he spent in Calgary. He made the city his first leadership campaign stop in 2012, and returned a year later as leader with a sunny-ways speech at the Calgary Petroleum Club. "Keep an open mind," he said in closing to the business crowd that day. "You can find friends in the most unexpected places." You can lose them, too. — About the Stampede: The first weekend of Calgary's annual bash is typically a staple of every serious political leader's summer calendar. Liberal MP GEORGE CHAHAL hosts a popular annual pancake breakfast. Cabinet ministers always show. So does the PM, usually. The party is hosting a Laurier Club reception on Saturday afternoon. The PM hosted last year, alongside RANDY BOISSONNAULT and ANITA ANAND. This year's headliner is TBD. — A twist this year: Chahal headlined a Friday-evening letter to Liberal caucus chair BRENDA SHANAHAN demanding an in-person caucus meeting ASAP. The Hill Times was first to reveal the name of the MP who led the charge on the letter. Chahal and eight co-signatories claimed that dozens of colleagues had reached a "clear consensus" on the need to meet. Meanwhile, Trudeau's rivals are Stampede bound. — Conservative partying: Fresh off a happy-warrior caravan tour of Quebec, PIERRE POILIEVRE will be all over Calgary. On Friday, the Tory leader has a 1:30 p.m. date with donors at the Southern Alberta Pioneers Building. He'll head south of town for an evening fundraiser at Sirocco Golf Club. Buoyant crowds are sure to meet their party leader. On Saturday morning, Poilievre will likely join a pile of CPC MPs at JASRAJ SINGH HALLAN's pancake breakfast at Marlborough Mall. The Tory leader caps the day with a massive BBQ at Heritage Park. Thursday morning's Playbook will include a full Stampede preview for “eastern bums” flying west for the festival's frenzied first weekend. GOSSIP OVERLOAD — About that letter. When Chahal’s plea for a caucus meeting circulated ahead of the long weekend, the missive capped a week that wouldn't end for Liberals still smarting from the Toronto by-election that got unnamed tongues flapping. The most eye-popping talker was from journalist JUSTIN LING, who chronicled Environment Minister STEVEN GUILBEAULT's VIA Rail business lounge damage-control phone calls in the aftermath of the election. Ling only heard one side of each conversation, but it was awkward all the same. Who holds ultra-sensitive convos in a train station? Next up was ALTHIA RAJ's reporting, also in The Toronto Star, about the note from Liberal MP WAYNE LONG to caucus calling for the PM's head. — Caucus talkus: Chahal left it to his co-signatories to identify themselves. None has so far come forward. Here's what they had to say: → Bad loss: "This was a race the Liberal Party of Canada should not have lost. Our government has a strong legacy of achievement since 2015. The Liberal brand and our values resonate with Canadians." → Reality check: "However, many Canadians who have supported us are no longer supportive, they have tuned out. The residents of Toronto St. Paul were clear in sending a message. If we claim to be listening, then our public responses are disconnected from reality." — Follow the leader: Nepean MP CHANDRA ARYA posted on X that he's not a member of the "PMJT Super Fans Club" because Trudeau has "taken [the] party and the government too far left of centre." Nevertheless, Arya reaffirmed his support for the PM. — Call in the members: "Forget the anonymous quotes from Liberal MPs in the media, of which I will never be one," said Beaches-East York MP NATE ERSKINE-SMITH, who reps a riding not too far from Toronto-St. Paul's. Erskine-Smith urged Trudeau to make his case for leadership to Liberal Party members as a whole. | 
