| | | | |  | | By Kyle Duggan and Nick Taylor-Vaisey | | Presented by |  | | | Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Ottawa Playbook | Follow Politico Canada Thanks for reading Ottawa Playbook. Let's get into it. In today's edition: → The PM prepares to host EMMANUEL MACRON for a two-day visit. → A peek at what’s in store for the next Tory op day. → Plus, Nanaimo’s mayor tells Playbook a cactus joke. |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | |  Prime Minister Justin Trudeau welcomes French President Emmanuel Macron to Parliament Hill in June 2018. | POOL/AFP via Getty Images | WONDER TWINS, ACTIVATE — Any time Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU meets with French President EMMANUEL MACRON, it naturally invites more comparisons. That stack keeps on growing. — Shape of … embattled liberals: Long gone are the days of glowing headlines like this Vanity Fair report on their telegenic bromance, which described the pair as the “Gen X dynamos of democracy.” The two posh, polished liberals with shared progressive values who rose to power around the same time have since become anti-elite lightning rods. While they still strut on the international stage, they both face populist headwinds challenging their legacies as they cling onto their political careers. — End of days: Sure, that’s been the story for years. But now, those headwinds have become storms and the two most frequently appear together these days on lists of the world’s most unpopular leaders. POLITICO’s VICTOR GOURY-LAFFONT has this close look at what Macron’s trajectory shares with Trudeau’s transition from sunny ways to sun-faded. — Face out of focus: Trudeau’s mugshot was absent from LAURA PALESTINI’s campaign in the recent by-election in Montreal. It’s a similar story across the Atlantic — northern France's VIOLETTE SPILLEBOUT’s campaign materials didn’t mention Macron. The news media is constantly writing their political obituaries, even as each insists he’ll remain at the helm until a centrist savior appears. Macron’s term isn’t scheduled to end until 2027, but France's political landscape has fragmented and his snap-election gamble left his government ironically at the mercy of the far right. — Quotable: “Macron and Trudeau are both individuals who came into politics with no strong or sincere ideology other than wanting to represent political modernity, espousing a broadly liberal-progressive platform,” FRÉDÉRIC MÉRAND, a political science professor at the Université de Montréal, told POLITICO’s Goury-Laffont. “The paradox is that they will leave power at a time when these ideas have never been stronger, with an increasingly progressive society.” Macron kicks off his Canada tour today, which Playbook previewed last week. — Quick glance: He arrives in town this evening and dines one-on-one with Trudeau. The pair will chat about international crises and other global issues. Tomorrow they do their official bilateral meet, and then head to Montreal, where Macron is set to meet with FRANÇOIS LEGAULT. The jaunt caps with a speech by Macron focused on Canada and the French community. — Question time: The press gallery will have to wait to quiz them, with no newsers on the program today. When reporters lobbed questions at the two during a dual presser in 2019, one of Macron’s aides notably kiboshed the affair early. Global’s DAVID AKIN reported at the time that after just three questions, Macron slipped his aide a note saying, “I don’t have time for a one-hour press conference.” CBC’s MURRAY BREWSTER had noticed that Trudeau looked a bit miffed and eager to field more questions. It’s unlikely either will be in that mood this time around. | | A message from Flip the Switch: Another extended interswitching pilot existed between 2014 and 2017. It successfully increased competition between the two monopoly railways while also lowering costs for shippers and consumers. The best part? The two railways had some of their best operating ratios during that period, which represents the ratio of their operating costs to their revenue. Learn more. | | | | | Where the leaders are | |
— Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU attends caucus and QP, then later hosts an informal dinner for French President EMMANUEL MACRON.
— Deputy Prime Minister CHRYSTIA FREELAND will be at caucus and QP. — Conservative Leader PIERRE POILIEVRE did not release a public itinerary. — Bloc Leader YVES-FRANÇOIS BLANCHET holds an 11 a.m. press conference in front of the Bloc caucus room in Wellington Building. Also appearing: House Leader ALAIN THERRIEN, seniors critic ANDRÉANNE LAROUCHE and Agriculture critic YVES PERRON. — NDP Leader JAGMEET SINGH will attend his party’s morning caucus meeting. He’ll also participate in QP. — Green Party Leader ELIZABETH MAY will attend weekly Green Caucus meetings. She’ll take part in Parliament and will pose her weekly question in QP. | | | DULY NOTED | | |
10:30 a.m. Government officials will hold a virtual technical briefing for media on the 2024 wildfire and hurricane season.
5:30 p.m. Environment Minister STEVEN GUILBEAULT will take questions at committee on factors that led to July’s wildfires in Jasper, Alberta. | | PLAYBOOK'S ONE-ON-ONE | |
ISLAND MAYOR — LEONARD KROG loves to talk politics.
The mayor of Nanaimo, British Columbia, invited Playbook into his office for an hour-long conversation following the recent Liberal summer caucus retreat in his city. Krog offered remarks to MPs that scored hearty applause, even earning him a hug from Deputy PM CHRYSTIA FREELAND — a "political hero" of his, as it turns out. Most locals knew Krog, 71, as a longtime NDP MLA, but his second act at city hall has turned him non-partisan. He doesn't use social media. He does not think Canada is broken. Our conversation started with the state of affairs on his city's streets. This week, Mounties raided a downtown overdose prevention site and charged two people in connection with the drug bust. The raid took place down the street from Krog's office, a short walk up the hill from the Vancouver Island Conference Centre where Liberals gathered. — 'Street disorder': That's how Krog phrases the rise in drug use and crime on Nanaimo's streets, which he reminds Playbook is a problem all over Canada. "It's the issue that we hear most about," he says. "I talk about it in terms of a mental health, addictions, trauma and brain injury crisis manifesting itself in homelessness and the petty crime associated with feeding an addiction." Krog blames decades of "failed social and health policy" that punted people who required help — treatment, counseling or involuntary care — to the streets. He points to a 2019 study that estimated about 50 percent of unhoused people suffer from brain injury. Too many are falling through the cracks, he says. "Either we treat it as a criminal problem or a health problem, but you're going to fall into one category or the other," he says. "And where that line is is not for people like me to decide. It's for our justice system and our health care system to decide." — Working with winners: Krog keeps a keen eye on federal and provincial dynamics, and sees the potential blue wave on Vancouver Island. Nanaimo is a three-way race. NDP MP LISA MARIE BARRON is the incumbent. PAUL MANLY, a city councilor, held the seat for the Greens between 2019 and 2021. Krog calls the local CPC candidate, TAMARA KRONIS, a "pretty moderate Tory" — and suspects her aims would be the same as most of her predecessors. "If you don't have political office, you don't have power. And if you're lucky and you have political office and your party has power, then you can make things happen," he says. "I expect any member of Parliament elected in Nanaimo is going to want to ensure that they are seen to, and do want to, deliver to their constituents." In other words, bring federal dollars home. — Always bring the funny: When Krog addressed the Liberal caucus, he heard a few of them lightheartedly suggest he run under the Trudeau banner. Krog, a former government caucus chair, declined with humor: "You've all heard the joke about the difference between a caucus and a cactus, haven't you?" he asked the room. "With a cactus, all the pricks are on the outside.'"
| | For your radar | | CONFIDENCE MARATHON — MPs vote today on the high stakes no-confidence motion put forward by the Conservatives. It should make for an incredibly anticlimactic moment in the House, since the parties have already made their positions clear. As soon as they’re done, lawmakers will start prepping for their next day of debate over whether to topple the government. Conservative Leader PIERRE POILIEVRE has put two motions on notice declaring non-confidence in the government that the party can pick from for its next opposition day topic. MPs will have to debate one of them tomorrow. — War of words: The first motion seeks to turn NDP Leader JAGMEET SINGH's own words against him. It quotes him proclaiming the “Liberals are too weak, too selfish and too beholden to corporate interests to fight for people." It also quotes Bloc House Leader ALAIN THERRIEN from Tuesday’s debate, when he decried “excessive centralization" on a scale “never before seen in history” as the government meddles in the “jurisdictions of Quebec and provinces." — Slogan bonanza: The second motion argues the Liberal government has “doubled housing costs, taxed food, punished work, unleashed crime, and is the most centralizing government in Canadian history.” The solution: give Canadians the “option to axe the tax, build the homes ..." and so on. — Déjà vu all over again: Thursday’s debate will probably sound a whole lot like Tuesday’s.
| | | | A message from Flip the Switch:   | | | | | MEDIA ROOM | | |  Britain’s new prime minister has suffered a turbulent start to his premiership. | Isabel Infantes/Pool via AP | — “Britain’s new prime minister should be taking the stage for the mother of all victory laps,” POLITICO’s ESTHER WEBBER writes from Liverpool, England. “Instead, he’s just trying to keep the show on the road.” — KRISTY KIRKUP reports that security has been boosted on and around Parliament Hill over concerns about protesters confronting MPs. — “What if Harris wins the U.S. election and Poilievre wins in Canada?” The Star’s ANA PEREIRA sorts the economic consequences. — Meanwhile, TORONTO LIFE contemplates what a POILIEVRE government would mean to Torontonians. — “Nothing in politics is ever guaranteed,” writes DARRELL BRICKER, CEO of Ipsos Public Affairs. “However, the impending defeat of the Liberal Party feels about as certain as any election result can be.” — Food reporter COREY MINTZ showed up on “The Big Story” pod to talk about tip creep. — TOULA DRIMONIS raises this question in The Walrus: Is Quebec a traitor to Canada’s Francophone minorities? | | PROZONE | |
For POLITICO Pro subscribers, our latest policy newsletter by SUE ALLAN: Car alarm on Parliament Hill.
In other news for Pro readers: — Europe’s battery champion slashes jobs as EV sales slow. — US and its partners unveil plans for financing minerals projects. — Texas sues over protections for vulnerable lizard in oil country. — What climate Democrats want from KAMALA HARRIS on Day 1. — Covid walloped mass transit. Have cities learned to adjust? | | PLAYBOOKERS | |
Birthdays: HBD to the Marijuana Party’s BLAIR LONGLEY.
Movers and shakers: COLIN BUSBY is the new director of policy engagement at the C.D. Howe Institute. Got a document to share? A birthday coming up? Send it our way. Spotted: BOC Governor TIFF MACKLEM told the IIF-CBA Forum that the Bank of Canada was chuffed to see inflation hit the 2 percent target. “It has been a long journey,” he said during the Tuesday event in Toronto. “We need to stick the landing.” Noted: Deputy Prime Minister CHRYSTIA FREELAND told reporters Tuesday that Canada will “absolutely” follow the lead of the U.S. to ban imports of “connected cars” from China. Freeland also said she’s been working closely with former Bank of Canada Governor STEPHEN POLOZ on a task force assigned to identify “more opportunities for Canada’s largest pension funds to drive economic growth at home.” — CTV Blackout: Conservative spox SEBASTIAN SKAMSKI posted a caucus memo to social media that bans Tory MPs from talking to CTV: “Until they explicitly acknowledge their malicious editing & omission of context to undermine @PierrePoilievre, Conservative MPs won’t engage with CTV News & its reporters.” — Lobbyists, too: That blanket ban extends to holding meetings with Bell “executives, staff, or lobbyists.” Media mentions: Photojournalist FRED LUM marked his 40th year at the Globe with a reflection on his work and career. In memoriam: Liberal MP JUDY SGRO used her members’ statement to honor the life of former York Mayor GAYLE CHRISTIE. “Gayle's legacy is a testament to the power of perseverance and passion,” Sgro told the House. “As a mother and a woman who was active in politics, she inspired countless others to break barriers and pursue their dreams in leadership roles, myself included.” The PM paid tribute last light to the legacy of FRANCIS FOX, former senator and Member of Parliament for Blainville—Deux-Montagnes. “Francis left an indelible mark on Canadian politics," Trudeau said. "Today, we remember him and the legacy he leaves behind." | | A message from Flip the Switch: Myth: Extended interswitching is like choosing a flight with a connection instead of flying direct.
Fact: Like most Canadians, shippers prefer the direct route with their goods, provided it gets the product to its destination on time, and at an affordable price. When a “direct flight” is too expensive or cannot arrive on time, shippers need the option to take a “connecting flight". These options simply don't exist without extended interswitching.
For more myth-busting, visit www.interswitching.ca. | | | | | ON THE HILL | |
2 p.m. PIERRE MOREAU will be sworn in to the Senate.
4:15 p.m. The Senate foreign affairs and international trade committee will study Bill C-282 with an assist from MPs LUC THÉRIAULT and SIMON-PIERRE SAVARD-TREMBLAY, along with officials from Global Affairs Canada and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. 4:15 p.m. The Senate legal and constitutional affairs committee will focus on Bill S-256, which would amend the Canada Post Corporation Act. 4:15 p.m. The Senate social affairs committee continues its study of pharmacare legislation. 4:30 p.m. Canada’s electricity grid is on the agenda at the House natural resources committee. On the roster: Canada West Foundation, Clean Energy Canada, David Suzuki Foundation, Energy For A Secure Future and Environmental Defence Canada. 4:30 p.m. The House international trade committee will consult Canada Border Services Agency, the Canadian Association of Importers and Exporters, Customs and Immigration Union, and officials from Federal Express Canada and UPS as it studies the CBSA Assessment and Revenue Management system. 5:30 p.m. Environment Minister STEVEN GUILBEAULT will be at the House environment committee to discuss factors that led to the Jasper wildfires this summer. Parks Canada officials will also take questions. 4:30 p.m. The House committee on the status of women continues its examination of coercive behavior. 4:30 p.m. The House public accounts committee will hear from LYSANE BOLDUC and THOMAS VON SCHOENBERG from public works as it considers the auditor general’s report on ArriveCAN. 6:45 p.m. The Senate national finance committee continues its study of Main Estimates. Wednesday night’s guests include various officials from Canada Border Services Agency and the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. 6:45 p.m. The Senate transport and communications committee continues its study of Bill S-269. On the first panel: Greo Evidence Insights, Cardus, Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy, and ROB SIMPSON of Sagewood Resources. On the second: Canadian Association of Broadcasters and the Responsible Gambling Council. Behind closed doors: The House fisheries and oceans committee will work on its upcoming report on Yukon salmon stocks. The Senate’s audit and oversight committee will discuss internal and external audits. | | TRIVIA | |
Tuesday’s answer: In September 1950, “The Great Smoke Pall” moved along the Atlantic seaboard — smoke from a system of fires in Alberta and British Columbia.
Props to ANDREW POTTER, DOUG RICE, JOHN MERRIMAN, WILL BULMER, MARC LEBLANC, ROBERT MCDOUGALL and MALCOLM MCKAY. Wednesday’s question: On this date in history, the first trans-Atlantic cable connected what cities in a ceremonial conversation? Answers to ottawaplaybook@politico.com Playbook wouldn’t happen without: POLITICO Canada editor Sue Allan, editor Willa Plank and Luiza Ch. Savage. Want to advertise in Ottawa Playbook? Contact Jesse Shapiro to find out how: jshapiro@politico.com.
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