| | | | |  | | By Kyle Duggan, Nick Taylor-Vaisey and Sue Allan |
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Thanks for reading Ottawa Playbook. Let's get into it. In today's edition: → Front row at U.S. debate night in Ottawa and Nanaimo. → MARK CARNEY takes on the bear pit. → Newly released Cabinet docs reveal mayhem of days after 9/11. → LLOYD AXWORTHY and ALLAN ROCK fire a rocket at Mar-a-Lago. |  | 2024 WATCH | | | | 
A Harris-Walz Debate Watch Party at Cherry Street Pier in Philadelphia. Here in Ottawa, Playbook watched at the Senate Tavern. | Jamie Kelter Davis for POLITICO | CAME OUT SWINGING — The stakes were high and nerves were up at the debate-watch party hosted by Democrats Abroad at the Senate Tavern on Bank Street. Dozens packed in to watch KAMALA HARRIS square off with DONALD TRUMP for the first time. One of the organizers, DAVID SCHELLENBERG, said some in the room at the outset were “wondering how nervous she must be feeling at this moment — that she's going to be on the biggest stage she's ever been in her life, and how is she going to do?” — Tables turned: The previous debate in June didn’t go so well for the Democratic ticket. JOE BIDEN sputtered on stage. Watching that trainwreck performance was a downer for the Dem crowd gathered in Hintonburg. This was a total 180. — Entertaining as heck: Their preferred candidate, master of the split-screen reactions, strutted with class, generated a ton of meme fodder and beat expectations. The moderators slapped down Trump fabrications. Laughter frequently thundered in the sports bar. You’d think it was a top-tier SNL episode. POLITICO’s ADAM CANCRYN and MYAH WARD write: “Harris set a hook. And Trump took the bait — over and over again.” From her shooting looks of sassy incredulity back at Trump’s attacks, to Trump’s many unintended punchlines, the audience couldn’t hold it in. Memorable Trump quotes included “I have been a leader on fertilization” and “in Springfield,they are eating the dogs” — which had a moderator quickly chime in that there are no credible reports people are eating their pooches. Watch that moment in the debate. — POLITICO’s verdict: Harris won the debate — and it wasn’t close. — CNN’s instant poll: Harris ran away with it. — Trump’s take: His “best debate ever.” — Takes from the Ottawa crowd: DEAN LAUER, who hails from Ohio, said he walked away feeling more positive about the campaign than he expected. “Harris performed strongly and I feel pretty good,” he said. Trump looked good and did “pretty well,” but “Harris did better.” DENISE EISNER, originally from Massachusetts, said she’s “only felt this excited one time before, and that was when BARACK OBAMA was running. This gives me hope.” Just 54 days to go. — From POLITICO’s CHRISTOPHER CADELAGO and ELI STOKOLS: How Harris beat Trump at his own game. — Oh yeah, and by the way: TAYLOR SWIFT endorsed Harris for president — Meanwhile, in Nanaimo: Journalists and assorted Liberals gathered at a local sports bar for the 90-minute-plus showdown. Playbook booked the Old City Station pub, where one of the servers likened the atmosphere to playoff hockey. → But the real party: Was post-debate, at the Corner Lounge down the road from the conference center, where karaoke-loving MPs and staff pushed the limits of the fire code. Caucus morale was, in that place, undeniably jubilant. | | Where the leaders are | |
— Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU and Deputy PM CHRYSTIA FREELAND are in Nanaimo at the Liberal caucus retreat.
— Conservative Leader PIERRE POILIEVRE and Bloc Leader YVES-FRANÇOIS BLANCHET have not released their schedules for the day. — NDP Leader JAGMEET SINGH is in Montreal with his party caucus. — Green Party Leader ELIZABETH MAY is in Victoria, B.C., where she’ll attend the University of Victoria's “Clubs and Courses Union Days” event. Later in the day, she’ll attend a Galiano Island community meeting. | | | For your radar | | | 
Mark Carney meets the press in Nanaimo. | Nick Taylor-Vaisey, POLITICO | CARNEY’S CIRCUS — MARK CARNEY's name isn't on a ballot. The former central banker did not unveil a bold new economic strategy to the Liberal caucus gathered in Nanaimo. His message track is remarkably consistent. Carney's prepared remarks for a Canada 2020 audience at the Château Laurier in April, and a companion speech in Toronto, resembled his abbreviated keynote at this year's BMO-Eurasia Group Canada-U.S. Summit. Even his relaxed appearance at Rockcliffe Park's community association in May stuck to similar lines, though he did sneak in a cheeky acknowledgment of chatter about his forever-potential ambition. In sum: The rules-based order is no longer reliable, the world is a more dangerous place, Canada has an opportunity to succeed on the global stage, and it'll take more than slogans. Carney didn't really announce anything when he spoke to reporters, though he did offer a distraction from the narrative around caucus about declining Liberal fortunes. And yet, your Playbook is writing about what he had to say. Welcome to the seaside version of Ottawa's neverending story. Carney and the press, a match made in microphone. — The eternal question: When Carney emerged from a closed-door briefing with caucus, he entered the bear pit of a scrum. Most reporters had one topic in mind. Would he run for office? Is he looking for a place to run? Could he please give a clear answer? Carney refused to reply with a yes or no. "I'm interested in doing something, not being something," he said at one point, positioning himself as an "outsider." — On the record: Asked a final time about his electoral ambitions, Carney said this: "What matters for Canadians, let's be frank, it's not a party, it's not an individual. It's what happens on the ground. It's whether the country is moving forward to their priorities. This is where I can help, right now, in order to move our country forward. It's an exciting time for Canada, if we seize it. And it's about seizing it." → What he didn't say: That he wouldn't run someday. And so a long game of footsie lives to see another day. And next time Carney walks up to a mic, reporters will be moths to a flame. — Conflict of interest watch: Carney ignored repeated questions from City's GLEN MCGREGOR about one particular outside obligation: the former banker's current role as chair of Brookfield Asset Management and head of transition investing. Conservatives are taking aim at Carney's broader web of directorships and advisory roles. "Corporate board members have a legal obligation to act in the interests of shareholders," read part of a letter penned Tuesday by Tory MP MICHAEL BARRETT. "The interests of shareholders can be quite different than the interests of taxpayers." Barrett addressed his missive to Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU, but he cc'd Carney at a Brookfield office address. A sign of battles to come. — Speaking of battles: From the Globe’s MARIEKE WALSH and FRÉDÉRIK-XAVIER D. PLANTE this morning: Liberals face must-win by-election in Montreal. | | Talk of the town | |
NANAIMO BAR OF THE DAY — Playbook went the way of the tourist on Tuesday, shelling out C$2.75 for a bar at Just Desserts along the city's waterfront. The result was decidedly meh.
The top chocolate layer was malleable. The custard was dry. The coconut crust was gummy. This was not a local delicacy at its finest, though Just Desserts is primarily an ice cream shop. They stock them because curious visitors will buy them. Overall score: 3.5/10 | | PAPER TRAIL | |
9/11 CABINET DOCS — Two days after 9/11, Prime Minister JEAN CHRÉTIEN convened a quiet meeting of ministers.
Cabinet records from the month after the terrorist attacks, obtained by Playbook via an access-to-information request, reveal rapidfire conversations about the immediate impact of the attacks, Canada's contribution to an allied military response, the decision to quickly pass an omnibus anti-terrorism bill, and urgent financial assistance for the airline industry. We're sticking to the Coles Notes on the frenzy of those days and the decision about sending troops. Many of the pages are still redacted to protect the government's solicitor-client privilege, but dozens of pages of debate, decks and decisions were disclosed in full. Why? Cabinet meetings are no longer confidential after 20 years. — Immediate aftermath: On Sept. 13, Chrétien gathered nine ministers in Ottawa, though not for a formal Cabinet meeting, which the PM cautioned could have created panic. The minutes from that day reveal that Chrétien "did not want this meeting to become known.” But they were meeting, and the agenda included a single item: "Terrorist attacks." Forty-eight hours after hijackers wreaked havoc, Chrétien “speculated that the U.S. would likely inform us of their reaction rather than consult with us." → Dramatic flourish: During that same meeting, the minutes note that Chrétien vowed he “would not be cowed by terrorists and that he would be in Kananaskis for the [2002 G-8] summit even if he had to be there alone.” The summit went ahead, guarded by thousands of police. — Boots on the ground: On Oct. 2, ART EGGLETON, the defense minister, alerted a Cabinet meeting that he was Pentagon-bound the next day. The American military response was still "uncertain," and Canada had not yet been asked for support. The U.S. request came on Oct. 5. Two days later, Chrétien agreed to support a mission. He informed Cabinet on Oct. 9, acknowledging criticism that the government had been slow to express public support for a military response. → Quote of note: "Several ministers questioned the overall objectives of the mission as well as the expected duration of the commitment, and whether further military operations outside of Afghanistan were anticipated." Canada's mission stretched more than a decade, but Chrétien famously refused to go along with the American invasion of Iraq — as he has reminded the world ever since. | | WE GET MAIL | | | |  Canadian lawmakers have sent mail to Mar-a-Lago. | Joe Raedle/Getty Images | MAILBAG — After Playbook pointed out DONALD TRUMP’s new book takes a trip to the graveyard to dig up a long debunked conspiracy theory that PMJT’s true father was FIDEL CASTRO, some boldfaced names arrived in our inbox. Former JEAN CHRÉTIEN-era Cabinet Minister LLOYD AXWORTHY forwarded Playbook a letter he and his former Cabinet colleague ALLAN ROCK penned to Trump demanding an apology. The two former top ministers also demanded he withdraw the book from circulation “until the offending passage has been removed.” Rock and Axworthy addressed their letter to Trump at Mar-a-Lago, and copied the note to the attention of Ambassadors DAVID COHEN and KIRSTEN HILLMAN. — Quotable: “Apart from its falsity, the statement as reported was vile, vulgar, and deeply offensive,” the letter reads. — Zombie rumor: Trump’s coffee-table book “Save America” hangs his evidence for the tired conspiracy claim on it being something “people say.” He claims Trudeau shares some things with the former Cuban dictator, such as “good hair” and being a “communist.” The two former Liberal Party bigwigs make clear they’re not weighing in on the U.S. election, but are concerned about the way foreign politicians refer to Canadian leaders. “We have every right to express our outrage when people like you demean and insult them from abroad,” they write. | | MEDIA ROOM | |
— From the Globe’s STEVEN CHASE: MÉLANIE JOLY says Canada will block U.S.-bound ammunition sale destined for Israel.
— From our colleagues in London this morning: The UK is backing away from oil. — Will the real Pierre please stand up? MATTHEW HOLEHOUSE writes in his newsletter for The Economist that British Tory leadership candidate ROBERT JENRICK is copying pages from the Poilievre playbook after the two conservatives met face to face in Canada earlier this year. — FRASER NEEDHAM of APTN News reports on that Kebaowek Nation has enlisted the Bloc Québécois to help stop the Chalk River development. — British Columbia Premier DAVID EBY is on the latest episode of the “Hotel Pacifico” pod. — “Chuck lived the kind of noble life that trails behind the really good people long after they leave public life, long after most politicians are vague memories or a muttered curse,” former Conservative Cabmin MONTE SOLBERG writes in a new post about CHUCK STRAHL, who died Aug. 13. | | PROZONE | |
For POLITICO Pro subscribers, our latest policy newsletter by SUE ALLAN: A wonk’s guide to the Harris-Trump debate.
In other news for Pro readers: — House Republicans unveil stopgap government funding plan. — Bipartisan support for social media regulation grows. — Google loses EU court battle over €2.4B antitrust fine. — EU competition chief says surprise court victory over Apple made her cry. — Scientists sound alarm over growing global methane emissions. | | PLAYBOOKERS | |
Birthdays: HBD to KAN Strategies principal GREG MACEACHERN, Hydro-Québec CEO MICHAEL SABIA, and former MP RAJ GREWAL.
Got a document to share? A birthday coming up? Send it our way. Spotted: Sen. DONNA DASKO, at TIFF’s gala opening of “Road Diary,” a film about BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN and his band. “BRUCE was there in person to reflect on the film,” she tweeted and then deleted. “See it everyone! Best film festival ever!” IAN BRODIE, touting a Nov. 27 speaking date at The Military Museums in Calgary. The subject of his lecture: “Lifecycle costing for defence purchases is nonsense, makes us dumb, and helps our enemies.” CHRYSTIA FREELAND, sharing fall book recommendations, a list that features MARGARET LAURENCE, NATALIE SUE, STEPHEN POLOZ, DANIELLE L. JENSEN, MARTIN WOLF and ROBERT LIGHTHIZER. Noted: GOLDY HYDER of the Business Council of Canada has sent a letter to the DPM and International Trade Minister MARY NG calling on them to rescind the DST. Movers and shakers: Lawyer CATHERINE PARKMAN is throwing her hat in the ring for the Conservative Party nomination in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. | | WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY | |
The House of Commons returns Sept. 16. The Senate is back Sept. 17.
| | TRIVIA | |
Tuesday’s question was a stumper: Former Ontario Premier FRANK MILLER called the provincial Liberal-NDP pact of 1985 an “unholy alliance.”
Wednesday’s question: On this date in history, the Canadian government closed the Château Frontenac to the general public in order to host a conference. What took place? 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 | | | | |
