What are the next 10 words?

Oct 30, 2024

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In today's edition:

→ Find us in the corridors of West Block.

→ JOSIAH BARTLET versus JOSH LYMAN.

→ Ottawa Playbook Trivia returns to The Met.

DRIVING THE DAY

HERE WE GO AGAIN — Some Liberal MPs want a secret ballot to settle debate over Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU’s leadership. This morning, they will take their case to caucus.

“It would put this to rest,” said SAMEER ZUBERI, a Liberal MP who has raised leadership concerns. “We need to have finality to this and I think that would help us as a party move beyond this.”

The likelihood of a vote is low.

“In our rules, the leader is not chosen by secret ballot of caucus members,” Deputy Prime Minister CHRYSTIA FREELAND said yesterday when asked about it. “That’s not how Liberals govern themselves. It’s not how we do things.”

The Prime Minister’s Office has other plans for the weekly gathering. Liberal campaign director ANDREW BEVAN is reportedly scheduled to present his election roadmap — a risky gambit in a suddenly leaky caucus room.

Onlookers watching this slow-moving revolt might consider this a lesson in futility, but for whom?

— Dissenter’s case: The lesson is for Trudeau, who has no chance of success in the next election. The writing is on the wall with low poll numbers, low popularity, by-election defeats and Canadians who want change.

— Trudeau’s case: The lesson is for the dissenters. The days of Liberal infighting are a relic of the ’90s and early 2000s. Trudeau can beat Conservative Leader PIERRE POILIEVRE come election time, when Canadians warm up to him again.

— Defeat by 100 blows: Caucus dissenters are coming to understand it may take work to take down the boss. Last week a group of MPs presented the PM a statement with the backing of 24 MPs calling on him to go.

“There’s no knockout punch with the current prime minister,” said one Liberal MP, granted anonymity to speak freely. “It’s going to be many initiatives that will hopefully get him to step down.”

— Losing caucus control: The prime minister and his inner circle appear to be losing the ability to manage dissenters. They tried in January, when Liberal MP KEN MCDONALD retracted public remarks after calling for a leadership review. “There was a lot of pressure applied from the government whip's office at the time,” McDonald told Playbook.

— Losing at Whac-A-Mole: McDonald is back to speaking out, along with colleagues SEAN CASEY and WAYNE LONG. They were joined this week by Zuberi, YVAN BAKER, HELENA JACZEK, BRENDAN HANLEY, ROB OLIPHANT, RENÉ ARSENEAULT, GEORGE CHAHAL and SOPHIE CHATEL who called for a vote.

A secret vote would test the argument that caucus united behind the prime minister after last week’s meeting. Baker says it’s time for everyone to prove whether or not they have the PM’s back.

— Losing the grassroots: Documents obtained by Playbook reveal an anonymous grassroots movement underway urging Liberal riding associations to support efforts to replace the party leader.

“Young Canadians no longer see the Liberal party as relevant,” the email campaign reads. “In this demographic we are in a distant third place behind the NDP and Conservatives. A majority of Canadians, including Liberals, would like to see a change in leadership.”

There is also another petition making the rounds.

— Plays left: Trudeau could try to buy time — rallying support with the promise of a shuffle that could bring new faces to Cabinet. And there’s still talk he could prorogue — that is, to pull the plug on Parliament for a time.

One backbench MP told Playbook they’d like to “coronate” an interim leader for the next election, with their preference being Public Safety Minister DOMINIC LEBLANC or Industry Minister FRANÇOIS-PHILIPPE CHAMPAGNE.

— But, but, but: So far no would-be replacements have stepped forward, leaving open the possibility that all of this could go away.

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Where the leaders are

— Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU’s agenda includes caucus and QP. He will also deliver remarks at a reception for the Ministerial Conference on the Human Dimension of Ukraine’s Peace Formula. Foreign Affairs Minister MÉLANIE JOLY will also attend.

— Deputy Prime Minister CHRYSTIA FREELAND will attend the Liberal caucus meeting.

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

— NDP Leader JAGMEET SINGH will attend the NDP caucus meeting at 9:30 a.m. He’ll speak to media at 1:45 p.m. before heading to QP.

— Green Party Leader ELIZABETH MAY will meet with the Green caucus in the morning. She will attend caucus virtually in the afternoon.

DULY NOTED

— Bank of Canada Governor TIFF MACKLEM appears before the Senate banking committee this afternoon.

— NAV BAINS returns to House committee this afternoon to testify on Sustainable Development Technology Canada.

— In Montreal, the federal government hosts the Ministerial Conference on the Human Dimension of Ukraine’s 10-Point Peace Formula (in partnership with Ukraine and Norway).

Caught our ear

The cast of "The West Wing." | Getty Images

LIFE IMITATES ART — "The West Wing" isn't just some show for Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU. The political drama oozing with idealism hasn't aired a new episode since 2006, the year before Trudeau entered political life — but he's evidently inspired by it to this day.

— 10-word answers: On a recent taping of the “Inside the Village” pod, Trudeau referenced a defining moment in which fictional President JOSIAH BARTLET landed a debate knockout punch against his Republican opponent's tax cut sloganeering.

Sound familiar?

"The answer to slogans in that one was, 'What are the next 10 words?'" Trudeau recalled.

→ The full TV quote: "Here's my question: What are the next 10 words of your answer? Your taxes are too high? So are mine. Give me the next 10 words. How are we going to do it? Give me 10 after that, I'll drop out of the race right now."

Trudeau keeps insisting that Canadians aren't thinking about politics right now — he made the case first on NATE ERSKINE-SMITH's pod, and more recently with his Village interrogators.

But when voters finally do tune in, he says: "It's gonna be important for people to actually think about the next 10 words when we hit the election campaign, and that's where the work that we do as candidates, the work that you do as media voices, really matters on how we set the table."

— Vibe shift: In 2017, Trudeau appeared on “The West Wing Weekly” pod , affirming his own staff's devotion to the show (including chief of staff KATIE TELFORD).

He took in that iconic debate scene with purpose: "I actually watched it a few years ago on YouTube to try and bone up for my own debates," he told the hosts.

— Then vs. now: Asked to pick a favorite character back then, Trudeau chose Bartlet — a cerebral, tortured leader who struggles to resolve complex relationships with his faith and his father.

That was seven years ago.

The Village pod asked the same question. Trudeau’s answer in 2024: "I very much am a JOSH LYMAN guy," he said, referring to the streetfighting senior aide who wins most of the partisan fights he picks — but when he loses, goes down in a heap.

— Why run? On one “West Wing” episode, Bartlet's staff watched him agonize to articulate why he wanted to be president.

In the closing scene, press secretary C.J. CREGG asked for an update.

“I've been thinking about it for the last couple of hours," he said. "I almost had it."

Trudeau's inner circle is hoping to do better.

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Talk of the town

TRIVIA NIGHT — The SPINELESS WACKOS from House Speaker GREG FERGUS' office eked out the win at Playbook's first trivia night of the fall.

Sixteen teams and 90 players competed for bragging rights at The Métropolitain, where the room was buzzing following the Government Relations Institute of Canada's fall reception.

The cheekily named winning team scored 26 points out of 30, edging past three teams tied at 25: COMPASS PROS, CPAC BRAINIACS and PARLIAMENT HILLBILLIES.

— The epic tiebreaker: We always get teams to answer an impossible tie-breaking question, just in case. We didn't need that one in order to crown the Spineless Wackos, but they also came closest to the mark.

Q: What is the pre-tax price of the regular size daily soup and a can of Coke at the West Block cafeteria? Answer: C$5.25. Wackos guess: C$5.10.

MEDIA ROOM

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at her closing argument rally on the National Mall.

Vice President Kamala Harris last night on the National Mall in Washington. | Angelina Katsanis/POLITICO

— Keep track of the 2024 presidential race with live updates from across our newsrooms.

— Top of POLITICO: How the suburbs became Harris’ clearest path to victory

— More headaches at the Canada Revenue Agency, via CBC News/Radio-Canada: CRA duped in $40M bogus tax refund case. Why did it take a big bank to notice?

— The Toronto Star's Queen's Park bureau sets up DOUG FORD's voter-friendly mini-budget to be unveiled this afternoon.

— “The people have spoken: But, uh, take it easy, big guy,” KIRK LAPOINTE advises B.C. Premier DAVID EBY. “You’re the winner, but not exactly a fan favorite.”

— LISA JOHNSON of The Canadian Press reports that Alberta has applied for judicial review of Atlantic federal carbon tax exemption, calling it 'blatantly' unfair

— The Citizen’s CATHERINE MORRISON reports on a new study from Carleton University that suggests remote work can be “a more sustainable alternative” to traditional models.

PROZONE

For POLITICO Pro subscribers, our latest policy newsletter by KYLE DUGGAN: Canada has a credibility problem.

In other news for Pro readers:

— Why both Trump and Harris embrace clean energy tariffs.

— Lawmakers push for more details on Chinese telecom hacks.

— Tribe urges Supreme Court to review offshore wind’s impact on whales.

— Newsom wades into a climate fight in Washington state.

— DOE finalizes $2.26B loan for Nevada lithium project.

PLAYBOOKERS

Birthdays: HBD to former MP JIM HART.

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

Spotted: Former B.C. Premier CHRISTY CLARK, thanking her Instagram followers profusely for their birthday wishes. In closing, she writes: "And thank you for this LIFE—a journey that continues to unfold with new beauty and possibility. Here’s to what’s next!"

NDP MP ALISTAIR MACGREGOR, besting four Conservative colleagues in a racing simulator at Global Automakers of Canada's reception. TED FALK, LIANNE ROOD, COLIN CARRIE and BLAINE CALKINS rounded out the Top 5 … The fastest staffer was JUSTIN BOSHART, who works in Conservative MP BRAD VIS' office.

Sen. PETER BOEHM, marking Sen. RATNA OMIDVAR’s “last day/evening” in the Senate. “You have touched many with your keen intellect, wisdom & genuine capacity to just get things done,” he shared on X.

Noted: PAUL WELLS' holiday podcast taping, scheduled for Dec. 9 at the National Arts Centre, sold out in four hours.

Movers and shakers: HARTLEY WITTEN is no longer a press secretary and senior comms adviser to Labor Minister STEVEN MACKINNON. Witten is returning to the Prime Minister's Office as senior special assistant, working primarily on advertising ... MATTHIEU PERROTIN is now MacKinnon's press sec.

Fourth time’s the charm: The head of CBC/Radio-Canada, CATHERINE TAIT, has been invited back to the Heritage Committee for the fourth time this year. Also invited is Canadian Heritage Minister PASCALE ST-ONGE who will soon be on parental leave, and newly appointed CBC CEO MARIE-PHILIPPE BOUCHARD who doesn’t start work until next year.

Media mentions: Today is RYAN TUMILTY’s final day at the National Post.

RUKHSAR ALI and AJ CORDEIRO have been selected as the recipients of the inaugural Sachedina-CTV News Fellowship.

WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY

Find the latest House meetings here. The Senate schedule is here.

11:30 a.m. The Senate Indigenous Peoples committee hears from youth leaders BREANE MAHLITZ, FAITHE MCGUIRE, REANNA MERASTY and BRADLEY BACON. It meets again at 6:45 p.m. to hear from four more: ETHAN PAUL, CRYSTAL STARR LEWIS, BRETT RECOLLET and JUSTIN LANGAN.

12:30 p.m. The Senate audit committee meets on the Red Chamber’s internal and external audits.

4:15 p.m. Bank of Canada Governor TIFF MACKLEM appears before the Senate banking committee.

4:15 p.m. Former MP MARK EYKING is among the witnesses appearing at the Senate foreign affairs committee to discuss the Bloc private member’s legislation, Bill C-282, on supply management and trade negotiations.

4:15 p.m. University of Toronto professor KENT ROACH is among the witnesses at Senate legal affairs talking about Bill C-40, aka David and Joyce Milgaard's Law.

4:15 p.m. The Senate social affairs committee continues its study into Bill C-284, which seeks to establish a national strategy for eye care.

4:30 p.m. The House fisheries committee continues to study derelict and abandoned vessels.

4:30 p.m. Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada VP CHRISTINE NAKAMURA and Invest Ottawa CEO SONYA SHOREY are among those testifying at the House international trade committee on Canadian women and international trade.

4:30 p.m. JULIE LALONDE, executive director of the Canadian Anti-Stalking Association, is among those appearing at the House status of women committee to discuss gender-based violence.

4:30 p.m. The House environment committee continues its study on how climate will affect the Canadian financial system.

4:30 p.m. Former Cabinet minister NAVDEEP BAINS appears before the House public accounts committee to testify on Sustainable Development Technology Canada.

6:45 p.m. The Senate transport and communications committee meets to hear about CBC/Radio-Canada’s local services.

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TRIVIA

Tuesday’s answer: ZIAD ABOULTAIF is the MP whose first name sits last alphabetically, and whose last name is first alphabetically, among all of his colleagues in the House.

Props to BILL PRISTANSKI, SARAH ANDREWS, MAGGIE BAER, STEPHANIE LEVITZ, MARCEL MARCOTTE, SABRINA PAYANT SMITH, ALEX STEINHOUSE, DAVE EPP, RAY DEL BIANCO, ROB LEFORTE, NANCI WAUGH, ALYSON FAIR, GREG MACEACHERN, LAURE HOURDEBAIGT, ANTHONY VALENTI, MAGGIE MORRIS, JIM CAMPBELL, DAN ALBAS, SARA MAY, MARC LEBLANC, SURAJREET SINGH, CATHERINE LEVESQUE, CAMERON RYAN, KATE SCHNEIDER, BRANDON WALLACE, ROBERT MCDOUGALL, MATTHEW CONWAY, GORDON RANDALL, HANNAH ANSTEY and NICK CHAN.

Wednesday’s question: The "No" side scored a razor-thin victory in the referendum on sovereignty held on this day in 1995. What percentage of eligible voters didn't cast a ballot?

Answers to ottawaplaybook@politico.com

Writing tomorrow's Playbook: NICK TAYLOR-VAISEY and MICKEY DJURIC.

Playbook wouldn’t happen without: POLITICO Canada editor Sue Allan, editor Willa Plank and Luiza Ch. Savage.

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