| | | | |  | | By Nick Taylor-Vaisey | Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Ottawa Playbook | Follow Politico Canada Thanks for reading Ottawa Playbook. Let's get into it. In today's edition: → Oh-so-many spring scenarios await on Parliament Hill. → JUSTIN TRUDEAU is not done with Ottawa. → Three more things we’re watching in a bonkers news cycle. |  | DRIVING THE DAY | |
OH, THE SCENARIOS — It's not clear lawmakers will get a chance to hash out much of anything if and when they return to the House of Commons March 24.
Every opposition party has vowed to bring down the government at the first opportunity. → Unless the Liberals gain opposition support for a tariff relief package. The Globe reported Tuesday that a “multibillion-dollar, pandemic-style bailout” is in the planning stages — and would require parliamentary approval, at least in part. At a Tuesday presser, NDP Leader JAGMEET SINGH appeared open to supporting a relief package. He called on the government to invite opposition leaders into conversations about a plan. So far, he said, there's no action on that front. If DONALD TRUMP imposes tariffs in a matter of days, Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU could confront a new challenge: Would he recall Parliament to pass emergency measures? Conservative Leader PIERRE POILIEVRE asked for a sitting a week ago. → Or maybe, if a deal doesn't coalesce or tariffs don't transpire, the next Liberal prime minister will call an election before Parliament returns. — Buffet of options: Did MARIE-JOSÉE HOGUE give JAGMEET SINGH yet another conceivable reason to put off an election? The NDP leader told Playbook in October that before the next federal vote, Parliament should act on at least some of the commissioner's recommendations to protect Canadians from foreign interference. — Policy fodder: In the final report of her public inquiry, Justice Hogue highlighted 24 recommendations that “can and should be implemented promptly, perhaps even before the next election.” Asked Tuesday if he thinks any of those ideas should be implemented before a federal vote, Singh deferred to the Liberals. They're the ones who prorogued Parliament, he said. They could recall it if they want to act. Singh's four-word summary: “It's up to them.” Still, if the NDP is looking for a little more pre-election leverage, the dozens of recommendations in Volume 5 of Hogue's report could deliver a menu of pressure points. NO TRAITORS HERE — Hogue’'s final report poured cold water on a bombshell report published last June by the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians. NSICOP cited "troubling intelligence" implicating "some" lawmakers in "semi-witting or witting" involvement in foreign interference. Hogue interpreted the intel differently. "While some conduct may be concerning, I did not see evidence of 'traitors' in Parliament," she wrote. "The situation is perhaps not as clear-cut, nor as extreme, as the fears provoked by the NSICOP Report would suggest." — Watch: Public Safety Minister DAVID MCGUINTY, the former NSICOP chair, responds to the Hogue report on CBC's Power & Politics.
| | | | Power shifts, razor-thin margins, and a high-stakes agenda. We’ve transformed our coverage—more reporters, more timely insights, and unmatched policy scoops. From leadership offices to committee rooms, caucus meetings, and beyond, our expert reporting keeps you ahead of the decisions that matter. Subscribe to our Inside Congress newsletter today. | | | | | | | Where the leaders are | | — Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU will host a virtual meeting with provincial and territorial premiers. — Playbook has no line of sight into the public itinerary of Conservative Leader PIERRE POILIEVRE, Bloc Québécois Leader YVES-FRANÇOIS BLANCHET and NDP Leader JAGMEET SINGH. — Green Party Leader ELIZABETH MAY will meet the executive director of the B.C. Earthquake Alliance at 10:30 a.m. She also plans to meet with her "caucus team." | | DULY NOTED | |
9:30 a.m. MT (11:30 a.m. ET) Labor Minister STEVEN MACKINNON is in Edmonton with MP RANDY BOISSONNAULT to announce funding for skilled trades training for Indigenous apprentices.
| | For your radar | |
HE HAS AN OPTION — Lately when the prime minister names a new senator, Google sees a bump in searches for [senator's name] + Liberal + donor. JUSTIN TRUDEAU has developed a recent habit of appointing red chamber folk with big-L credentials.
Many will claim they're not rabid partisans. They'll insist they're capable of independent thought. Put that view to a Conservative senator and watch their face turn Liberal red. — Empty seats: In early February, the number of Senate vacancies will reach 10. Radio-Canada reported this week that Trudeau intends to fill them all before leaving office. In that case, Trudeau's overall list of Senate appointments would hit triple digits, trailing only WILLIAM LYON MACKENZIE KING's 103. (King's run as PM lasted more than twice as long as Trudeau's near-decade.) — Echoes of '84: When PIERRE TRUDEAU left office, he dropped a stack of patronage appointments in the lap of successor JOHN TURNER. Turner allowed more than 200 of them to proceed, adding dozens of his own — a late-term dollop of plum positions for loyal Liberals on the eve of a likely election. Every student of Canadian political history knows what happened next. BRIAN MULRONEY scored a direct hit against a hapless Turner during a consequential election debate on the way to a historic Conservative landslide win. "You had an option, sir" became the stuff of legend. — Caveats: The present-day Trudeau's critics may be leery, but these aren't Turner's times. PMJT's government has rolled out new selection processes for senators, judges and governor-in-council appointees. Liberals infused the federal lexicon with buzzwords: open, transparent, merit-based. Vacancies have had a tendency to pile up. — Open positions: There may be more hiring just around the corner. The government maintains a list of governor-in-council appointments open for applications — gigs that require Cabinet approval. The job board currently includes an opening for the next chief public health officer. THERESA TAM's term is up in June. Ottawa is also looking for a new official languages commissioner. RAYMOND THÉBERGE's extended term runs out this summer. More openings abound. Don't delay, apply today! — President: Destination Canada, the Canadian High Arctic Research Station and the Canada Water Agency — Chief commissioner: Canadian Human Rights Commission — Principal: Royal Military College of Canada — Chair: Via Rail, the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority, the Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges, the Sustainable Jobs Partnership Council, the First Nations Infrastructure Institute, the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP, Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation, Canada Industrial Relations Board and the Canada Infrastructure Bank. | | THREE THINGS WE'RE WATCHING | |
INTEREST RATES — TIFF MACKLEM is likely to cut the Bank of Canada's policy rate for the sixth time in a row. The bank makes it official at 9:45 a.m.
Macklem and Senior Deputy Governor CAROLYN ROGERS will hold a press conference in the bank's auditorium at 10:30 a.m. — Expectations: Most analysts predict a 25-basis-point cut that would bring the target rate to 3 percent. — Tariff talk: CIBC's ANDREW GRANTHAM is looking for Macklem's views on "how severe a trade storm would be, and any hints given as to how policymakers will fight it." BMO's BENJAMIN REITZES cautions that a trade war could lead to "another round of aggressive Bank of Canada rate cuts, a weaker C$ and probably fiscal stimulus." ONTARIO VOTES — Canada's most populous province is going to the polls on Feb. 27. Ontario's lieutenant-governor dissolved the legislative assembly Tuesday at the request of Premier DOUG FORD, who is banking on voters agreeing with his pitch for a new mandate to take on DONALD TRUMP. Ford set the stakes for a vote, citing "unprecedented economic risk and lengthy negotiations - against President Trump and with the federal government and other provinces." Ford's critics scoff at the notion, arguing he already had a mandate to govern and is cravenly seeking four more years. — Hint, hint: Millions of taxpayers have received "rebate" checks in recent weeks. — All the ingredients: A widely rumored snap election seemed inevitable for months. Ford unveiled some major goodies this week: → Ford announced deals Tuesday to build roads through northern Ontario's mineral-rich "Ring of Fire" region — a key source of economic growth and leverage in any negotiation with Americans hungry for critical minerals. → The government teamed up with former federal Liberal Health Minister JANE PHILPOTT to announce a plan to match 2 million Ontarians with family doctors over four years. The opposition will claim that Ford's government is failing on healthcare. — Weak point: A provincial budget watchdog reported Monday that Ford's plan to speed up the expansion of alcohol sales in corner stores would cost C$612 million — almost three times the government's projections. CHRYSTIA FREELAND — The Liberal leadership hopeful dropped a rapid-fire response to the Hogue Commission's report on foreign interference. As fellow contender MARK CARNEY holds most of his policy powder dry, at least for the moment, Freeland hasn't been shy about batch-releasing commitments. Here's how she pledged to govern post-Hogue: → "Declassify all intelligence and evidence of foreign interference in federal elections over the past two decades" — without, she says, compromising sources and methods. → "Require all party leaders in Parliament to obtain Top Secret security clearance and attend regular intelligence briefings." → "Require our national security and intelligence services, including the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, to report all concerns of foreign interference within a party or caucus directly to the party leader." | | TRUMPQUAKE | |
FAMILY DRAMA — “The scene ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. is set to face in the Senate Wednesday not long ago would have seemed like something out of a bizarro world,” POLITICO’s DANIEL PAYNE writes in a curtain raiser.
CAROLINE KENNEDY urged senators to reject RFK Jr.'s nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services in a searing letter Tuesday denouncing her cousin for discouraging vaccination, distorting her father JOHN F. KENNEDY’s legacy and groveling to DONALD TRUMP after his failed presidential bid. The Wall Street Journal and the New York Post’s editorial boards have also expressed concern about Kennedy's anti-vaccine history and other unorthodox views. “He’s still a radical left lunatic who is anti-energy, a ‘big time’ taxer and completely incoherent about our nation’s health,” the Post editorial board wrote. — Later today: The U.S. Senate Finance Committee will question RFK Jr. and ultimately vote on whether to send his nomination to the Senate floor. Top of POLITICO this hour: GOP steps aside as Trump assaults Congress’ power. | | MEDIA ROOM | |
— The Atlantic’s JONATHAN LEMIRE considers the strategy behind Trump’s policy blitz.
— From POLITICO’s CHARLIE MAHTESIAN and CALDER MCHUGH: The Gulf of America is only the beginning. — Even more important than “whether” Trump will impose tariffs is the question of “For how long?” KEN BOESSENKOOL writes on The Hub. — The Globe’s ROB CARRICK notes the “new” national conversation: “Are you cancelling the U.S.?” — DYLAN ROBERTSON of The Canadian Press reports the Privy Council Office had Global Affairs urge Denmark to expedite CAROLYN BENNETT’s ambassadorship. — “Politics is life; it doesn't necessarily have to have someone sit in the House of Commons — they can be out on the streets,” NDP MP CHARLIE ANGUS tells the National Observer. — From COREY LAROCQUE in Nunatsiaq News: “MARY SIMON assumes ‘comforter-in-chief’ role during uncertain times.” | | | | New Year. New Washington. New Playbook. With intensified congressional coverage and even faster delivery of policy scoops, POLITICO’s reimagined Playbook Newsletter ensures you’re always ahead of the conversation. Sign up today. | | | | | | | PROZONE | |
For POLITICO subscribers, our latest policy newsletter by MIKE BLANCHFIELD: T-minus 4 days.
From a team of our colleagues in D.C.: Trump got what he wanted with Colombia. But his tactics could come back to bite him. In other news for Pro readers: — White House says Canada, Mexico, China tariff hike is still possible this Saturday. — Murdoch empire comes out against RFK Jr. — Tech CEOs press for regulation freeze while others urge Big Tech crackdown. — Trump looks to seize control of California water. — Lawmakers urged to protect key CCS incentive. | | PLAYBOOKERS | |
Birthdays: HBD to Liberal MP ADAM VAN KOEVERDEN and to ANUSHKA KURIAN, Rogers’ senior manager of government relations.
Got a document to share? A birthday coming up? Send it our way. Spotted: Immigration Minister MARC MILLER, making campaign phone calls on behalf of Liberal leadership candidate MARK CARNEY … The annual "Dance for Her" fundraiser that supports Ovarian Cancer Canada, raising more than C$37,000 (per co-organizer GREG MACEACHERN). Noted: Ontario Liberal Leader BONNIE CROMBIE plans to run in Mississauga East–Cooksville. The Library of Parliament has added a day to former Prime Minister CHARLES TUPPER's term in office. Historian J.D.M. STEWART took issue with the library's count of 68 days, countering that Tupper held office for 69. The library agreed. (Tupper is still the shortest-serving PM in Canadian history. For now, anyway.) Movers and shakers: Liberal MP ANTHONY ROTA, who isn't seeking another term in office, told BayToday that he expects three candidates to vie for the federal party's nomination in Nipissing-Timiskaming. CHRIS BALL, a former senior strategic adviser to Toronto Mayor OLIVIA CHOW and former aide to JACK LAYTON, joined Counsel as vice president. Media mentions: TANYA TALAGA will receive the Canadian Journalism Foundation Tribute in June. “Her commitment to truth and reconciliation, coupled with deep cultural sensitivity and fact-based narrative, has reshaped how we understand and report Indigenous stories,” NATALIE TURVEY said in a post sharing the news. | | TRIVIA | |
Tuesday’s answer: President GEORGE WASHINGTON once said that Canada would fall like “easy prey.”
Props to ALYSON FAIR, STEVE KAROL, NANCI WAUGH, RAY DEL BIANCO, BILL WATSON AND MARCEL MARCOTTE, DENNIS SEEBACH, DARRYL DAMUDE, ROBERT MCDOUGALL, ARTHUR GAGNON, MALCOLM MCKAY and STEPHEN HAAS. Wednesday’s question: Premier DOUG FORD has called a snap election in Ontario for Feb. 27. How many electoral districts are there in the province? Answers to ottawaplaybook@politico.com Writing tomorrow's Playbook: MIKE BLANCHFIELD. 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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