Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will travel to Rideau Hall today and is expected to ask the Governor General to dissolve Parliament and launch a federal election.
The prime minister’s itinerary, released Saturday night, shows a meeting with Governor General Mary Simon set for 10 a.m. ET.
If Simon approves Trudeau’s request, delivered in the form of a document called an “instrument of advice,” she will then authorize the dissolution of Parliament and the issuance of election writs, formally beginning Canada’s 44th federal election.
Sources told CBC News on Thursday to expect a 36-day campaign — the minimum campaign length permitted by law — which would place election day on Monday, Sept. 20.
Simon has the authority to decline Trudeau’s request for an election, though this rare event would be out of step with parliamentary tradition.
Opposition parties have argued against an early election call — Canada’s next fixed date election is set for October 2023 — with NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh going so far as to urge Simon to refuse Trudeau’s request. Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole said Monday he was concerned about a fourth wave of the pandemic but ready to fight an election if one is called, saying an election was only in Trudeau’s “self-interest.”
CBC News will have special coverage of the prime minister’s visit to Rideau Hall beginning at 9:30 a.m. ET on CBC TV, CBC News Network, CBC Gem, the CBC News App and CBCNews.ca. Listen to CBC Radio special coverage starting at 10 a.m. ET on CBC Radio One & the CBC Listen App.
Composite illustration featuring Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau, left, Conservative Party of Canada Leader Erin O’Toole, centre left, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, centre, Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet and Green Party Leader Annamie Paul. (Andrej Ivanov/AFP/Getty Images, Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press, Patrick Doyle/Reuters, Patrick Doyle/Reuters, Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)
When an election is called, the federal government enters a “caretaker” mode, designed to limit most major decisions.
The federal Liberals continue to hold a lead in public polling, capturing 35.6 per cent of public support, against 28.8 per cent for the Conservatives and 19.3 per cent for the NDP, according to CBC’s Poll Tracker. That level of support puts them just in range of the 170 seats needed to form a majority government.
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Find out who’s ahead in the latest polls with our Poll Tracker.
The Liberals currently hold 155 seats in the House of Commons, while the Conservatives have 119, the Bloc Québécois 32, the New Democrats 24 and the Green Party two. Five seats are held by independents.
The federal election would be the seventh major campaign in Canada since the start of the pandemic, following races in Nova Scotia, Yukon, Newfoundland and Labrador, Saskatchewan, British Columbia and New Brunswick.
Election comes as new cases rise
The campaign would also take place as new daily cases of COVID-19 continue to rise in much of the country, in what Canada’s chief public health officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, has described as “early signs” of a delta variant-driven fourth wave.
Tam has said that thanks to Canada’s high vaccination rate, a federal election could be conducted safely by putting in place health and safety protocols.
Stéphane Perrault, Canada’s chief electoral officer, called last summer for a longer campaign to give Elections Canada time to prepare health measures and logistics, though the agency says it can execute a 36-day race safely. The country’s electoral agency estimated late last year that as many as five million Canadians could vote by mail in this election.
Governor General Mary Simon holds the formal power to dissolve Parliament, leading to an election. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)
An election call on Sunday would mark the official start of campaigning in Canada’s 338 electoral districts, though informally, many candidates have been at work in their ridings for weeks.
The way those candidates campaign will also be shaped by the context of the pandemic, with implications for how voters interact with parties and candidates.
At least two Liberal candidates are already refraining from or limiting door knocking ahead of the election call. Campaign literature featuring former MP Doug Eyolfson, running again in a Winnipeg riding, said he would not yet be knocking on doors.
Montreal MP Anthony Housefather said in a Facebook post on Friday that he would not be going door to door in apartment buildings or condos.
Opposition parties have argued that a federal campaign during the pandemic is unsafe, while Trudeau has skirted questions about a possible election.
“The problem is we have a prime minister that is about to plunge Canadians into an election during a pandemic, with the best public advice available to him, and at that same time we have his own candidates — including doctors — who are saying its not safe to do so,” Conservative ethics critic Michael Barrett said on Saturday.
Stéphane Perrault, Canada’s chief electoral officer, is shown in September 2019 prior to the last federal election. Last summer, he called for a longer campaign to give Elections Canada time to prepare health measures and logistics during the pandemic. The agency says it can execute a 36-day race safely. (Fred Chartrand/The Canadian Press)
“We’re not in a situation where an election is necessary, but the prime minister is going to have one anyway.”
In a statement, the Liberals said Saturday that when “the next election arrives,” candidates “will follow public health guidelines, and that includes getting fully vaccinated.”
“Of course, our candidates also work in the context of their own community to take every additional step to meet the highest possible safety protocols,” the statement said.
Ad war has already begun
In the days ahead of the expected election call, both leading parties launched new ads. The Liberal spot, featuring a voiceover by Trudeau, features the slogan “Forward for everyone.”
The Conservative ad, a parody of a scene in the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, critiques Trudeau for fiscal mismanagement. It was tweeted along with the line, “The only reason for an election is because Trudeau wants a majority.” But the ad was criticized as unprofessional by several MPs within the party.
The political parties have been making campaign-style stops and announcements for weeks now, as they also prepare for the coming campaign by raising funds and nominating candidates.
The government has spent the past several weeks on an announcement spree, with MPs and ministers crisscrossing the country to hold events.
CALGARY – The Calgary Flames have re-signed defenceman Ilya Solovyov and centre Cole Schwindt, the NHL club announced Wednesday.
Solovyov signed a two-year deal which is a two-way contract in year one and a one-way deal in year two and carries an average annual value of US$775,000 at the NHL level.
Schwindt signed a one-year, two-way contract with an average annual value of $800,000 at the NHL level.
The 24-year-old Solovyov, from Mogilev, Belarus, made his NHL debut last season and had three assists in 10 games for the Flames. He also had five goals and 10 assists in 51 games with the American Hockey League’s Calgary Wranglers and added one goal in six Calder Cup playoff games.
Schwindt, from Kitchener, Ont., made his Flames debut last season and appeared in four games with the club.
The 23-year-old also had 14 goals and 22 assists in 66 regular-season games with the Wranglers and added a team-leading four goals, including one game-winning goal, in the playoffs.
Schwindt was selected by Florida in the third round, 81st overall, at the 2019 NHL draft. He came to Calgary in July 2022 along with forward Jonathan Huberdeau and defenceman MacKenzie Weegar in the trade that sent star forward Matthew Tkachuk to the Panthers.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.
KING CITY, Ont. – Oman scored 10 runs in the final over to edge Nepal by one wicket with just one ball remaining in ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 play Wednesday.
Kaleemullah, the No. 11 batsman who goes by one name, hit a four with the penultimate ball as Oman finished at 223 for nine. Nepal had scored 220 for nine in its 50 overs.
Kaleemullah and No. 9 batsman Shakeel Ahmed each scored five in the final over off Sompal Kami. They finished with six and 17 runs, respectively.
Opener Latinder Singh led Oman with 41 runs.
Nepal’s Gulsan Jha was named man of the match after scoring 53 runs and recording a career-best five-wicket haul. The 18-year-old slammed five sixes and three-fours in his 35-ball knock, scoring 23 runs in the 46th over alone when he hit six, six, four, two, four and one off Aqib Ilyas.
Captain Rohit Paudel led Nepal with 60 runs.
The 19th-ranked Canadians, who opened the triangular series Monday with a 103-run win over No. 17 Nepal, face No. 16 Oman on Friday, Nepal on Sunday and Oman again on Sept. 26. All the games are at the Maple Leaf Cricket Ground.
The eight World League 2 teams each play 36 one-day internationals spread across nine triangular series through December 2026. The top four sides will go through to a World Cup qualifier that will decide the last four berths in the expanded 14-team Cricket World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
Canada (5-4) stands second in the World League 2 table. The 14th-ranked Dutch top the table at 6-2.
Oman (2-2 with one no-result) stands sixth, ahead of Nepal (1-5).
Canada won all four matches in its opening tri-series in February-March, sweeping No. 11 Scotland and the 20th-ranked host Emirates. But the Canadians lost four in a row to the 18th-ranked U.S. and host Netherlands in August.
Canada which debuted in the T20 World Cup this summer in the U.S. and West Indies, is looking to get back to the showcase 50-over Cricket World Cup for the first time since 2011 after failing to qualify for the last three editions. The Canadian men also played in the 1979, 2003 and 2007 tournaments, exiting after the group stage in all four tournament appearances.
The Canadian men regained their one-day international status for the first time in almost a decade by finishing in the top four of the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier Playoff in April 2023 in Bermuda.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024
PENTICTON, B.C. – Rick Tocchet has already warned his Vancouver Canucks players — the looming NHL season won’t be easy.
The team made strides last year, the head coach said Wednesday ahead of training camp. The bar has been raised for this year’s campaign.
“To get to the next plateau, there are higher expectations and it’s going to be hard. We know that,” Tocchet said in Penticton, B.C., where the team will open its camp on Thursday.
“So that’s the next level. It starts day one (on Thursday). My thing is don’t waste a rep out there.”
The Canucks finished atop the Pacific Division with a 50-23-9 record last season, then ousted the Nashville Predators from the playoffs in a gritty, six-game first-round series. Vancouver then fell to the Edmonton Oilers in a seven-game second-round set.
Last fall, Jim Rutherford, the Canucks president of hockey operations, said everything would have to go right for the team to make a playoff push. That doesn’t change this season, he said, despite last year’s success.
“The challenges will be greater, certainly. But I believe the team that we started with last year, we have just as good a team to start the season this year and probably better,” he said.
“As long as the team builds off what they did last year, stick to what the coaches tell them, stick to the system, stick together in good times and bad times, this team has a chance to do pretty well.”
Some key players will be missing as Vancouver’s training camp begins, however.
Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin announced Wednesday that star goalie Thatcher Demko will not be on the ice when the team begins it’s pre-season preparation.
Allvin did not disclose the reason for Demko’s absence, but said the 28-year-old American has been making progress.
“He’s been in working extremely hard and he seems to be in a great mindset,” the GM said.
Demko missed several weeks of the regular season and much of Vancouver’s playoff run last spring with a knee injury.
The six-foot-four, 192-pound goalie has a career 213-116-81 regular-season record with a .912 save percentage, a 2.79 goals-against average and eight shutouts across seven seasons with the Canucks.
Allvin also announced that veteran centre Teddy Blueger and defensive prospect Cole McWard will also miss the start of training camp after each had “minor lower-body surgery.”
Vancouver previously announced winger Dakota Joshua won’t be present for the start of camp as he recovers from surgery for testicular cancer.
Tocchet said he’ll have no problem filling the holes, and plans to switch his lines up a lot in Penticton.
“Nothing’s set in stone,” he said. “I think it’s important that you have different puzzles at different times.”
The coach added that he expects standout centre Elias Pettersson to begin on a line with Canucks newcomer Jake DeBrusk.
Vancouver inked DeBrusk, a former Boston Bruins forward, to a seven-year, US$38.5 million deal when the NHL’s free agent market opened on July 1.
The glare on Pettersson is expected to be bright once again as he enters the first year of a new eight-year, $92.8 million contract. The 25-year-old Swede struggled at times last season and put 89 points (34 goals, 55 assists) in 82 games.
Rutherford said he was impressed with how Pettersson looked when he returned to Vancouver ahead of camp.
“He seems to be a guy that’s more relaxed and more comfortable. And for obvious reasons,” said the president of hockey ops. “This is a guy that I believe has worked really hard this summer. He’s done everything he can to play as a top-line player. … The expectation for him is to be one of the top players on our team.”
A number of Canucks hit milestones last season, including Quinn Hughes, who led all NHL defencemen in scoring with 92 points and won the Norris Trophy as the league’s top blue liner.
Several players could once again have career-best years for Vancouver, Tocchet said, but they’ll need to be consistent and not allow frustration to creep in when things go wrong.
“You’ve just got to drive yourself every day when you have a great year,” the coach said. “You’ve got to keep creating that environment where they can achieve those goals, whatever they are. And the main goal is winning. That’s really what it comes down to.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.
