Politics Briefing: Conservative leadership race is intense, Bergen says, but she expects party unity once it's over - The Globe and Mail | Canada News Media
Candice Bergen, the interim leader of the federal Conservatives, says the party leadership race is intense and dynamic, but expects unity among Tories once it’s over.
“I recognize that this leadership race is not something for the faint of heart,” Ms. Bergen told a news conference on Parliament Hill on Tuesday.
“It is a very vigorous race where not only the candidates are incredibly engaged, but hundreds of thousands of Canadians are engaged.”
But, the Manitoba MP added, “I have no doubt that once the race is over, we will all come together. We’ll be united and be strong.”
The leadership race continues to be a tumultuous exercise, with tense jousting between the campaigns of Ottawa-area MP Pierre Poilievre and those of rivals Jean Charest, former Quebec premier, and Patrick Brown, mayor of Brampton, Ont.
The other candidates in the race are Ontario MPs Scott Aitchison and Leslyn Lewis and Roman Baber, a former member of the Ontario legislature.
Last week, Mr. Poilievre’s campaign said it had signed up more than 300,000 new members to the party, prompting a new round of exchanges among the campaigns, particularly that of Mr. Brown. This week, Jenni Byrne, an adviser to Mr. Poilievre, was blunt here in her response to comments by Mr. Brown.
Ms. Bergen, who, as interim party leader, is neutral in the race, said she trusts the candidates to run the race they see as appropriate, and that criticism is part of the process.
Meanwhile Tuesday, two Conservative MPs switched their support from Mr. Brown to Mr. Poilievre. Story here from CBC.
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TODAY’S HEADLINES
BREAKING – Sasha Suda, director and CEO of the National Gallery of Canada, has resigned from her leadership position to take a post in the United States. Ms. Suda joined the gallery in 2019.
DO MORE ON COST OF LIVING: CONSERVATIVES AND NDP – The federal Conservatives and New Democrats both delivered forceful pleas to the government on Tuesday to do more to address the cost-of-living crisis in Canada, though the parties diverged on what they want to see from the Liberals. Story here.
ELECTORAL OFFICER CALLS FOR CHANGES – Canada’s chief electoral officer is recommending that changes to the law be made to combat foreign interference in elections and the spread of misinformation. Story here.
TIME FOR THE ONTARIO LIBERALS AND NDP TO CONSIDER MERGING: SORBARA – As Ontario Liberals look to rebuild after their devastating result in last week’s provincial election, former Liberal finance minister Greg Sorbara says it’s time to consider what he acknowledges is a “pie-in-the-sky” idea: merging his party with the province’s NDP. Story here.
TRUDEAU MUM ON SUMMIT EXCLUSIONS – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau isn’t saying whether he supports President Joe Biden’s decision to exclude Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba from this week’s Summit of the Americas. Story here.
TORIES SPREADING MISINFORMATION ON STREAMING LEGISLATION: RODRIGUEZ – Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez accused the Conservatives of spreading misinformation about the government’s online streaming legislation. Story here.
GG AND AIR CANADA PROMPTED COMPLAINTS: LANGUAGE COMMISSIONER – Canada’s Governor-General and Air Canada’s CEO were connected to thousands of complaints to the official languages commissioner in the past year. Story here from Global News.
QUEBECERS HAVE NO APPETITITE FOR SOVEREIGNTY-FEDERALISM BATTLES: DRAINVILLE – Former Parti Québécois MNA Bernard Drainville says he has joined the nationalist ranks of the governing Coalition Avenir Québec because Quebecers no longer have an appetite for the sovereignty-federalism battle. Story here from The Montreal Gazette.
ANAND AS ALL-ROUND GOVERNMENT FIXER – Maclean’s magazine looks here at Defence Minister Anita Anand as the “Trudeau government’s all-round fixer.”
LEBLANC GRATEFUL FOR STEM-CELL DONATION – CBC reports on how a young German man donated stem cells that saved the life of federal Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Domenic LeBlanc after he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Story here from CBC.
WARE RECOGNIZED AS PERSON OF NATIONAL HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE – The federal government has recognized John Ware, a Black cowboy in Western Canada, as a person of national historic significance. Story here.
CONSERVATIVE LEADERSHIP RACE
CAMPAIGN TRAIL – Scott Aitchison is in Ottawa on parliamentary business. Roman Baber is in Toronto, Jean Charest in Montreal, Leslyn Lewis in her Haldimand—Norfolk riding, and Pierre Poilievre in Ottawa. Patrick Brown’s campaign did not provide details on his whereabouts.
THIS AND THAT
TODAY IN THE COMMONS – Projected Order of Business at the House of Commons, June 7, accessible here.
DIPLOMATIC EVENT ON TUESDAY – Yesterday’s newsletter said seven diplomats would be presenting their credentials to the Governor-General on Monday. In fact, they are presenting their credentials on Tuesday.
TWO BQ MPS HAVE COVID19 – Two Bloc Québécois members have tested positive for COVID-19 and are isolating at home. They are Martin Champoux, the MP for Drummond, and Marilène Gill, the MP for Manicouagan.
CSIS DIRECTOR REAPPOINTED – David Vigneault, the director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service since 2017, has been reappointed to the position, effective June 19, 2022, according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office. Statement here.
THE DECIBEL
On Tuesday’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast, The Globe’s Greg Mercer talks about the inquiry into Canada’s worst mass shooting – the massacre of 22 people in rural Nova Scotia in April, 2020. Mr. Mercer talks about how the RCMP didn’t believe the reports they received from the public, lacked training in their own communications systems, and how a senior commander gave commands after having several drinks. The Decibel is here.
PRIME MINISTER’S DAY
In Ottawa, the Prime Minister chaired a cabinet meeting, and then departed for Colorado Springs in Colorado, where he was scheduled to participate in an official welcome ceremony featuring military honours by the Canadian and U.S. armed forces. The Prime Minister was also scheduled to participate in a briefing session provided by members of the North American Aerospace Defence Command, observe a demonstration at the Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station, meet with Canadian Armed Forces personnel from NORAD, and depart for Los Angeles.
LEADERS
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet will hold a media scrum before Question Period regarding Bill C-21, the government’s firearms legislation.
Interim Conservative leader Candice Bergen, and other caucus MPs, held a media availability to discuss inflation and the cost-of-living crisis. Ms. Bergen also attended Question Period.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh held a news conference on the cost of living and attended Question Period.
OPINION
The Globe and Mail Editorial Boardon how Doug Ford won re-election by becoming a fiscal yes-man. But he can’t keep it up in the postpandemic era: “But Mr. Ford had one other thing going for him: The past two years have been a fiscal liminal moment. All sorts of rules, including basic budget arithmetic, were suspended. To govern is normally to choose, but the PC government has spent the past two years not really having to make fiscal choices. Not having to worry about making revenues and expenditures roughly match has allowed it to say “yes” to everyone and “no” to almost nobody. But this moment is – was – temporary. Governments across the country did what had to be done, running deficits to keep Canadians afloat and the economy treading water during the worst of the pandemic. That is now ancient history. With recession and mass unemployment giving way to labour shortages and an economy running too hot, the era of write-cheques-and-ask-questions-later is over.”
Gary Mason (The Globe and Mail)on Pierre Poilievre’s good fortune: His supporters don’t see his hypocrisy: “Say what you will about Mr. Poilievre’s policies – many of which range from disturbing to all-out bonkers – his campaign is a well-oiled machine. Whether it is successful in getting all those people it signed up to vote for him remains to be seen, though all the candidates will face the same issue. Perhaps the most interesting thing left to watch will be how Mr. Poilievre behaves from now until the party membership votes on Sept. 10. Does he begin to play it safe with his pronouncements, or will he double down on his aim to be disruptor-in-chief?”
André Picard (The Globe and Mail) on why we must make it easier to both live and die with dignity, but denying MAiD to those living in poverty is not the answer: “These cases drew attention to the fact that since March, 2021, Canada has had two “tracks” of patients eligible for medically assisted death: Track 1 is for those with conditions where death is “reasonably foreseeable,” and track 2 is for individuals with a “serious or incurable condition” for whom death is likely not imminent. The case of Denise attracted the most attention because she said her choice of MAiD was “essentially because of abject poverty.” Like most people living with a disability in Ontario, she receives $1,169 monthly (plus a $50 special diet supplement) in social assistance, which is not even remotely close to a livable income in Toronto, especially if you need specialized housing. Anti-MAiD activists pounced on the story to argue that Canada is “euthanizing the poor,” which is nonsensical rhetoric. Of course, assisted death is not a solution to poverty or poor housing, but these cases are not as black and white as they have been made out to be.”
Genevieve LeBaron and Priscilla Fisher (Contributed to The Globe and Mail) on whether we are ready to seriously act over the forced labour problem created by Canada’s supply chains: “We think of Canada as a beacon for human rights. But the sad fact is that the U.S., Britain and France are far ahead of us, having passed laws to hold corporations accountable for modern slavery in supply chains and having implemented import bans on slavery-made goods. Canada is lagging behind.”
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Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MONTREAL – NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he will not be taking advice from Pierre Poilievre after the Conservative leader challenged him to bring down government.
“I say directly to Pierre Poilievre: I’m not going to listen to you,” said Singh on Wednesday, accusing Poilievre of wanting to take away dental-care coverage from Canadians, among other things.
“I’m not going to listen to your advice. You want to destroy people’s lives, I want to build up a brighter future.”
Earlier in the day, Poilievre challenged Singh to commit to voting non-confidence in the government, saying his party will force a vote in the House of Commons “at the earliest possibly opportunity.”
“I’m asking Jagmeet Singh and the NDP to commit unequivocally before Monday’s byelections: will they vote non-confidence to bring down the costly coalition and trigger a carbon tax election, or will Jagmeet Singh sell out Canadians again?” Poilievre said.
“It’s put up or shut up time for the NDP.”
While Singh rejected the idea he would ever listen to Poilievre, he did not say how the NDP would vote on a non-confidence motion.
“I’ve said on any vote, we’re going to look at the vote and we’ll make our decision. I’m not going to say our decision ahead of time,” he said.
Singh’s top adviser said on Tuesday the NDP leader is not particularly eager to trigger an election, even as the Conservatives challenge him to do just that.
Anne McGrath, Singh’s principal secretary, says there will be more volatility in Parliament and the odds of an early election have risen.
“I don’t think he is anxious to launch one, or chomping at the bit to have one, but it can happen,” she said in an interview.
New Democrat MPs are in a second day of meetings in Montreal as they nail down a plan for how to navigate the minority Parliament this fall.
The caucus retreat comes one week after Singh announced the party has left the supply-and-confidence agreement with the governing Liberals.
It’s also taking place in the very city where New Democrats are hoping to pick up a seat on Monday, when voters go to the polls in Montreal’s LaSalle—Émard—Verdun. A second byelection is being held that day in the Winnipeg riding of Elmwood—Transcona, where the NDP is hoping to hold onto a seat the Conservatives are also vying for.
While New Democrats are seeking to distance themselves from the Liberals, they don’t appear ready to trigger a general election.
Singh signalled on Tuesday that he will have more to say Wednesday about the party’s strategy for the upcoming sitting.
He is hoping to convince Canadians that his party can defeat the federal Conservatives, who have been riding high in the polls over the last year.
Singh has attacked Poilievre as someone who would bring back Harper-style cuts to programs that Canadians rely on, including the national dental-care program that was part of the supply-and-confidence agreement.
The Canadian Press has asked Poilievre’s office whether the Conservative leader intends to keep the program in place, if he forms government after the next election.
With the return of Parliament just days away, the NDP is also keeping in mind how other parties will look to capitalize on the new makeup of the House of Commons.
The Bloc Québécois has already indicated that it’s written up a list of demands for the Liberals in exchange for support on votes.
The next federal election must take place by October 2025 at the latest.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante is defending her decision to turn off comments on her social media accounts — with an announcement on social media.
She posted screenshots to X this morning of vulgar names she’s been called on the platform, and says comments on her posts for months have been dominated by insults, to the point that she decided to block them.
Montreal’s Opposition leader and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association have criticized Plante for limiting freedom of expression by restricting comments on her X and Instagram accounts.
They say elected officials who use social media should be willing to hear from constituents on those platforms.
However, Plante says some people may believe there is a fundamental right to call someone offensive names and to normalize violence online, but she disagrees.
Her statement on X is closed to comments.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
