Patrick Brown says he was disqualified as a candidate to lead the Conservative Party of Canada because of an allegation that someone was being paid by a corporation to work on his campaign.
The Brampton mayor was ousted late Tuesday for what the party called “serious allegations of wrongdoing.” However, it has not provided any specifics. The development leaves five candidates in the race, the winner of which will be announced on Sept. 10.
“We have no information about who that was or who that corporation was, so it’s impossible to respond to a phantom,” he said Wednesday during an interview on CTV.
Mr. Brown, who had reported signing up about 150,000 supporters during the race, said it is clear to him that the party establishment wants his rival, Ottawa-area-MP Pierre Poilievre, to be leader.
“I am shocked that they would take lengths this extraordinary to rob members of the party of a democratic election based on an anonymous complaint we have no information on.”
He added, “Frankly, if Pierre Poilievre was going to win this race, if he had gone through a fair leadership contest, he would have a stronger standing afterwards, post Sept. 10.”
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TODAY’S HEADLINES
SPORT MINISTER CITES CULTURE PROBLEM IN HOCKEY CANADA – Hockey Canada’s handling ofsexual-assault allegations involving eight Canadian Hockey Leaguemembers, including players with the gold-medal-winning world junior team, reveals a culture problem within the organization that needs to change, federal Minister of Sport Pascale St-Onge says. Story here.
PREMIERS SEEK FEDERAL HEALTH FUNDING AS MEETING LOOMS – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said early last year that provincial demands for major increases in health care transfers would have to wait until Canada was “through the worst” of the pandemic crisis. That time is now, say provincial and territorial premiers preparing to meet next week as the Council of the Federation. Story here.
ARCHIBALD MAKES CASE – RoseAnne Archibald has made her case to the Assembly of First Nations annual general assembly after weeks of political uncertainty that followed the National Chief’s suspension last month. Ms. Archibald faces competing efforts at the assembly to remove her from her role or to support her continued leadership. Story here.
WON’T SHAKE LAVROV’S HAND: JOLY – Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says she won’t shake the hand of her Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, at a G20 meeting in Bali, Indonesia, this week. She told The Canadian Press she plans to instead take aim at the Russian Foreign Minister’s falsehoods about the invasion of Ukraine. Story here.
QUEBEC CONSERVATIVE PARTY SURGING – Quebec’s provincial Conservative Party is surging as a “protest vote” against the province’s heavy-handed government, with Eric Duhaime’s party’s staunchly populist messaging about personal freedoms after two years of COVID-19 seeming to be resonating now more than ever. Story here from The National Post.
NEW NEWFOUNDLAND HEALTH MINISTER – Newfoundland and Labrador’s health minister has been replaced after seeing the province through the COVID-19 pandemic. John Haggie, a former surgeon, is out as health minister and now education minister. Meanwhile, former education minister Tom Osborne is taking over as health minister. Story here from CBC.
DON’T CALL ME ‘YOUR WORSHIP:’ GONDEK – Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek wants councillors and city administration to stop using the title “your worship” when referring to her. Story here from The Calgary Herald.
CONSERVATIVE LEADERSHIP RACE
CAMPAIGN TRAIL – Scott Aitchison is in Ontario. Jean Charest is in Calgary. Leslyn Lewis is in Edmonton. Pierre Poilievre is in Toronto. No details on Roman Baber campaign whereabouts.
CANDIDATES CALGARY BOUND – In the days ahead, Conservative Party leadership hopefuls will be filing into Calgary alongside other public figures for the busy politicking season that is part of the annual Stampede. But as most candidates square off in a downtown debate shortly after the Stampede parade ends on Friday afternoon, Pierre Poilievre will be at a nearby party with entrepreneur Brett Wilson. Story here.
THIS AND THAT
The House of Commons is not sitting again until Sept. 19. The Senate is to resume sitting on Sept. 20.
FREELAND IN GRIMSBY – Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was scheduled to meet, in Grimsby, Ont., with union workers, and then hold a media availability.
WILKINSON IN ST. JOHN’S – Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson is to hold a media availability with Newfoundland and Labrador Industry Minister Andrew Parsons in St. John’s at the end of the Energy and Mines Ministers’ Conference.
BIBEAU IN COMPTON – Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau, in Compton, Que., appearing on behalf of Sport Minister Pascale St-Onge, is to announce federal government funding to support the Club Lions de Compton for a new project.
KAHLON NOT SEEKING TO SUCCEED HORGAN; BACKS EBY – In British Columbia, Jobs Minister Ravi Kahlon has ruled out a bid for the leadership of the provincial NDP, citing discussions with his family, and suggested Attorney-General David Eby seek the job. Premier John Horgan has said he will step down once his replacement is selected by the party. “David is someone who I admire, someone with integrity, passion and is the right person to be our next Premier,” Mr. Kahlon said in a statement.
THE DECIBEL
On Wednesday’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast, Globe columnist Andrew Coyne talks about what has happened with the situation around RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki. She allegedly pressed senior officers to publicly release information about the kinds of firearms that were used in the 2020 Nova Scotia mass shooting, where 22 people were killed, in order to bolster Liberal gun legislation. The Commissioner, the former public safety minister and the Prime Minister all deny there was political interference – but a paper trail strongly suggests that someone is lying. The Decibel is here.
PRIME MINISTER’S DAY
In Vaughan, Ont., the Prime Minister was scheduled to visit a local children’s day camp. He was also scheduled to meet in Simcoe County with families at a local farm, and to attend a BBQ with members of the Canadian Armed Forces in North Bay.
LEADERS
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, in Burnaby, B.C., met with United Steelworkers District 3, and was later scheduled to meet with Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights and participate in a Korean community roundtable with Peter Julian and Bonita Zarrillo.
No schedules released for other party leaders.
OPINION
Andrew Coyne (The Globe and Mail)on reasonable limits – the antidote to U.S.-style extremism in high-court decisions: “Partway through the majority opinion in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, in which the United States Supreme Court struck down a century-old state law restricting the carrying of handguns in public, one is struck by the realization: these people are guided by no coherent judicial philosophy whatsoever. The case is one of a handful of rulings in the past few weeks – on school prayer, on environmental regulation, and of course on abortion – with which the conservative majority on the court has begun to rewrite decades of jurisprudence. But in its recklessness, in its single-mindedness and above all in its determined opportunism can be found the seeds of the others.”
Susan Franceschet (Contributed to The Globe and Mail) on how the ‘role model effect’ can transform how women and girls think of political leadership: “The good news is that women’s heightened visibility among UCP leadership hopefuls sets the stage for a transformation in how girls and women see political leadership. That’s because the many women in the race will generate a “role model effect,” activating women’s political interest. Researchers have documented this in several studies from around the world.”
Catherine Tait (Contributed to The Globe and Mail) on how CBC’s licence renewal shows how the traditional broadcaster has evolved into a modern digital service: “You may not have seen it, but for Canadians interested in the future of their public broadcaster, the recent CRTC renewal of the CBC/Radio-Canada television and radio licences represents a groundbreaking decision. For the first time, Canada’s regulator has recognized how we serve Canadians today – not just as a linear television and radio broadcaster but as a multiplatform streaming service as well.”
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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.
