This is the daily Politics Briefing newsletter, written by Ian Bailey. It is available exclusively to our digital subscribers. If you’re reading this on the web, subscribers can sign up for the Politics newsletter and more than 20 others on our newsletter signup page. Have any feedback? Let us know what you think.
The first televised leaders debate of the federal election will be held in Quebec tonight, and is likely to have an impact beyond the province in the continuing campaign.
TVA, a key Quebec network, is hosting the two-hour debate, which begins at 8 p.m. ET. The Cable Public Affairs Channel, better known as CPAC, will air a translated edition of the debate at 10 p.m. ET after it has aired on TVA.
Only leaders with at least one seat in Quebec are allowed to participate, which means the debaters will be the Bloc Quebecois’ Yves-Francois Blanchet, Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau and the NDP’s Jagmeet Singh.
“It’s really a Quebec-centric debate,” Daniel Béland, director of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada, said Thursday,
However, Mr. Béland said, in an interview, that the debate results will resonate across Canada.
“Most anglophones won’t be watching this debate, but they will hear about it, if they follow the news, if they watch television, if they read newspapers even if they are on social media like Twitter,” he aid.
Mr. Béland said the 2019 TVA debate was a “turning point” in the election.
He noted that Mr. Blanchet’s strong performance bolstered the fortunes of his party, and Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer’s performance created challenges for his party because of his answers on abortion and medical assistance in dying.
Mr. Béland said he thinks Mr. O’Toole will probably be under the most pressure. “It’s his first [leaders] debate ever and it’s not his mother tongue,” he said.
But he added it could be “game over” for Mr. Trudeau if he does not deliver a performance that allows the Liberals to hold their own in Quebec seats. “They could make gains in Quebec which could offset some of the losses they are likely now to encounter in other parts of the country,” he said.
There are 78 seats in Quebec. At dissolution, the Liberals had 35 seats, the Bloc had 32 seats, the Conservatives had 10 and the NDP had one seat.
The Cable Public Affairs Channel, better known as CPAC, will air a translated edition of the debate at 10 p.m. ET after it has aired on TVA.
Other televised debates are looming. The Leaders’ Debates Commission has scheduled debates next week with a French debate on Sept. 8 and a Sept. 9 English debate.
TODAY’S HEADLINES
AFGHANISTAN AMBASSADOR TOOK TIME OFF DURING CRISIS – The Canadian ambassador to Afghanistan took time off in mid-July as Taliban militants were sweeping across the country and former Afghan employees of the embassy in Kabul were begging for help to get them and their families to safety in Canada.
LIBERALS RELEASE COSTED PLATFORM – The Liberal Party released a costed campaign platform on Wednesday detailing how a re-elected government would spend an additional $78-billion over five years – primarily in areas such as health care, housing and seniors – while targeting corporations and the wealthy for $25-billion in tax hikes.
SUZUKI ON GREEN PARTY WOES – David Suzuki broadens his election endorsements beyond the Green Party, telling the Tyee in British Columbia that one reason he is casting his net more broadly is that although “this is a moment when the Greens are desperately needed,” the party, in his view, has been “fatally weakened” by internal controversies made highly public. Story here.
HOW DOES MAIL-IN VOTING WORK – There’s a Globe and Mail primer here.
LEADERS
Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-François Blanchet, in Montreal, participates in the “Face-à-Face” TVA debate.
Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole, in Montreal, participates in the “Face-à-Face” TVA debate.
Campaign-Trail Commitment: In a media release, Mr. O’Toole promised a `Free Trade with Free Trade’ strategy that includes pursuing a Canada-Australia-New Zealand-United Kingdom agreement, and reviving free-trade talks with India.
Green Party Leader Annamie Paul holds a press conference on Afghanistan and Canada’s place in the world.
Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau participates in the “Face-à-Face” TVA debate.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, in Montreal, holds a media availability, and serves poutine in Préfontaine Park, and participates in the “Face-à-Face” TVA debate.
ELECTION SPOTLIGHT – YUKON
1 seat. At dissolution of Parliament: 1 Liberal
Rhiannon Klein, Chair and Instructor, Indigenous Governance Degree Program, Yukon University
“With only one federal electoral district covering the entire Yukon territory, this current election campaign is turning into quite a contentious and interesting race to observe. Yukon is home to approximately 43,000 people with an estimated 29,100 eligible voters. Since 2000, Liberal MP Larry Bagnell has served six out seven terms (Bagnell lost his seat to Conservative candidate Ryan Leef in 2011, winning it back again in 2015). Prior to Bagnell winning his seat in 2000, the Yukon was a federal NDP stronghold from 1987-2000.
“The 2021 federal election campaign has started out much differently. In July 2021, Jonas Smith was named the Conservative Party candidate. Smith lost to Bagnell in 2019 by only 153 votes with a 72 per cent voter turnout. On Aug. 5, Bagnell caught everyone by surprise when he announced he would not be seeking re-election. Further to everyone’s surprise, the Yukon’s Chief Medical Officer of Health (CMOH), Dr. Brendan Hanley, announced he had been named the Liberal candidate. This announcement has come with several strong criticisms and questions around the politicization of the CMOH role and whether it was appropriate for him to run. Only two days after the federal election was called, another big surprise came when the Conservative Party announced they were dropping Jonas Smith as their candidate because of his public opposition to supporting public health guidelines, predominantly vaccine mandates and passports. Smith decided he would stay in the race, running as an independent candidate.
“Shortly after Smith was dropped, Barbara Dunlop, long-time Yukoner and retired public servant, was named the Conservative candidate. The NDP announced their candidate, Lisa Vollans-Leduc, a Yukon Government policy analysist. The Green Party announced Lenore Morris, a lawyer and business owner, would be running again, though she would be absent for the first two weeks of the campaign. Morris ran previously in the 2019 election. With six candidates running for one seat in an electoral district that has previously been won by less than a percentage point, it could really be anyone’s seat to win at this point! Some of the key issues being highlighted so far on the campaign trail include climate change, reconciliation, housing, and economic recovery. It is difficult to know how people are going to vote this time around- will it be partisan-based, issue-based, or strategical – one thing is for sure: Yukon will have a new Member of Parliament this Fall who will have to represent many different political viewpoints.”
PUBLIC OPINION
Together with CTV and Nanos Research, The Globe and Mail is doing daily surveys to track which party and leader Canadians prefer. Check here for the latest results.
OPINION
The Editorial Board of the Globe and Mail on the better-late-than-never U-turn Premier Doug Ford just did on vaccine passports: “Mr. Ford’s reversal is belated, and it will rely on easily faked printouts of vaccine receipts until Oct. 22, when the province says the secure passport it’s working on will be available. But it is nonetheless welcome. Ontario is the fourth province, after Manitoba, British Columbia and Quebec, to bring in a vaccine passport – a tool this page has long argued is critical to raising Canada’s vaccination rate, thereby minimizing the impact of the fourth wave.”
Campbell Clark (The Globe and Mail)on how the Liberals are intent on vaccine-wedge politics: “The Liberal platform had thousands of words and hundreds of promises to spend $78-billion, but at the press conference to unveil it, Justin Trudeau kept talking about a single paragraph tucked away on Page 51. That’s the passage that outlines the Liberals’ promise of protection from lawsuits for companies that require their workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19. It’s the next step in Mr. Trudeau’s increasingly strident support for vaccination requirements: promising federal protection to companies that demand their employees get the jab. “Making sure workplaces can keep themselves and their employees safe,” in the Liberal Leader’s words.”
Dan Lett (The Winnipeg Free Press)on Manitoba’s new “reluctant” Premier, Kevin Goertzen: “Goertzen made no bones Wednesday about the fact that he was going to be different — much different — than the last guy. For nearly an hour, Goertzen took questions from reporters and provided elegant, confident and — most importantly — credible answers. He did not attack anyone, did not blame anybody else for his government’s mistakes and never once used political hyperbole to claim some sort of hollow victory. In other words, in his very first public appearance as Premier, he was everything that Pallister was not over five years. You could tell that Goertzen was leaning into the contrast that was materializing between him and Pallister. He talked about the importance of projecting calm and respect while avoiding “conflict and animosity.”
Send along your political questions and we will look at getting answers to run in this newsletter. It’s not possible to answer each one personally. Questions and answers will be edited for length and clarity.
Got a news tip that you’d like us to look into? E-mail us at tips@globeandmail.com. Need to share documents securely? Reach out via SecureDrop
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says it’s “disgraceful and demeaning” that a Halifax-area school would request that service members not wear military uniforms to its Remembrance Day ceremony.
Houston’s comments were part of a chorus of criticism levelled at the school — Sackville Heights Elementary — whose administration decided to back away from the plan after the outcry.
A November newsletter from the school in Middle Sackville, N.S., invited Armed Forces members to attend its ceremony but asked that all attendees arrive in civilian attire to “maintain a welcoming environment for all.”
Houston, who is currently running for re-election, accused the school’s leaders of “disgracing themselves while demeaning the people who protect our country” in a post on the social media platform X Thursday night.
“If the people behind this decision had a shred of the courage that our veterans have, this cowardly and insulting idea would have been rejected immediately,” Houston’s post read. There were also several calls for resignations within the school’s administration attached to Houston’s post.
In an email to families Thursday night, the school’s principal, Rachael Webster, apologized and welcomed military family members to attend “in the attire that makes them most comfortable.”
“I recognize this request has caused harm and I am deeply sorry,” Webster’s email read, adding later that the school has the “utmost respect for what the uniform represents.”
Webster said the initial request was out of concern for some students who come from countries experiencing conflict and who she said expressed discomfort with images of war, including military uniforms.
Her email said any students who have concerns about seeing Armed Forces members in uniform can be accommodated in a way that makes them feel safe, but she provided no further details in the message.
Webster did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
At a news conference Friday, Houston said he’s glad the initial request was reversed but said he is still concerned.
“I can’t actually fathom how a decision like that was made,” Houston told reporters Friday, adding that he grew up moving between military bases around the country while his father was in the Armed Forces.
“My story of growing up in a military family is not unique in our province. The tradition of service is something so many of us share,” he said.
“Saying ‘lest we forget’ is a solemn promise to the fallen. It’s our commitment to those that continue to serve and our commitment that we will pass on our respects to the next generation.”
Liberal Leader Zach Churchill also said he’s happy with the school’s decision to allow uniformed Armed Forces members to attend the ceremony, but he said he didn’t think it was fair to question the intentions of those behind the original decision.
“We need to have them (uniforms) on display at Remembrance Day,” he said. “Not only are we celebrating (veterans) … we’re also commemorating our dead who gave the greatest sacrifice for our country and for the freedoms we have.”
NDP Leader Claudia Chender said that while Remembrance Day is an important occasion to honour veterans and current service members’ sacrifices, she said she hopes Houston wasn’t taking advantage of the decision to “play politics with this solemn occasion for his own political gain.”
“I hope Tim Houston reached out to the principal of the school before making a public statement,” she said in a statement.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
REGINA – Saskatchewan Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck says she wants to prove to residents her party is the government in waiting as she heads into the incoming legislative session.
Beck held her first caucus meeting with 27 members, nearly double than what she had before the Oct. 28 election but short of the 31 required to form a majority in the 61-seat legislature.
She says her priorities will be health care and cost-of-living issues.
Beck says people need affordability help right now and will press Premier Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party government to cut the gas tax and the provincial sales tax on children’s clothing and some grocery items.
Beck’s NDP is Saskatchewan’s largest Opposition in nearly two decades after sweeping Regina and winning all but one seat in Saskatoon.
The Saskatchewan Party won 34 seats, retaining its hold on all of the rural ridings and smaller cities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia‘s growing population was the subject of debate on Day 12 of the provincial election campaign, with Liberal Leader Zach Churchill arguing immigration levels must be reduced until the province can provide enough housing and health-care services.
Churchill said Thursday a plan by the incumbent Progressive Conservatives to double the province’s population to two million people by the year 2060 is unrealistic and unsustainable.
“That’s a big leap and it’s making life harder for people who live here, (including ) young people looking for a place to live and seniors looking to downsize,” he told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.
Anticipating that his call for less immigration might provoke protests from the immigrant community, Churchill was careful to note that he is among the third generation of a family that moved to Nova Scotia from Lebanon.
“I know the value of immigration, the importance of it to our province. We have been built on the backs of an immigrant population. But we just need to do it in a responsible way.”
The Liberal leader said Tim Houston’s Tories, who are seeking a second term in office, have made a mistake by exceeding immigration targets set by the province’s Department of Labour and Immigration. Churchill said a Liberal government would abide by the department’s targets.
In the most recent fiscal year, the government welcomed almost 12,000 immigrants through its nominee program, exceeding the department’s limit by more than 4,000, he said. The numbers aren’t huge, but the increase won’t help ease the province’s shortages in housing and doctors, and the increased strain on its infrastructure, including roads, schools and cellphone networks, Churchill said.
“(The Immigration Department) has done the hard work on this,” he said. “They know where the labour gaps are, and they know what growth is sustainable.”
In response, Houston said his commitment to double the population was a “stretch goal.” And he said the province had long struggled with a declining population before that trend was recently reversed.
“The only immigration that can come into this province at this time is if they are a skilled trade worker or a health-care worker,” Houston said. “The population has grown by two per cent a year, actually quite similar growth to what we experienced under the Liberal government before us.”
Still, Houston said he’s heard Nova Scotians’ concerns about population growth, and he then pivoted to criticize Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for trying to send 6,000 asylum seekers to Nova Scotia, an assertion the federal government has denied.
Churchill said Houston’s claim about asylum seekers was shameful.
“It’s smoke and mirrors,” the Liberal leader said. “He is overshooting his own department’s numbers for sustainable population growth and yet he is trying to blame this on asylum seekers … who aren’t even here.”
In September, federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller said there is no plan to send any asylum seekers to the province without compensation or the consent of the premier. He said the 6,000 number was an “aspirational” figure based on models that reflect each province’s population.
In Halifax, NDP Leader Claudia Chender said it’s clear Nova Scotia needs more doctors, nurses and skilled trades people.
“Immigration has been and always will be a part of the Nova Scotia story, but we need to build as we grow,” Chender said. “This is why we have been pushing the Houston government to build more affordable housing.”
Chender was in a Halifax cafe on Thursday when she promised her party would remove the province’s portion of the harmonized sales tax from all grocery, cellphone and internet bills if elected to govern on Nov. 26. The tax would also be removed from the sale and installation of heat pumps.
“Our focus is on helping people to afford their lives,” Chender told reporters. “We know there are certain things that you can’t live without: food, internet and a phone …. So we know this will have the single biggest impact.”
The party estimates the measure would save the average Nova Scotia family about $1,300 a year.
“That’s a lot more than a one or two per cent HST cut,” Chender said, referring to the Progressive Conservative pledge to reduce the tax by one percentage point and the Liberal promise to trim it by two percentage points.
Elsewhere on the campaign trail, Houston announced that a Progressive Conservative government would make parking free at all Nova Scotia hospitals and health-care centres. The promise was also made by the Liberals in their election platform released Monday.
“Free parking may not seem like a big deal to some, but … the parking, especially for people working at the facilities, can add up to hundreds of dollars,” the premier told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
