Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is fending off criticism from Canada’s premiers and territorial leaders, saying he is ready to negotiate on increased health care funding, but that any new dollars must go to health care.
At a news conference in Kingston, Ont., Mr. Trudeau was responding on Wednesday to the outcome of the Council of the Federation meeting of premiers and territorial leaders in Victoria this week.
He was asked by a journalist if he was “ghosting” the leaders on health care, a reference to a suggestion by council chair John Horgan, the premier of British Columbia, that Mr. Trudeau is avoiding their calls for substantive talks on increasing federal health care funding.
“I don’t think there is a prime minister in Canadian history who, over the entire scope of their time in office, has met with the premiers and sat down to talk about health care as much as I have over the past two years,” Mr. Trudeau said, in his first comments on this week’s high-profile exchange between Ottawa and the provinces on the perennial funding issue.
He said the government will invest more in health care, but is intent on ensuring that funding delivers real, tangible results for Canadians in shorter wait times, better services and access to a family doctor.
“There have been huge investments in health care made by provinces and governments in the past that haven’t always delivered the improvements to health care that is necessary,” he said. “We are going to make sure that those investments deliver for Canadians.”
The premiers say that health care funding began as a 50-50 split between the federal government and provinces and territories, but that Ottawa’s share has dwindled to 22 per cent.
Vancouver Reporter Andrea Woo and Queen’s Park Reporter Dustin Cook report here on the meeting of premiers and territorial leaders, which featured jabs between the provinces and Ottawa, but concluded with no resolution on health care.
During the news conference in Kingston, Mr. Trudeau also defended the Canadian government’s recent agreement to import and repair Russian pipeline turbines for up to two years, calling it “a very difficult decision.” Story here from Senior Parliamentary Reporter Steven Chase and Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife.
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TODAY’S HEADLINES
BANK OF CANADA HIKES INTEREST RATE – The Bank of Canada increased its benchmark interest rate by one percentage point on Wednesday, the most aggressive rate hike since 1998 and a larger move than investors and private-sector economists were expecting. Story here.
KING IN COURT – “Freedom Convoy” organizer Pat King is expected to appear in an Ottawa court today for a bail review. Story here.
COVID-19 BENEFITS BOLSTER CANADIANS 2020 AFTER-TAX INCOME: CENSUS – Fewer Canadians received employment income in 2020 as COVID-19 upended the labour market, but pandemic support programs more than offset losses for many households, leading to a drop in income inequality, according to census results published Wednesday. Story here.
SCHEDULES CONFOUND GUILBEAULT TRAIN TOUR – Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault’s promise to travel by train across Canada to talk to people about emissions was derailed by the lack of rail routes available to cross the country. Story here from the National Post.
FIVE-DAY SERVICE CREDIT FROM ROGERS – Rogers Communications Inc. says it will credit its customers with the equivalent of five days of service as it faces a litany of questions from Canada’s telecom regulator regarding a nationwide service outage that left millions without cellphone, home phone and internet service last Friday. Story here.
NO CHARGE FOR SOME RCMP COSTS: FEDERAL GOVERNMENT – The federal government says it won’t bill provinces and municipalities for the retroactive portion of Mountie salaries while it considers whether to help shoulder some of the burden of a steep pay-raise package. Story here.
QUEBEC SETS FRENCH DEADLINE FOR FEDERALLY REGULATED SECTORS – The Quebec government is giving companies in federally regulated sectors one month to begin complying with new requirements to guarantee the use of French in their workplaces. Story here from CBC.
CONSERVATIVE LEADERSHIP RACE
CAMPAIGN TRAIL – Scott Aitchison is in West Vancouver. Roman Baber has a meet-and-greet event in Lloydminster, Sask. Jean Charest is in Quebec. Leslyn Lewis is in Whitehorse. Pierre Poilievre is in Vancouver and Surrey.
BROWN BACKING CHAREST – Patrick Brown says he is unlikely to overturn a disqualification from running for Conservative leader in time to compete in the race, so he will vote for former Quebec premier Jean Charest. Story here.
BROWN ON THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY – “I’m not going to make any commentary about the Conservative Party, but obviously I didn’t find it democratic and if they want to follow a route that is extreme and not inclusive, I am not sure they will be on the right side of Canadians” – Patrick Brown, as Brampton mayor, in a telephone town hall with city residents on Monday night.
NO PIVOT PLANNED: POILIEVRE – Pierre Poilievre tells Rick Bell of the Calgary Sun that he does not plan to pivot. Story here. Also, more than 1,000 people reportedly attended a rally in Grande Prairie, Alta., featuring Mr. Poilievre. Story here from MyGrandPrairieNow.
THIS AND THAT
The House of Commons is not sitting again until Sept. 19. The Senate is to resume sitting on Sept. 20.
NO THANKS TO BEING B.C. PREMIER: CULLEN – Former NDP MP Nathan Cullen , now British Columbia’s Municipal Affairs Minister, is ruling out a bid to succeed British Columbia Premier John Horgan. Details here. In another province, another high-profile New Democrat is also saying he won’t seek his party’s leadership. It’s Joel Harden, the Ottawa Centre NDP MPP, who was seen as a possible contender for the leadership role vacated by Andrea Horwath. Mr. Harden now says he’s not interested for reasons explained in a story here from CityNews..
FREELAND DEPARTS FOR MEETING IN BALI – Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland departed Toronto for the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting in Bali, Indonesia.
ALGHABRA IN WINNIPEG – Transport Minister Omar Alghabra was scheduled to make a funding announcement at the CN Intermodal Terminal in Winnipeg and take media questions.
BOISSONNAULT IN EDMONTON – Tourism Minister Randy Boissonnault, appearing for Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos, was scheduled to make a health-related funding announcement in Edmonton, and take media questions.
DUCLOS IN ST. JOHN’S – At Memorial University in St. John’s, N. L., Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos makes an announcement on support for patient-oriented research in the province.
IEN IN SCARBOROUGH – Marci Ien, the Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth, announces investments in training for young Canadians at an event in Scarborough.
RODRIGUEZ IN ST. JOHN’S – Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez and the Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism Minister Steve Crocker were scheduled to co host a news conference in St. John’s on Wednesday at the conclusion of three days of meetings for federal, provincial and territorial ministers responsible for culture and heritage.
WILKINSON IN BURNABY – Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, in Burnaby, announces support for electrical vehicle charging infrastructure in British Columbia.
THE DECIBEL
On Wednesday’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast, Duncan Dee , a former chief operating officer for Air Canada, talks about what should be done to help with delays and bottlenecks at airports. On Monday, 70 per cent of flights from Canada’s largest carrier Air Canada were delayed – the highest percentage in the world. Mr. Dee worked on a panel that reviewed the Air Transportation Act in 2016, looking closely at what could be improved at Canada’s airports. The Decibel is here.
PRIME MINISTER’S DAY
In Kingston, Ont., the Prime Minister made an announcement, with Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne and Ontario’s Economic Development Minister Vic Fedeli also present.
LEADERS
No schedules released for party leaders.
OPINION
Campbell Clark (The Globe and Mail)on a turbine tussle and a warning to allies against complacency in backing Ukraine for the long haul: The international tussle over a turbine that saw Canada stuck in the middle should serve as a warning to Ukraine’s allies about complacency – because Mr. Putin will keep testing them for weaknesses. There was an outpouring of support for Ukraine when Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine in February, and the waving of yellow-and-blue Ukrainian flags was accompanied by stiff sanctions by both Canada and the U.S. and shipments of aid and arms. But that might be easy to forget months later in the Canadian summer.”
Don Braid (Calgary Herald)on whether Danielle Smith already has a lock on the Alberta premier’s office: “Pierre Poilievre is widely considered a cinch to win the federal Conservative Party leadership on Sept. 10. If that’s true, Danielle Smith’s chances for the premier’s office look very good on Oct. 6. Her campaign, equally aggressive, is aimed at a narrower, more reachable band of voters than Poilievre faces in the far-flung federal party. Smith also appeals to many UCP members who are increasingly angry at Ottawa, while adding dramatic Alberta responses inspired by Quebec’s march to autonomy. It’s working for her so far.”
Thomas Mulcair (CTV)on how Stephen Harper clearly has a preferred candidate in the Conservative race: “Conservative skullduggery in booting out Patrick Brown as a candidate reflects very badly on a Party prone to lecturing others about probity, ethics and integrity. Based on the single, untested word of a longtime party operative, Brown was given the heave-ho. Problem is, he landed on Jean Charest, whose chances of winning will go from slim to none if the Conservatives get away with it. The people who made and profited from that decision were very much aware that what they were doing would effectively decide the outcome of the race. Pierre Poilièvre was being handed a victory not by Conservative members but by Party functionaries. When you look at their connections to the Harper era, this whole manoeuvre appears even more troubling.”
Katłįà (Catherine) Lafferty (Policy Options)on the need for Indigenous-led housing: “Providing a place one can truly call home, surrounded by family in a safe, healthy environment, should be viewed as a reclamation of sovereignty as part of the land-back movement. There is an immediate need for recognition of Indigenous culture within the housing system to move toward true reconciliation. Canada also needs to follow through on Indigenous legal orders – the pre-colonial Indigenous legal system – under the provisions of UNDRIP to find ways of creating a “braiding” of laws at the national and international law that will recognize Indigenous rights at a government-to-government level.”
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OTTAWA – The federal agency that investigates election infractions found insufficient evidence to support suggestions Beijing wielded undue influence against the Conservatives in the Vancouver area during the 2021 general election.
The Commissioner of Canada Elections’ recently completed review of the lingering issue was tabled Tuesday at a federal inquiry into foreign interference.
The review focused on the unsuccessful campaign of Conservative candidate Kenny Chiu in the riding of Steveston-Richmond East and the party’s larger efforts in the Vancouver area.
It says the evidence uncovered did not trigger the threshold to initiate a formal investigation under the Canada Elections Act.
Investigators therefore recommended that the review be concluded.
A summary of the review results was shared with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and the RCMP. The review says both agencies indicated the election commissioner’s findings were consistent with their own understanding of the situation.
During the exercise, the commissioner’s investigators met with Chinese Canadian residents of Chiu’s riding and surrounding ones.
They were told of an extensive network of Chinese Canadian associations, businesses and media organizations that offers the diaspora a lifestyle that mirrors that of China in many ways.
“Further, this diaspora has continuing and extensive commercial, social and familial relations with China,” the review says.
Some interviewees reported that this “has created aspects of a parallel society involving many Chinese Canadians in the Lower Mainland area, which includes concerted support, direction and control by individuals from or involved with China’s Vancouver consulate and the United Front Work Department (UFWD) in China.”
Investigators were also made aware of members of three Chinese Canadian associations, as well as others, who were alleged to have used their positions to influence the choice of Chinese Canadian voters during the 2021 election in a direction favourable to the interests of Beijing, the review says.
These efforts were sparked by elements of the Conservative party’s election platform and by actions and statements by Chiu “that were leveraged to bolster claims that both the platform and Chiu were anti-China and were encouraging anti-Chinese discrimination and racism.”
These messages were amplified through repetition in social media, chat groups and posts, as well as in Chinese in online, print and radio media throughout the Vancouver area.
Upon examination, the messages “were found to not be in contravention” of the Canada Elections Act, says the review, citing the Supreme Court of Canada’s position that the concept of uninhibited speech permeates all truly democratic societies and institutions.
The review says the effectiveness of the anti-Conservative, anti-Chiu campaigns was enhanced by circumstances “unique to the Chinese diaspora and the assertive nature of Chinese government interests.”
It notes the election was prefaced by statements from China’s ambassador to Canada and the Vancouver consul general as well as articles published or broadcast in Beijing-controlled Chinese Canadian media entities.
“According to Chinese Canadian interview subjects, this invoked a widespread fear amongst electors, described as a fear of retributive measures from Chinese authorities should a (Conservative) government be elected.”
This included the possibility that Chinese authorities could interfere with travel to and from China, as well as measures being taken against family members or business interests in China, the review says.
“Several Chinese Canadian interview subjects were of the view that Chinese authorities could exercise such retributive measures, and that this fear was most acute with Chinese Canadian electors from mainland China. One said ‘everybody understands’ the need to only say nice things about China.”
However, no interview subject was willing to name electors who were directly affected by the anti-Tory campaign, nor community leaders who claimed to speak on a voter’s behalf.
Several weeks of public inquiry hearings will focus on the capacity of federal agencies to detect, deter and counter foreign meddling.
In other testimony Tuesday, Conservative MP Garnett Genuis told the inquiry that parliamentarians who were targeted by Chinese hackers could have taken immediate protective steps if they had been informed sooner.
It emerged earlier this year that in 2021 some MPs and senators faced cyberattacks from the hackers because of their involvement with the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, which pushes for accountability from Beijing.
In 2022, U.S. authorities apparently informed the Canadian government of the attacks, and it in turn advised parliamentary IT officials — but not individual MPs.
Genuis, a Canadian co-chair of the inter-parliamentary alliance, told the inquiry Tuesday that it remains mysterious to him why he wasn’t informed about the attacks sooner.
Liberal MP John McKay, also a Canadian co-chair of the alliance, said there should be a clear protocol for advising parliamentarians of cyberthreats.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
WINNIPEG – The federal New Democrats have kept a longtime stronghold in the Elmwood-Transcona riding in Winnipeg.
The NDP’s Leila Dance won a close battle over Conservative candidate Colin Reynolds, and says the community has spoken in favour of priorities such as health care and the cost of living.
Elmwood-Transcona has elected a New Democrat in every election except one since the riding was formed in 1988.
The seat became open after three-term member of Parliament Daniel Blaikie resigned in March to take a job with the Manitoba government.
A political analyst the NDP is likely relieved to have kept the seat in what has been one of their strongest urban areas.
Christopher Adams, an adjunct professor of political studies at the University of Manitoba, says NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh worked hard to keep the seat in a tight race.
“He made a number of visits to Winnipeg, so if they had lost this riding it would have been disastrous for the NDP,” Adams said.
The strong Conservative showing should put wind in that party’s sails, Adams added, as their percentage of the popular vote in Elmwood-Transcona jumped sharply from the 2021 election.
“Even though the Conservatives lost this (byelection), they should walk away from it feeling pretty good.”
Dance told reporters Monday night she wants to focus on issues such as the cost of living while working in Ottawa.
“We used to be able to buy a cart of groceries for a hundred dollars and now it’s two small bags. That is something that will affect everyone in this riding,” Dance said.
Liberal candidate Ian MacIntyre placed a distant third,
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau say the Liberals have “all sorts of reflections” to make after losing a second stronghold in a byelection in Montreal Monday night.
His comments come as the Liberal cabinet gathers for its first regularly scheduled meeting of the fall sitting of Parliament, which began Monday.
Trudeau’s Liberals were hopeful they could retain the Montreal riding of LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, but those hopes were dashed after the Bloc Québécois won it in an extremely tight three-way race with the NDP.
Louis-Philippe Sauvé, an administrator at the Institute for Research in Contemporary Economics, beat Liberal candidate Laura Palestini by less than 250 votes. The NDP finished about 600 votes back of the winner.
It is the second time in three months that Trudeau’s party lost a stronghold in a byelection. In June, the Conservatives defeated the Liberals narrowly in Toronto-St. Paul’s.
The Liberals won every seat in Toronto and almost every seat on the Island of Montreal in the last election, and losing a seat in both places has laid bare just how low the party has fallen in the polls.
“Obviously, it would have been nicer to be able to win and hold (the Montreal riding), but there’s more work to do and we’re going to stay focused on doing it,” Trudeau told reporters ahead of this morning’s cabinet meeting.
When asked what went wrong for his party, Trudeau responded “I think there’s all sorts of reflections to take on that.”
In French, he would not say if this result puts his leadership in question, instead saying his team has lots of work to do.
Bloc leader Yves-François Blanchet will hold a press conference this morning, but has already said the results are significant for his party.
“The victory is historic and all of Quebec will speak with a stronger voice in Ottawa,” Blanchet wrote on X, shortly after the winner was declared.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and his party had hoped to ride to a win in Montreal on the popularity of their candidate, city councillor Craig Sauvé, and use it to further their goal of replacing the Liberals as the chief alternative to the Conservatives.
The NDP did hold on to a seat in Winnipeg in a tight race with the Conservatives, but the results in Elmwood-Transcona Monday were far tighter than in the last several elections. NDP candidate Leila Dance defeated Conservative Colin Reynolds by about 1,200 votes.
Singh called it a “big victory.”
“Our movement is growing — and we’re going to keep working for Canadians and building that movement to stop Conservative cuts before they start,” he said on social media.
“Big corporations have had their governments. It’s the people’s time.”
New Democrats recently pulled out of their political pact with the government in a bid to distance themselves from the Liberals, making the prospects of a snap election far more likely.
Trudeau attempted to calm his caucus at their fall retreat in Nanaimo, B.C, last week, and brought former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney on as an economic adviser in a bid to shore up some credibility with voters.
The latest byelection loss will put more pressure on him as leader, with many polls suggesting voter anger is more directed at Trudeau himself than at Liberal policies.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
