Pressure works

Good Monday morning, In today’s Politics This Morning: Trudeau is paying for his own vacation. Canada’s convoluted nomination process catches the eye of The New York Times. Singh kicks off northern Ontario tour. Once “determined on running,” seeing “no indication” that he shouldn’t be doing the job, and seeing himself as “the best qualified to govern” and “to win,” U.S. President JOE BIDEN caved to the pressure yesterday afternoon. Biden, who is currently isolating with a COVID-19 infection, announced he would no longer be seeking a second term in a letter he posted to X. "It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President. And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term," Biden wrote. https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1815080881981190320 The last thing he posted before the announcement: “It’s the most important election of our lifetimes. And I will win it.” He said he would “speak to the Nation later this week in more detail” about his decision. Former president BARACK OBAMA and Speaker Emerita NANCY PELOSI were part of convincing Biden to bow out, according to The Associated Press. Biden almost immediately endorsed his current Vice-President KAMALA HARRIS to replace him on the Democratic ticket, and his fundraising and campaign machine quickly shifted to her side. Others in the party, including Pelosi, have said they’d like to see an open nomination contest. But the party will have to act quickly. It is set to announce its presidential nominee at its August convention in Chicago, IL, and the presidential election will take place on Nov. 5. Early voting begins as early as Sept. 20 in some states. U.S. Ambassador to Canada DAVID COHEN said: “As his United States Ambassador to Canada, serving abroad, I am enormously proud of leadership … in assembling a coalition of the world’s leading democracies to protect and preserve democratic values—and of his leadership in restoring confidence and trust in the United States globally. And every day, I have been proud to say that I serve the United States and represent my friend President Biden in Canada. It will continue to be the honor of my lifetime to serve through the remainder of his presidency.” U.S. Ambassador to Canada David Cohen. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU said: “I’ve known President Biden for years. He’s a great man, and everything he does is guided by his love for his country. As President, he is a partner to Canadians — and a true friend. To President Biden and the First Lady: thank you.” Replies on social media are never that useful, but those responding to Trudeau’s post were representative of what observers of Canadian politics will be asking themselves today: is Trudeau next? The “will he, won’t he” question of Trudeau’s leadership is bound to spur speculation until the very last moment, and Biden’s decision has not helped quiet any chatter. In fact, as Biden demonstrated yesterday—stepping away from the ballot just over 100 days away from E-Day, in a system with election campaign cycles that are eons longer than Canadian campaigns—the “last moment” for Trudeau could be further away than we might think. Plus, those forceful, adamant, determined declarations of certain candidacy might mean just a little less now. In the news Many Canadian MPs are working in a “perpetual state of fear,” given the current political climate, former public safety minister MARCO MENDICINO tells reporter CHELSEA NASH. With Republican presidential nominee DONALD TRUMP ahead in the polls, Canadian politicians and diplomats contemplate future trade challenges. “We have to adapt,” they tell STEPHEN JEFFERY. NDP candidate CRAIG SAUVÉ plans to give the Liberals a run for their money in the riding of LaSalle-Émard-Verdun, Que., which has elected a Grit since 1968 in all but two elections. ABBAS RANA has more. The Conservatives might have a path to picking up some seats in Quebec. MIKE LAPOINTE talks to experts about how they can pull it off. Lobbyists working on environment-related issues were the busiest in the first half of 2024, JESSE CNOCKAERT reports. And, Cnockaert reports that the Canadian Sustainable Jobs Act is top of mind for environmental and labour lobbyists, who want the government to act quickly to nominate its related advisory council. What’s the cabinet up to? Prime Minister Trudeau is on vacation with his family somewhere in British Columbia. The PMO is not disclosing the specific location for security reasons, The Canadian Press reports. CP also reported that Trudeau will reimburse the government the commercial equivalent cost of plane tickets to transport himself and his family, and that he is paying for the vacation himself—proving once and for all that he might be capable of learning from his mistakes. Even if he has to make it over (Aga Khan’s Bahamas island) and over (Tofino) and over (Jamaica) again. Innovation Minister FRANÇOIS-PHILIPPE CHAMPAGNE is in the U.K. today for the Farnborough International Airshow from July 21-23. This morning at 10 a.m. local time, (which has already passed us by over here in the east), Champagne will attend the opening and a tour of the Canadian Pavilion at the event. His mission while there is to “promote Canada as a world-class aerospace leader,” and meet with industry stakeholders in aerospace, space, and defence. International Development Minister AHMED HUSSEN is at the G20 Development Ministerial Meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, today and tomorrow, where the theme is “Building a Just World and a Sustainable Planet.” Northern Affairs Minister DAN VANDAL is in Whitehorse, Y.K., with Liberal Yukon MP BRENDAN HANLEY to announce funding for Air North at 10 a.m. PT. This past spring, Air North and Canadian North executives told the House Transport Committee that government regulations make it more difficult and more costly for northern airlines to operate what many say is an essential service for remote northern communities. Indigenous Services Minister PATTY HAJDU is in Thunder Bay, Ont., where she and JOHN GORDON, the CEO of the National Indigenous Collaborative Housing Inc. (NICHI), will make “a historic” housing announcement at 10:15 a.m. What else is happening today? Conservative Leader PIERRE POILIEVRE is in Muskoka this morning, headlining a bright-and-early 8:30 a.m. fundraiser at the “ultra private” Oviinbyrd Golf Club in MacTier, Ont., as it’s described by the website Top 100 Golf Courses. (It’s No. 16 on the list of the top 100 Canadian golf courses, in case you were wondering). Max donation is $1,725 (no minimum donation is suggested on the CPC website. We need a CPC donor to let us know if you really could attend one of these fundraisers without a donation, as the "$0-$1,725" range the party files to Elections Canada suggests). Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade NDP Leader JAGMEET SINGH is in Timmins, Ont., with local NDP MP CHARLIE ANGUS, to kick off a three-day northern Ontario tour. The pair will hold a press conference at 12:15 p.m. to talk about making life “more affordable” in the region. While Angus has been the local MP in the Timmins-James Bay, Ont., riding since 2004, he is not running in the next election. His is one of several northern Ontario ridings Poilievre and the Conservatives have been targeting, in addition to their targeting of the NDP’s historic base: the working class. Or, as Global News’ DAVID AKIN notes the Conservatives call them: those "who shower at the end of the day." At 4 p.m., Singh and Angus will have a closed-to-media meeting with the Weeneebayko Area Health Authority. Bloc Québécois Leader YVES-FRANÇOIS BLANCHET is touring Estrie, Que. until July 23. Today at 2:30 p.m. in Sherbrooke, he is meeting with and touring the business management consulting firm Entreprendre Sherbrooke, which is open to the media. Green Party Leader ELIZABETH MAY is traversing the country today, travelling from Halifax, N.S.—where she attended the local Pride parade on Saturday with Nova Scotia Green Leader ANTHONY EDMONDS—to her home riding of Saanich-Gulf Islands, B.C. People First woman appointed to lead CSIS Public Safety Minister DOMINIC LEBLANC appointed long-time intelligence officer VANESSA LlOYD as the interim director for Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) on Friday. Interim CSIS Director Vanessa Lloyd. Photograph courtesy of Facebook/Government of Canada She is the first woman to ever hold the role, even on an interim basis. She replaced former director DAVID VIGNEAULT as of July 20, and will hold the post for six months or until a permanent director is appointed. Vanessa first joined the agency in 1998 as a field investigator. She worked her way up in the Toronto and Ottawa offices, and was most recently appointed deputy director of operations in 2023, leading the organizations’ human intelligence collection, threat reduction, security screening, and intelligence analysis. Athletes chosen to engage in federal sports policy It’s a good time for Vanessas! Canada’s very own VANESSA GILLES of French football club of Lyon fame has been chosen with 13 other athletes to form the new Ministerial Athlete Advisory Committee, Sport Minister CARLA QUALTROUGH announced on Friday. The government will “engage directly” with the athletes on sport policies and program development to “ensure their perspectives are reflected across the sport system,” including safety in sport and federal funding, according to a press release. The group plans to meet every three months, and the first meeting is scheduled for the fall, after the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics and Paralympics. Other athletes advising the feds include: Swimmer JAVIER ACEVEDO Para ice hockey player ROB ARMSTRONG Artistic gymnast ELLIE BLACK Basketball player PAIGE CROZON Wheelchair basketball athlete ERICA GAVEL Snowboarder LIAM GILL SASHA GOLLISH of the athletics team Boccia player ALISON LEVINE Table tennis player IVY LIAO Freestyle skier PHILIPPE MARQUIS Rower JILL MOFFAT Para discus thrower NESS MURBY Bobsledder NEVILLE WRIGHT In case you missed it The New York Times took an interest in Canada’s political nomination contests this past weekend. Reporting from Brampton and Markham, Ont., Montreal-based NORIMITSU ONISHI described the nomination process as the “‘Wild West’ of Canada’s political system,” and a “‘critical gap’ in its democracy.” “But Canadian political leaders—and some foreign nations—are big fans,” so the lede reads. The story comes on the heels of Friday’s news that Elections Canada is ruminating on possible changes to the nomination process to protect against foreign interference—as reported by The Canadian Press, who obtained a briefing note to Chief Electoral Officer STÉPHANE PERRAULT obtained through the Access to Information Act. Onishi interviewed Conservative MP MICHAEL CHONG, who has been subjected to the foreign interference Onishi describes, and readers of Canadian news have been hearing about for years now. Chong described the federal nomination process as being “based on a 19th-century system,” in contrast with American reforms that led the U.S. to adopt the primary system. Democracy Watch founder DUFF CONACHER weighed in, too: “Party leaders want to have a level of power so that they can abuse their power and not be held accountable.” Conservative strategist and former campaign manager FRED DELOREY provided his insight: “Political parties in Canada are private clubs,” and the rules for each party differ, making the processes as a whole difficult to demystify for party members, let alone average Canadians. His opinion: nominations need to be regulated. The “Wild West” quote in the lede is attributable to JACK HEATH, described as “a veteran of Liberal Party campaigns.” Onishi detailed allegations of foreign interference by China and India, while both states have denied the interference. He described the buses arriving at the ballot boxes in the nomination of HAN DONG as the Liberal candidate for Don Valley North, while Hong Kong-born BOB MOK described to Onishi how easy and common it is for parties to fake party memberships, or to reimburse individuals who do sign up. Onishi describes the Liberals as having “the loosest rules, allowing even foreigners living in Canada to become members and vote in nominations.” Party spokesperson PARKER LUND countered that with a statement: “...the Liberal Party of Canada’s rules for electing a candidate are the most robust in Canadian politics.” Closing out the piece, Green Party Leader ELIZABETH MAY stood as the lone party leader showing an interest in regulating nomination races. “We need to act as leaders and send the message loud and clear that, no, Canada’s not a soft target.” The “Randy” plot thickens The House Ethics Committee continues to be left in suspense in the course of its probe into Employment Minister RANDY BOISSONNAULT’s adherance to conflict of interest rules. Boissonnault’s former business partner, STEPHEN ANDERSON, failed to provide his call and text records to the committee despite being ordered to hand them in by Friday, July 19. This prompted Conservative MP MICHAEL BARRETT to complain that Anderson was "in contempt" of parliamentary order, Global News reported. According to Global, Anderson did submit some emails, but said he needed more time to gather his phone records from his service provider. Anderson was called for questioning last Wednesday to answer questions about Boissonnault's involvement in running their joint medical supply firm Global Health Imports (GHI) after he won back his parliamentary seat in September 2021. Reporting by Global News turned up text messages between Anderson and someone named Randy in 2022. During last week's committee meeting, Anderson changed his tune about the text messages, and admitted he lied in what he initially told Global News, that "Randy" was referring to a second GHI employee also named Randy. Instead he claimed that all nine mentions of the name were attributable to “autocorrect." Boissonnault was cleared by Ethics Commissioner KONRAD VON FICKENSTEIN in the investigation and has denied any wrongdoing. Bangladesh court scales back quota that triggered violent student protests killing more than 115 people A controversial quota system in Bangladesh that reserved one-third of government jobs for relatives of war veterans was scaled back on Sunday after violent clashes erupted across the country. Students took to the streets to protest the policy and were met with a harsh crackdown, the aftermath of which killed over 115 people and injured thousands others. A group of international students demonstrated outside the Bangladeshi High Commission in Canada last Friday in solidarity with their peers in the South Asian country where internet services were shut down for days. Foreign Affairs Minister MÉLANIE JOLY said Saturday that Canada is “deeply concerned” by the escalation in violence in Bangladesh and called on parties to work together towards a “peaceful solution.” “The ongoing loss of life—including attacks on student protestors—is troubling and unacceptable” Defence Minister BILL BLAIR added. The quota was scrapped in 2018 by Prime Minister SHEIKH HASINA’s government after a similar large-scale protest by students, but was reinstated by the country's High Court in June this year, setting off the unrest again. An appeal filed against it was ruled in favour by Bangladesh’s Supreme Court on Sunday that lowered the quota down to five per cent for families of veterans, allocating 93 per cent to people on merit. The remaining two per cent of jobs are set aside for ethnic minorities, transgender people, and people with disabilities. Protest co-ordinators told the BBC the demonstrations will likely continue until their other demands are met, including justice for those killed, the release of detained students, the restoration of internet services, and the resignation of ministers. We appreciate your feedback. Let us know what you think by emailing us at pmazereeuw@hilltimes.com or cnash@hilltimes.com. The Hill Times

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