Politics Briefing: Conservative leadership race is intense, Bergen says, but she expects party unity once it’s over – The Globe and Mail

Hello,

Candice Bergen, the interim leader of the federal Conservatives, says the party leadership race is intense and dynamic, but expects unity among Tories once its 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. Well 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. Poilievres 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 Canadas 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 weeks provincial election, former Liberal finance minister Greg Sorbara says its time to consider what he acknowledges is a pie-in-the-sky idea: merging his party with the provinces NDP. Story here.

TRUDEAU MUM ON SUMMIT EXCLUSIONS Prime Minister Justin Trudeau isnt saying whether he supports President Joe Bidens decision to exclude Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba from this weeks 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 governments online streaming legislation. Story here.

GG AND AIR CANADA PROMPTED COMPLAINTS: LANGUAGE COMMISSIONER - Canadas Governor-General and Air Canadas 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 Qubcois MNA Bernard Drainville says he has joined the nationalist ranks of the governing Coalition Avenir Qubec because Quebecers no longer have an appetite for the sovereignty-federalism battle. Story here from The Montreal Gazette.

ANAND AS ALL-ROUND GOVERNMENT FIXER Macleans magazine looks here at Defence Minister Anita Anand as the Trudeau governments 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-Hodgkins 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 HaldimandNorfolk riding, and Pierre Poilievre in Ottawa. Patrick Browns 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 Yesterdays 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 Qubcois members have tested positive for COVID-19 and are isolating at home. They are Martin Champoux, the MP for Drummond, and Marilne 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 Ministers Office. Statement here.

THE DECIBEL

On Tuesdays edition of The Globe and Mail podcast, The Globes Greg Mercer talks about the inquiry into Canadas worst mass shooting the massacre of 22 people in rural Nova Scotia in April, 2020. Mr. Mercer talks about how the RCMP didnt 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 Qubcois Leader Yves-Franois Blanchet will hold a media scrum before Question Period regarding Bill C-21, the governments 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 Board on how Doug Ford won re-election by becoming a fiscal yes-man. But he cant 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 Poilievres good fortune: His supporters dont see his hypocrisy: Say what you will about Mr. Poilievres 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?

David Parkinson (The Globe and Mail) on how Bill Morneau talks about the Liberals economic failings as if they were someone elses fault: The government came to office in 2015 on an economic platform very much focused on building long-term productivity and growth but then repeatedly stumbled, stalled and backpedalled its way out of its own best advice. When you look at where the government drifted off course, Mr. Morneau was, at least nominally, at the rudder.

Andr 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 Canadas 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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Politics Briefing: Conservative leadership race is intense, Bergen says, but she expects party unity once it's over - The Globe and Mail