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Kevin O'Leary heads back to his Toronto office after meeting with party members in Hamilton on April 26 2017.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail

CANADIAN POLITICS

Paid-up Conservative Party members will receive their mail-in ballots for the leadership vote any day now, but they've got one fewer candidate to consider: reality TV star Kevin O'Leary has left the race as suddenly as he entered. In an interview with The Globe's Laura Stone, he explained why he dropped out and supported Maxime Bernier. "It's for the sake of the party that I do this, and the country. Because I can't deliver Quebec. I can't win. That's my opinion. I wish it was different," he said. As for why the unilingual businessman couldn't win La Belle Province? "I was hanging out at the Orange Julep [in Montreal] every week," he said. "Like, what does it take to crack that province?" Full list of the remaining 13 candidates here.

Ontario is set to table its first balanced budget in nearly a decade. While Canada's largest province has a robust economy, growth nearly doubled the national average last year, its long-term outlook is far from a rosy picture. One only needs to look at Premier Kathleen Wynne's approval ratings to see that there are signs that Ontarians may be ready to move on from the governing Liberals, who have been in power since 2003. The budget offers a chance for the party to win back voters ahead of next year's election and is expected to invest heavily into health care.

The RCMP allege Vice-Admiral Mark Norman leaked cabinet secrets to an executive at a Quebec-based shipyard as the Liberal government reconsidered how it awarded a massive procurement contract. The documents, which do not mention any personal or financial benefit Vice-Adm. Norman would have received, give the clearest picture yet of why the military's number-two soldier was suspended from his post. The warrants were unsealed only after a lengthy and expensive court action launched by The Globe and Mail, and later joined by other media outlets, including CBC, CTV and the National Post.

Federal and provincial justice ministers are gathering in Ottawa on Friday to discuss how to fix the delay-plagued courts.

And Science Minister Kirsty Duncan is calling out Canadian universities for lagging behind on gender equity among research positions.

John Ibbitson (Globe and Mail) on the Conservatives: "There are credible reasons not to hand the mantle of Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition, and the keys to Stornoway, to [Maxime Bernier]. This is not to say Mr. Bernier does not deserve to be leader. It is to say that party members and the other candidates should ask themselves a few questions, first."

Paul Wells (Maclean's) on the Conservatives: "If Harperism was about a partial rehabilitation of social conservatism on one hand, and a steely incrementalism on the other, Bernier rejects both hands."

Sheema Khan (The Globe and Mail) on discriminatory practices within immigrant communities: "More needs to be done to uproot customs that have been transplanted here. Efforts must come from both within and without affected communities. We need honest public conversations about these difficult topics. Multicultural sensitivities should never override gender equality, nor should they censor the expression of strong opinions."

B.C. ELECTION

BC Liberal Leader Christy Clark used the escalating softwood lumber dispute during the final debate of the election campaign to deflect from a list of her government's alleged failings. Ms. Clark was frequently attacked during last night's event by both NDP Leader John Horgan and Green Leader Andrew Weaver on a range of issues, including skyrocketing home prices and her party's donations from large corporations. Ms. Clark attempted to change the topic by raising the spectre of rising protectionism in the United States, arguing that she would be able to steer the province through potentially troubled times. Mr. Horgan said Ms. Clark had failed to do more to avoid the standoff in the first place and he promised to visit the United States within a month of being elected, if the NDP wins on May 9.

Earlier in the day, Ms. Clark called on the prime minister to retaliate against the United States by banning Canadian ports from exporting thermal coal, mostly from the U.S. She said her government had previously held off asking for such a measure to be a "good trading partner," but she said the Americans' hostile stance in the softwood lumber dispute means there's now no reason to wait. After the evening debate, Ms. Clark said her government would consider imposing its own levy on thermal coal if Ottawa did not act.

Voters in the Vancouver region could be in for another contentious referendum to fund transit projects including the Broadway subway line if the BC Liberals win the election. The last time the region's mayors wanted to raise money for transit, the provincial government insisted on putting the issue to a vote; the region-wide plebiscite failed in 2015. That result has fuelled a funding dispute between the province and cities, which say they have few ways to raise money for new infrastructure. New Westminster Mayor Jonathan Coté says the Liberals' newly announced position could put badly needed transportation projects in jeopardy.

Gary Mason (The Globe and Mail) on the leaders debate:  "There is a scenario that is not utterly fantastical in which the Greens hold the balance of power in a minority government after May 9. Certainly, Mr. Weaver would have done nothing Wednesday night to diminish the chances of that."

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INTERNATIONAL POLITICS

U.S. President Donald Trump has dropped his threat to back out from NAFTA late last night. The directive to pull the U.S. out of the three-country trade deal is said to be the brainchild of chief strategist Steve Bannon and National Trade Council director Peter Navarro and was supposed to go through as early as this week. Mr. Trump spoke with Mr. Trudeau and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto on Wednesday afternoon and abruptly walked back the plan, after reports appeared in the media.

Unsurprisingly, the White House's tax reform plan involves drastic cuts to personal and corporate income tax rates. The proposal is a far-reaching overhaul of the tax code and stands to benefit the rich significantly. The proposal, which is far from becoming a reality, comes from a cabinet that is said to be the wealthiest in history. Canadian business leaders are urging that governments north of the border  do the same in order to remain competitive. 

And Chancellor Angela Merkel told the German parliament that Britain will not get an easy ride in negotiations for exiting the European Union. "You might think that these things are self-evident, but unfortunately I have to put it in such clear terms because I have the feeling that some in Britain still have illusions about this," Ms. Merkel said.

Albert R. Hunt (Bloomberg View) on the Trump tax plan: "The tax plan outlined by the Trump administration was an opening bid, but a slipshod and deceptive one that won't much resemble anything that might be enacted. Top officials pitched the plan, missing important specifics, as aimed at helping the middle class and creating lots more jobs, accomplished by slashing corporate taxes. It would simplify the code, collapsing seven brackets into three, and doubling the standard deduction mainly helping middle-income taxpayers. It would add trillions -- as much as $7 trillion -- to the deficit.But it's a bonanza for the well-to-do, including Donald Trump and his family."

Danielle Pletka (Washington Post) on Trump's foreign policy: "Candidate Trump promised little ideology and plenty of anecdote-driven reactionism. Not enough jobs? Get 'em back. Terrible Iran deal? Tear it up. Allies free-riding on U.S. defense largesse? Send 'em a bill. Fighting unnecessary wars? Stop. Far from a doctrine, Trump offered a smorgasbord of retorts and one-liners that added up to what many worried would be a dangerous isolationist, protectionist era in U.S. politics. But 100 days into his term, President Trump has been far more conventional than many dared hope. Many of his promises, from labeling China a currency manipulator to staying out of Syria to making nice with Russia, appear to be on hold — which should surprise no one."

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PLAYOFFS

The Edmonton Oilers beat the Anaheim Ducks 5-3 in the opening game of their second-round series last night. The Ottawa Senators play the New York Rangers tonight. And in basketball, if the Toronto Raptors win tonight against the Milwaukee Bucks, they'll advance to the next round of the NBA playoffs.

Written by Chris Hannay in Ottawa, Mayaz Alam in Toronto and James Keller in Vancouver.

The U.S. is imposing tariffs averaging 20% on Canadian softwood exports

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