Of Harper’s political children, Manitoba leader first to win

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POLITICS BRIEFING

By Chris Hannay (@channay)

The Progressive Conservatives have won a comfortable majority in Manitoba, with two immediate consequences for national conservative politics: there is once again a governing party with "conservative" in its name, and Brian Pallister is now the most successful Harper-era Tory to jump into provincial politics.

Mr. Pallister sat as an Alliance and Conservative MP from 2000 to 2008 and never served in cabinet. Three of his caucus-mates – who were dubbed the "post-Harper generation of conservative leaders" by Paul Wells – also made the leap from Ottawa to their provincial capitals: Jim Prentice, to lead the Alberta PCs in 2014; Brian Jean, to lead Alberta's Wildrose in 2015; and Patrick Brown, to lead Ontario's PCs in 2015.

So far those former Conservative MPs' post-Harper careers have been a mixed bag. Mr. Prentice and Mr. Jean slugged it out in last year's Alberta election, but it was the NDP who emerged victorious. Mr. Jean stayed on to fight another day, while Mr. Prentice has retired from politics (for now). Mr. Brown's party is doing well in Ontario, though polls are not sure about his personal numbers and an election is still two years away.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW THIS MORNING

> Today is 4/20, an annual day of observance for many weed enthusiasts (but not a holiday, the Vancouver School Board reminds students), which is sure to be marked by some haziness around Parliament Hill. As the Liberals mull how to legalize consumption of the plant, the C.D. Howe Institute suggests letting each province work out a system that's best for it. A poll by Angus Reid says most Canadians support legalization, and want it to be sold in standalone dispensaries. Meanwhile, Health Minister Jane Philpott and Liberal MP Bill Blair – a former Toronto police chief and Trudeau's point man on pot – are at the United Nations for an international meeting on drug policy.

> International Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland says she is comfortable with the Liberals' decision to export weaponized vehicles to Saudi Arabia. Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion told The Globe that Ms. Freeland was the only other minister he consulted when signing the permits earlier this month. The Liberals yesterday rejected a bid by the NDP and Conservatives to set up a special committee of MPs to scrutinize arms exports.

> Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett says the Catholic Church is morally obligated to raise the rest of the $25-million it said it would for residential school survivors, even if the church was legally let off the hook. Some of the survivors told The Globe the Catholic entities' decision made them "extremely angry."

> The Liberal government says it will address long wait times for employment insurance questions at call centres.

> Colin Kenny, a senator lately in the news, is being investigated by an ethics watchdog over allegations he used his Hill staff to do personal work for him.

> A $2-billion rail link to Ontario's Ring of Fire development could be the beginning of more Chinese investments in Canadian rail, a team of Chinese engineers says.

> And Justin Trudeau says there definitely won't be a referendum on electoral reform. "Many of the people, and I'm not accusing you directly, sir, who propose…we need a referendum, well they know that the fact is that referendums are a pretty good way of not getting any electoral reform," Mr. Trudeau told a group of University of Ottawa students.

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WHAT EVERYONE'S TALKING ABOUT

"Manitoba voters couldn't forgive Greg Selinger for betraying his promise not to raise the provincial sales tax. And on Tuesday, they threw his NDP party out of power, in favour of the Progressive Conservatives and their leader, Brian Pallister, someone who arrives in office with serious issues of his own when it comes to trust and honesty." – Gary Mason.

Campbell Clark (Globe and Mail): "The pledge to raise $25-million wasn't a legal indemnity. The fundraising campaign was supposed to be part of the church's process to reconcile its part in the residential schools tragedy. And, it seems, the government never imagined they would ask for a legal let-off." (for subscribers)

Bruce Anderson (Globe and Mail): "If you wanted to derail environmentalism in Canada, you couldn't dream up a better scheme than the Leap Manifesto."

Lysiane Gagnon (Globe and Mail): "Not only does Bill C-14 go further than the Quebec law, it is more radical than almost anything elsewhere. Only four countries (Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Colombia) allow active euthanasia; five American states and Switzerland allow assisted suicide."

Tim Harper (Toronto Star): "A government that went big on refugees, purports to go big on climate change with a prime minister given to big, sweeping pronouncements instead went small in physician-assisted dying."

Jen Gerson (National Post): "So being impressed by a politician's intelligence based on these sideshows is a little like believing Benedict Cumberbatch is a genius because he plays Sherlock Holmes on TV. This is not to suggest that Trudeau is as flakey as his critics contend. In fact, my sense of him is that he's as intellectually curious as he is amiable."

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