Politics Briefing: British leaders suspend campaign in wake of tragedy

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Good morning,

"The whole nation has been shocked by the death and injury in Manchester last night of so many people, adults and children, who had just been enjoying a concert," the Queen said this morning. Unimaginable tragedy struck Manchester last night, when a bomb exploded and killed at least 22 people, and injured dozens more, at a Ariana Grande concert.

Our latest information is here. In the early hours of sudden, incomprehensible attacks like this, not a lot is known: police have said the bombing was carried out by a single person who died in the blast, though Greater Manchester police have arrested someone this morning in connection with it. British political parties have temporarily suspended their campaigns. And even as we move on with our days, let's spare a thought for the victims: Ms. Grande was a musician with a lot of young fans and many of those who died were like 18-year-old Georgina Callander, a second-year college student studying health and social care, with a whole life ahead of her.

This is the daily Politics Briefing newsletter, written by Chris Hannay in Ottawa and Mayaz Alam in Toronto, with James Keller in Vancouver. If you're reading this on the web or someone forwarded this email newsletter to you, you can sign up for Politics Briefing and all Globe newsletters here. Let us know what you think.

CANADIAN HEADLINES

British Columbians could learn today whether the results of the provincial election -- which have so far pointed to a Liberal minority -- will stand. The BC Liberals were ahead in 43 ridings after the election, one shy of a majority, but the narrow margin of victory in the riding of Courtenay-Comox, where the NDP currently lead, has focused attention on the addition of absentee ballots this week. If the seat switches to the Liberals, it would give the party a majority. A recount in the riding yesterday increased the NDP lead slightly to 13, but there are nearly 2,100 absentee ballots in the riding that will be counted beginning today. For more on why officials are still counting ballots two weeks after the election, read our explainer about the process.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be going to Europe this week for NATO and G7 talks as world leaders prepare for their first roundtable discussions with U.S. President Donald Trump. The countries are expected to talk about the future of the transatlantic alliance, global warming and free trade.

The Bank of Canada will likely keep its policy rate unchanged this week as it continues to deal with mixed signals. Key economic indicators such as the rate of GDP growth and the unemployment rate have been showing positive trends and optimism about the economy's trajectory has been increasing, but uncertainty on the trade file and Canada's frothy real estate market are also on the Bank's mind.

The Conservative leadership race has entered its final days. Votes will be counted and a winner will be announced on Saturday.

The RCMP and China's Ministry of Public Safety have signed a deal to share intelligence as their police forces work to stem the flow of fentanyl.

And a majority of Canadians think the Liberal government should pardon those convicted of marijuana possession as it moves to make the drug legal, according to a Nanos poll commissioned by The Globe.

Rona Ambrose and Laura Dawson (The Globe and Mail) on how Canada should approach NAFTA talks: "For Canada, this means avoiding a drawn-out wrangling over long-standing bilateral irritants, such as softwood lumber and dairy, that have been dominating the headlines.Instead, we need to focus the negotiations on our common interest in ensuring that North America retains its dominant position in global supply chains. It's an approach that has worked before."

André Picard (The Globe and Mail) on health care in Canada: "We need to re-engineer the system, and one key element of the modernization needs to be better management. We need to spend a lot less time and money rejigging the organizational flow chart and focus on patient flow through the system."

Rosalie Abella (The Globe and Mail) on the state of democracy: "Here we are in 2017, barely seven decades later, watching 'never again' turn into 'again and again,' and watching that wonderful democratic consensus fragment, shattered by narcissistic populism, an unhealthy tolerance for intolerance, a cavalier indifference to equality, a deliberate amnesia about the instruments and values of democracy that are no less crucial than elections, and a shocking disrespect for the borders between power and its independent adjudicators like the press and the courts."

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INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES

U.S. President Donald Trump asked two top intelligence officials to defend him publicly as the FBI investigates whether there was collusion between his campaign and the Russian government. The two officials declined, the Washington Post reports. Mr. Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, has declined a subpoena from a Congressional intelligence committee to testify, as he says doing so could cause him to incriminate himself.

Mr. Trump is in Israel for a second day, where he pledged the United States' support for the country and for continuing to battle the Islamic State. Israel "never had and will never have a better friend than America," said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. During a press conference, though, Mr. Trump accidentally confirmed that Israel was the source of the sensitive intelligence he gave to Russia's foreign minister earlier this month.

And Brazil's startlingly large corruption investigation continues to spiral out of control, now ensnaring every living former president, a third of cabinet and more than half of the country's senators.

Shenaz Kermalli (The Globe and Mail) on the Trump-Saudi relationship: "After his presidential victory, Mr. Trump decided to give Riyadh the esteemed honour of hosting him on his first official foreign visit. And after a brief scare (by former U.S. President Barack Obama who held up an arms deal to Bahrain last year over human rights concerns), Riyadh has never been happier. After all, what do the deaths and suffering of thousands of Americans and Arabs mean when you have a billion-dollar arms deal on the table? Or when Mr. Trump's business ties in Saudi Arabia are booming with the recent opening of eight different enterprises?"

Eric Reguly (The Globe and Mail) on how to sell climate change to Trump: "Pleading for the sake of the planet's health might not do it, since Mr. Trump evidently believes the climate-change science is voodoo. But appealing to Mr. Trump's desire for energy security, tech innovation and job creation might do the trick." (for subscribers)

Matt Yglesias (Vox) with a liberal view on impeaching Trump: "It seems natural to expect that a successful impeachment would follow the Watergate template — the special prosecutor, the investigative reporting, the congressional select committee, the claims of executive privilege, the litigation, all unfolding over a period of years. But the winds of fate have dealt us a different hand, and the smoking gun is already in our possession. Trump should be impeached. Now."

Victor Davis Hanson (National Review) with a conservative view on impeachment: "We are now watching insidious regime change, aimed at removing the president of the United States not because of what he has done so far, but because of his personality and what he might do to the Obama agenda — and because for a verity of cultural reasons, our elite simply despises his very being."