Hello,
Canada has finalized a $19-billion deal to purchase 88 F-35 fighter jets to replace its aging fleet of CF-18s, ending more than a decade of deliberations.
The first F-35s will be delivered in 2026, and the CF-18s are to be phased out entirely by the end of 2032, Defence Minister Anita Anand told a news conference Monday.
The new aircraft are part of a deal with the U.S. government, aerospace company Lockheed Martin Corp. and aircraft engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney.
“The F-35 is a modern, reliable and agile fighter aircraft used by our closest allies in missions across the globe. It is the most advanced fighter on the market and it is the right aircraft for our country,” Ms. Anand said.
“The F-35 provides pilots with enhanced intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, greatly improving their situational awareness and survivability in today’s high-threat operational environment.”
The fighter jet has a maximum speed of Mach 1.6, or 1,975 kilometres an hour, and a range of 2,200 kilometres. It also has a service ceiling of 18,300 metres.
Full story here.
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TODAY'S HEADLINES
THREE AMIGOS SUMMIT UNDER WAY - The leaders of Canada, Mexico and the United States are in Mexico for the Three Amigos summit, which comes against a backdrop of political crises in Mexico. Story here. Meanwhile, business leaders are urging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his U.S. and Mexican counterparts to adopt more of a “Team North America” approach when they meet in Mexico City this week. Story here.
POILIEVRE ADVISED TO CONSIDER LESS ANGRY APPROACH - Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre must do more to attract women voters to win a majority in the next election, including “hitting the anger button” less often, say observers, including a senior adviser to former Tory prime ministers. Story here.
MORNEAU CRITICIZES FORMER BOSS - Former federal finance minister Bill Morneau sees a bright future for Canada. What he doesn’t envision is Prime Minister Justin Trudeau leading the country to this promised land. Story here.
JAPAN’S PRIME MINISTER IN OTTAWA THIS WEEK - Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s first official visit to Canada this week comes as Tokyo looks to Canada to provide much-needed liquefied natural gas. Mr. Kishida is set to arrive Thursday in Ottawa from London before heading to Washington. Story here,
FAMILIES OF FLIGHT 752 VICTIMS VOW TO HOLD IRAN ACCOUNTABLE - The families and friends of those who died when a Ukraine International Airlines flight was shot down by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard say they won’t give up their quest for accountability and justice as they gathered in several Canadian cities to mark the third anniversary of the attack. Story here. Meanwhile, Canada is imposing sanctions on two Iranian individuals and three entities over human right violations. Story here.
NEW YUKON PREMIER - Cabinet Minister Ranj Pillai has been acclaimed as new leader of Yukon’s Liberal Party and, as a result, the territory’s premier. Story here.
COMMONS COMMITTEE MEETS ON X-MAS TRAVEL CHAOS -The House of Commons committee that handles transportation issues is meeting at 3:30 p.m. ET on Monday afternoon, to discuss an opposition-backed request for an emergency hearing on the treatment of Via Rail and airline passengers this holiday season. Story here from CTV. You can watch the hearing here.
CLARK DEPARTS PATTISON JOB - Former B.C. premier Glen Clark has resigned from his executive position with the company of B.C.’s most successful businessman, Jim Pattison. “I don’t think it’s big news, is it? I just turned 65,” said Mr. Clark. Story here from the Vancouver Sun. Mr. Clark told The Tyee – story here – he would be open to running BC Housing, which develops, manages and operates subsidized housing in the province.
APPEAL REJECTED FOR NON-CHRISTIAN PRAYER AT N.B. LEGISLATURE - The New Brunswick legislature has flatly rejected a request for a one-time reading of a non-Christian prayer at the opening of an upcoming sitting day. Story here from CBC.
THIS AND THAT
HOUSE ON A BREAK – The House of Commons is on a break until Jan. 30.
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER’S DAY - Chrystia Freeland held private meetings in Toronto, and was scheduled to attend a virtual meeting of Five Eyes Finance Ministers, chaired by U.S. Treasury Secretary, Janet L. Yellen.
MINISTERS ON THE ROAD - International Development Minister Harjit Sajjan is in Barbados as part of a Caribbean tour that will include stops in Jamaica before it ends on Jan. 14. Filomena Tassi, the Minister for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, made a tourism and infrastructure announcement in Dundas, Ont.
PRIME MINISTER'S DAY
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Sophie Grégoire Trudeau departed Canada for Mexico City to attend the North American Leaders’ Summit. After arriving on Monday, Mr. Trudeau was scheduled to participate in the North American CEO Summit, meet with Daniel Servitje, the chairman and chief executive officer of Grupo Bimbo. The Prime Minister and Ms. Grégoire Trudeau were also scheduled to attend a dinner given by Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, and his spouse, Beatriz Gutierrez Muller.
LEADERS
No schedules released for party leaders.
THE DECIBEL
Monday’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast features Globe technology reporter Temur Durrani talking about what has gone wrong with Shopify, once the most valuable company in Canada. The Decibel is here.
PUBLIC OPINION
In his first Data Dive of 2023, available here, Nik Nanos – the official pollster for The Globe and Mail – says Canadians think the country is headed in the wrong direction, and that the finding means trouble for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
OPINION
The Globe and Mail Editorial Board on how the Trudeau government’s hiring sprees need to end: “The Senate, that bastion of sober second thought, made the news late last year when it adopted a budget for 2023-24 that clocked in at a heady $126.7-million. The figure shocked people inside and outside the Senate, because it represented a 70-per-cent increase over the budget in fiscal 2015-16, the year the Trudeau Liberals came to power. In just eight fiscal years, the annual cost of the Senate to taxpayers has jumped from $74.5-million to its current allocation. The upper chamber’s administrative costs alone are rising 8.6 per cent this year compared to last, a pace that outstrips the country’s elevated inflation rate, which hit 6.8 per cent in November.”
Gary Mason (The Globe and Mail) on how, to no one’s surprise, UBC botches Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond’s departure: “This week, the university confirmed that it no longer employs Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, the celebrated academic, lawyer and former judge. As for why, well, the school won’t say, which, of course, is ridiculous. We all know why: because of the compelling evidence that she isn’t who she says she is. Except UBC won’t say that. The school is hiding behind ‘privacy’ concerns, yet told Postmedia that the president’s advisory committee on Indigenous affairs is having ‘conversations’ about the matter.”
Louise Blais (Contributed to The Globe and Mail) on how Canada’s relationship with Mexico must go beyond trade: “As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, U.S. President Joe Biden and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador prepare to participate in the North America leaders summit in Mexico City on Tuesday, this is an opportunity to reflect on the sleeper story: why Canadians and Mexicans do not truly appreciate the untapped potential of their bilateral relationship.”
Don Braid (Calgary Herald) on how Prime Minister Justin Trudeau trash talking Alberta climate action is drawing a hot response from Alberta Premier Danielle Smith: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is either clueless about what’s going in Alberta, or cares nothing for the truth. That’s the unpleasant choice in his inflammatory remarks about provincial action on climate change. “One of the challenges is there is a political class in Alberta that has decided that anything to do with climate change is going to be bad for them or for Alberta,” Trudeau said in an interview with Reuters, the business news service with a worldwide audience. This is trash politics based on ignorance or myth, whatever you might think of Alberta’s “political class.”
Matt Gurney (TVO) on what the troubles of the Ontario Liberal Party mean for the federal Liberal party: “So now I start to wonder. How much of the success of the Trudeau Liberals, since 2015, has been at least partially due to the strength of the Ontario Liberal Party in the years before that? How many volunteers who won tough ridings for Trudeau in 2015, 2019, and 2021 cut their teeth winning tough ridings for Dalton McGuinty and Kathleen Wynne? How many candidates and staff found success as federal Liberals after spending time on the job as provincial ones? I don’t want to overstate the case; the federal Liberals can also draw on candidates, staffers, and volunteers from Quebec and the Atlantic provinces. It’s not all about Ontario. But, gosh, it’s a lot about Ontario.”
Kaitlin Peters (Policy Options) on building an anti-racist child-care system in Canada: “Currently, the bilateral agreements negotiated between the federal government and the provinces and territories to establish $10-per-day child care commit to monitoring and reporting on inclusion goals for vulnerable populations. But these agreements do not go far enough in specifying how governments plan to provide child care that is anti-racist in its programming and delivery.”
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