Hello,
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has declared Canada in mourning at the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the longest reigning monarch in British history. She died Thursday, aged 96.
“She was one of my favorite people in the world and I will miss her so,” Mr. Trudeau said in Vancouver where he was attending a cabinet retreat, and had been expected, until developments around the Queen’s health, to make an affordability announcement.
“She had an obvious, deep and abiding love and affection for Canadians.”
Mr. Trudeau noted that he was the twelfth prime minister the Queen dealt with. “I am having trouble believing that my last sit down with her was my last,” he said.
“I will so miss those chats. She was thoughtful, wise, curious, helpful, funny and so much more. In a complicated world, her steady grace and resolve brought comfort and strength to us all. Canada is in mourning. She was one of my favorite people in the world and I will miss her so.”
Governor-General Mary Simon offered deepest condolences to the Royal Family at the news.
“Canadians across the country will mourn the loss of The Queen. Let us take a moment to honour Her Majesty’s memory in each of our own ways,” Ms. Simon said in a tweet.
Interim Conservative Leader Candice Bergen said, in a statement, that the Queen’s sense of duty to Canada was both deeply held and demonstrated in her actions.
“As Queen of Canada, she was not only a witness to our historical evolution as a modern, confident, and self-assured nation – she was an active participant. She was with us to open the St. Lawrence Seaway. She presided over our centennial celebrations. Later, she even opened the Olympic Games in Montreal,” Ms. Bergen said.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, who was taking part in a caucus meeting in Halifax, issued a brief statement to reporters to express sadness at the passing of the Queen on behalf of his party.
“For many Canadians, Elizabeth represents the only monarch they’ve known in their entire lives. She served over 70 years as monarch and lived a life of service,” he said. “. She also represents stability, and the loss is going to be felt.”
Europe Correspondent Paul Waldie reports here from England. There are live updates here.
There is an obituary here on Queen Elizabeth II.
And John Fraser, the founding president of the Institute for the Study of the Crown in Canada and the author of The Secret of the Crown, writes here on how Queen Elizabeth, a perfect and unobtrusive sovereign, subtly shaped Canada
This is the daily Politics Briefing newsletter, written by Ian Bailey. It is available exclusively to our digital subscribers. If you're reading this on the web, subscribers can sign up for the Politics newsletter and more than 20 others on our newsletter signup page. Have any feedback? Let us know what you think.
TODAY'S HEADLINES
DETAILS ON DENTAL PLAN - Families with young children will be eligible for cheques worth up to $650 a child under an interim version of the Liberal government’s new dental care plan, which it has agreed to implement as part of a parliamentary deal with the NDP. Story here.
BANK OF CANADA TO PUSH BORROWING COSTS HIGHER; DEP. GOVERNOR - Bank of Canada senior deputy governor Carolyn Rogers said the central bank intends to keep pushing borrowing costs higher and that a period of lower economic growth will be necessary to bring inflation back under control. Story here. Meanwhile, Canada’s real estate slump is about to deepen, as the rising cost of borrowing pushes more buyers out of the market, economists predict. Story here.
UKRAINAN CONGRESS PUSHES FOR TOUGHER MEASURES AGAINST RUSSIA - The Ukrainian Canadian Congress is urging Ottawa to stiffen sanctions against Moscow and suspend travel visas for Russians, expel the country’s envoy and designate the Russian Federation as a state supporter of terrorism. Story here.
SASKATCHEWAN MANHUNT ENDS - A four-day manhunt for Myles Sanderson, a suspect in one of Canada’s deadliest mass killings, ended with his death after a high-speed chase on a Prairie highway Wednesday afternoon, about 130 kilometres away from the scene of the attacks. Story here. There’s an Explainer here on the attacks, the victims and the RCMP response.
QUEBEC ELECTION - Coalition Avenir Québec Leader François Legault says he regrets that English-language content was published on his party’s website. Story here. As CBC reports here, Mr. Legault has also apologized for comments he made citing the threat of “extremism” and “violence” as well as the need to preserve Quebec’s way of life as reasons to limit the number of immigrants to the province.
B.C. GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES RELIEF MEASURES -The British Columbia government says it will tackle rising costs of food, fuel and other necessary goods with a series of targeted relief measures that include increased tax credits and family benefits worth $600-million, along with a cap on rent hikes at 2 per cent. Story here.
CONSERVATIVE LEADERSHIP RACE
CAMPAIGN TRAIL - Jean Charest is in Montreal. Leslyn Lewis is in her Haldimand-Norfolk riding. Pierre Poilievre is in Ottawa. There is no word on the campaign whereabouts of Scott Aitchison and Roman Baber.
COUNT UNDERWAY - The Conservative Party says the vote on their party’s next leader will be determined by 417, 987 ballots that have been accepted and are being counted. In a statement Thursday, the party said 437, 854 ballots were received by a Tuesday deadline, but 3 per cent were rejected for incomplete ballot packages such as missing ID and missing signed attestations. The election is being conducted through a point system that gives all ridings equal weight. In total, 678, 702 party members were eligible to vote. The winner will be announced on Saturday.
FIVE QUESTIONS FOR PIERRE POILIEVRE - As the Conservative leadership race winds down, and with many expecting Pierre Poilievre, the veteran Conservative MP, to be named the party’s next leader, there’s a look here at some of the pressing questions he hasn’t yet answered – and is likely to face in the next general election.
THIS AND THAT
COMMONS NOT SITTING – The House of Commons is not sitting again until Sept. 19. The Senate is to resume sitting on Sept. 20.
NEW ROLE FOR HANN - Cory Hann, who was communications director for the Conservative Party of Canada for eight years until March of this year, has a new professional role. Mr. Hann is the new vice-president of communications and marketing for the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, the advocacy agent of Jewish Federations across Canada. Mr. Hann began his new post on Aug. 29.
THE DECIBEL
Thursday’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast features Ben Mussett as part of a look into how a federal law banning single-sports betting was reversed last year through Bill C-218, leading to a proliferation of sports betting companies operating in Canada along with an explosion in sports betting ads on social media, billboards, and in televised sports games. Mr. Mussett talks about how this change comes at a time when other countries, like the U.K., have decided to curb sports betting advertising because of concerns about addiction and problem gambling. The Decibel is here.
PRIME MINISTER'S DAY
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in Vancouver, participated in a call hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden. A scheduled affordability announcement was replaced by the Prime Minister delivering a statement on the death of Queen Elizabeth II. The Prime Minister had been scheduled to attend a party fundraising event in Surrey, but it was not clear if it would proceed.
LEADERS
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, at the caucus retreat in Halifax, made an announcement, and was scheduled to go canvassing with Nova Scotia NDP Leader Claudia Chender, and then participate in a meet and greet.
OPINION
The Globe and Mail Editorial Board on the prospect of a constitutional crisis linked to the proposed Alberta Sovereignty Act: “A Queen’s representative refusing to sign legislation, because that legislation is obviously illegal, would trigger a constitutional crisis. It’s why two other top candidates for the UCP leadership, Brian Jean and Travis Toews, have gone after Ms. Smith’s plan. So has New Democratic Party Leader Rachel Notley. So has outgoing Premier Jason Kenney. At a news conference on Tuesday, the soon to be ex-Premier said that, “a government that pretends it can, at will, set aside any court decision, ignore the Constitution, is deciding to deliberately undermine the rule of law.” He described it as “banana republic,” “contrary to conservative principles,” “a cockamamie idea that is, according to its own authors, a step toward separation,” and the “No More Pipelines Act.”
Tanya Talaga (The Globe and Mail) on how the beast of addiction in Indigenous communities remains untamed: “We have seen what happens when we fail to deal with the social fallout of residential schools and racist policies such as the Indian Act. There have been countless reports warning against continued inaction by Canada – from the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s four volumes, to the National Inquiry on Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls. So it is time for Canada to take responsibility and enact a giant Marshall Plan of change. Come together with our communities. Listen to Indigenous peoples and leaders. Bring true reconciliation to that cold, empty word that has left us in a state of seemingly inevitable, violent flux. Myles Sanderson’s story is all too familiar. But it doesn’t have to be.”
Konrad Yakabuski (The Globe and Mail) on how immigration has taken centre stage again on the Quebec election campaign trail: “It wouldn’t be an election campaign in Quebec without a debate about immigration. Elsewhere in the country, elections come and go without much talk about immigration. A broad consensus exists on the topic across the political spectrum and political parties rarely, if ever, seek to differentiate themselves on the issue. That, it seems, is the Canadian way. In Quebec, however, immigration has become a hot-button issue that features prominently in party platforms. The issue played a determining role in the 2018 campaign as the Coalition Avenir Québec’s signature promise to slash the number of newcomers the province accepts each year propelled it to victory over the Quebec Liberal Party.”
Wesley Wark (The Globe and Mail) on how a spying scandal reminds us of Canada’s lack of espionage vision: “The only question for Canada is not whether to spy, but how best to do it. Running a spy service out of the back pocket of CSIS is not the answer, especially since other opportunities abound. We should start by building a much greater capacity for “open source” intelligence, which badly underperformed against the so-called “Freedom Convoy” earlier this year. We could do more spying from space; spy satellites come in bite-sized cubes these days, and launch costs are low.”
Got a news tip that you’d like us to look into? E-mail us at tips@globeandmail.com. Need to share documents securely? Reach out via SecureDrop.
Ian Bailey