Stuck in the middle

A daily look inside Canadian politics and power.

Aug 12, 2022 View in browser   By Maura Forrest Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Maura | Follow Politico Canada WELCOME TO OTTAWA PLAYBOOK. I'm your host, Maura Forrest. Today, we bring you the case for sticking to the political center. Also, can Ottawa help solve the health-care crisis? Did someone forward Ottawa Playbook your way? Click here to sign up for your own edition. It's free! DRIVING THE DAY THE MUSHY MIDDLE — A handful of centrists gathered in Edmonton Thursday to prove that Conservatives can still be boring. Spoiler: They can! The Let's Grow, Canada! conference, organized by the recently launched advocacy group Centre Ice Conservatives, was an attempt to bring together moderate voices — those who no longer feel they have a home in JUSTIN TRUDEAU's Liberal party or the Conservative party as imagined by PIERRE POILIEVRE. As Centre Ice co-founder RICK PETERSON said loudly and often, however, it was NOT about starting a new political party. — In reality, the event was an odd mix of wide-eyed idealism and brooding angst about political polarization. "Most of us are in the middle," said keynote speaker and former B.C. Liberal premier CHRISTY CLARK . "So surely … the things that we value as a country and that I think are imperiled by this divisive debate are important enough that we are going to put aside our differences and come together." Clark summed up the state of Canadian politics as a race to the fringes on the left and right, a sentiment echoed by many of the conference panelists. "You're trying to preserve that middle political path that has saved Canada so many times and that has preserved our country," she told those in attendance. — The conference tried hard to be about ideas, with sedate panels on growing the economy, the energy transition and foreign policy. But it couldn't escape the elephant in the room that is the Conservative leadership race, whose frontrunner clearly had few supporters present. Clark, who said JEAN CHAREST would make a "fantastic" prime minister, didn't mention Poilievre by name when discussing those right-wing fringe-chasers. Neither did Globe and Mail columnist ANDREW COYNE, when he said the Conservatives are about to "run themselves off a cliff." In that room, they didn't need to. — But at one point, popular Edmonton talk show host RYAN JESPERSEN tackled the issue head-on. "[Poilievre supporters] have been presented with something that makes them feel like there's a sense of belonging, like there's a political home for them, like they're understood, like their priorities are being addressed," he said. "Centrist politics has to do that." A truism often repeated at Thursday's conference was that most Canadians lie somewhere in the middle of the political spectrum, even as the major parties make a dash for the extremes. — But if it's true that many Canadians are politically homeless, it's not clear they see this group as their home (though, as Peterson would like to stress, this is NOT a political party). A spokesperson said there were about 100 people in the room on Thursday — the YouTube livestream never cracked 50 viewers, as far as Playbook could tell. — We'll give the line of the day to Jespersen: "They say centrist isn't sexy. I wonder if perhaps, strategically, maybe it just doesn't play best," he said. "Because ultimately, this is about gaining traction politically. … Isn't it?" It's one question the blue Liberals and red Tories in attendance didn't seem quite prepared to answer. — A quick aside: Actually, the real line of the day has to go to Clark, who had this to say about Alberta UCP frontrunner DANIELLE SMITH's promise of a sovereignty act to allow Alberta to ignore federal laws: "I think that is batshit crazy." (Cue cheers and a standing ovation from the Edmonton crowd.) — For more on the federal leadership race: CBC News has launched an interactive feature comparing the platforms of the five candidates. And the Toronto Star's STEPHANIE LEVITZ has this look at get-out-the-vote efforts . TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU is in Costa Rica. 8:30 a.m. Command of the Royal Canadian Air Force will be transferred to Lt.-Gen. ERIC KENNY from Lt.-Gen. AL MEINZINGER during a ceremony in Ottawa. Gen. WAYNE EYRE, chief of the defense staff, will preside over the ceremony. 10:30 a.m. Fisheries Minister JOYCE MURRAY will be in Iqaluit to announce a new marine stewardship initiative in the Arctic. 10:45 a.m. Agriculture Minister MARIE-CLAUDE BIBEAU will be in Greater Sudbury to announce funding for agri-food business innovation and expansion in northern Ontario. 11:30 a.m. Federal public health officials will give an update on monkeypox in Canada. 11:30 a.m. Housing Minister AHMED HUSSEN will make an announcement about homelessness in Toronto. 1 p.m. (10 a.m. PDT) Employment Minister CARLA QUALTROUGH will be in Vancouver on International Youth Day to announce funding for youth-led projects to improve accessibility and disability inclusion. 2 p.m. (12 p.m. CST) Families Minister KARINA GOULD will be in Regina to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the federal child-care agreement with Saskatchewan. For your radar "A CAMPAIGN AGAINST JOURNALISTS" — As more female journalists in Canada report receiving threatening, racist, misogynistic messages , some media outlets are fighting back. On Thursday, Toronto Star public editor DONOVAN VINCENT wrote in a column that the Star, the Hill Times, Global News and the Canadian Association of Journalists have sent a letter to the chiefs of police in Toronto and Ottawa and several federal ministers, including Public Safety Minister MARCO MENDICINO. "A key point of the letter is that the harassment seems to be part of a campaign against journalists," Vincent wrote. "We'll wait to see what comes of this effort. But I'm certain about one thing: the voices under attack will not be silenced." MIXED MESSAGES — Ontario Health Minister SYLVIA JONES would like to reassure you that, despite what you've been reading about emergency room closures and staff shortages, the province's health-care system is not in crisis . Also, she would like you to know that " all options are on the table " when it comes to fixing the situation that is not a crisis, and those options may or may not include privatization, which is not a word she said herself. Also, she would like you to know that you will always be able to access health care without paying out of pocket, whether or not the province embraces privatization (a word she did not say) to solve the problem that is definitely not a crisis. So that's where we are. —  From the Globe and Mail's ROBYN URBACK : "The catastrophe that is the current state of Ontario's health care system is visible to anyone who interacts with it, which eventually, will be everyone. The minister only makes herself seem appallingly uninformed by pretending otherwise." — To be fair to Jones, Ontario's situation is hardly unique. Hospital beds are being closed in communities across Alberta. The amount of money Quebec has spent on private health-care workers has quadrupled in the past five years in response to the labor shortage. New Brunswick is also reporting temporary closures to health units. — What's Ottawa's role in all this? Give more money, the provinces would be quick to say. But this week, health experts are offering another suggestion. The federal government should come up with a national system for tracking medical professionals, they say, to make it easier to address problems before they become crises (not that this is a crisis). "We're at the end of many years of poor planning and lack of planning," Canadian Medical Association president KATHARINE SMART told the Globe and Mail's CARLY WEEKS . "Now suddenly we're in a dire situation." — Related listening: On the latest episode of the Herle Burly podcast , former premiers CHRISTY CLARK, KATHLEEN WYNNE and STEPHEN MCNEIL discuss the state of healthcare. HOUSING PRICE DROP — Desjardins economists have some good news or some bad news, depending on your perspective. In a report Thursday , they said they expect home prices to drop 23 percent by the end of next year from their peak in February 2022. That's a significant revision from their June forecast, when they predicted a 15 percent drop. They attribute the change to weaker housing data and more aggressive rate hikes from the Bank of Canada than expected. — Good and bad: "Both home sales and prices have contracted quickly and are likely to fall further over the next 18 months," the report reads. "While we don't want to diminish the difficulties some Canadians are facing, this adjustment is helping to bring some sanity back to Canadian real estate." Desjardins said it expects the central bank's policy interest rate to top out at 3.25 percent this year — it's currently at 2.5 percent — and that the bank will begin cutting rates by the end of next year. — What's next: Statistics Canada will next report inflation numbers on Aug. 16. The Bank of Canada's next rate announcement is scheduled for Sept. 7. — Related: Tumbling commodity prices "could mean the worst of inflation is over," the CBC's KYLE BAKX reports . SUMMERTIME READS Here's our summer 2022 reading list so far .  Today's recommendation comes from SCOTT REID, principal at Feschuk.Reid and panelist on The Curse of Politics: GUY DELISLE's "Factory Summers" is an incredible, accessible read: — It's a memoir of his youth working summers at the pulp & paper mill in Quebec City, somewhere between growing up and grown up. Between high school and what comes next. Between your parents' world and your world. It's a story with which a million people can identify. — It's a graphic novel which, for many, will be a discovery. And it's a good thing to attract new people to the format. — It's Canadian. Delisle might be Canada's least well-known international sensation. His books are award-winning and brilliant. And he stands among a long line of Canadian cartoonists to excel in the unique sub-genre of first-person, biographical storytelling, including SETH, CHESTER BROWN and KATE BEATON. Send us your reading suggestions — your brain food and your guilty pleasure! We'll share them here. MEDIA ROOM — For the Toronto Star, ALEX BALLINGALL reports that national security adviser JODY THOMAS told the federal Cabinet "there was potential for a breakthrough" with the Freedom Convoy protesters — the night before the Liberals invoked the Emergencies Act. — Meta is warning Canadian legacy newsrooms that "their future won't include a blank cheque from Facebook," former CRTC vice-chair PETER MENZIES writes for the Line . — StrategyCorp's ZAHRA KHAN and SÉBASTIEN LABRECQUE write a column in Policy Options about the lack of public data and how it's a barrier to understanding how inflation is hitting racialized minorities. — In case you missed it, FRONT BURNER considers the lessons for Canada in the U.S. climate bill. — HOWARD ANGLIN shares his "undefinable worldview" in the latest in a Hub series on Canadian conservatism. PROZONE For POLITICO Pro subscribers, catch up to our latest policy newsletter: What Cabinet knew before invoking Emergencies Act. In other news for subscribers: — U.N.-chartered ship to carry first wheat out of Ukraine. — EU's ambitions on climate disclosures run up against U.S. wall. — Newsom releases long-term water plan for a hotter, drier California. — California committee axes bill to make companies liable for addicting kids online. — Federal watchdog approves Google program to let campaigns skip spam filters. PLAYBOOKERS Birthdays: HBD to ROY ROMANOW, 12th premier of Saskatchewan; former senator ANNE COOLS, the first Black member of the Senate; and former Liberal MP SCOTT SIMMS. Publisher KENNETH WHYTE also celebrates today. Celebrating Sunday: Senator TONY LOFFREDA, former politician GARY CARR, retired senator RAYNELL ANDREYCHUK and GORDON THIESSEN, sixth governor of the Bank of Canada. Send birthdays to ottawaplaybook@politico.com . Spotted: Immigration Minister SEAN FRASER, stuck in an elevator during Toronto's power outage … Labor Minister SEAMUS O'REGAN sharing a stage with Unifor President LANA PAYNE … "Wonderful Wednesdays" are a thing again for the B.C. branch of the Liberal Party … Conservative MP SHELBY KRAMP-NEUMAN driving from the southern point of her riding to the north in a day with intern MADI. Conservative strategist MICHAEL DIAMOND mailing in his leadership race ballot . Foreign Affairs Minister MÉLANIE JOLY making lahmajoun in Scarborough, Ont. with Liberal MP JEAN YIP … Conservative MP MATT JENEROUX is in Iqaluit, Nunavut . Media mentions: CBC News' JULIA WONG is reporting from Washington, D.C. all August … ODETTE AUGER is IndigiNews' new managing editor and ANNA MCKENZIE is " communications aunty/senior aunty ." Movers and shakers: KHAWAR NASIM, the former acting consul general of Canada in New York, has landed a new exec gig with Boyden Canada . TRIVIA Thursday's answer: PHIL PRITCHARD is the "Keeper of the Cup." Props to NANCI WAUGH, DOUG RICE, ROBERT MCDOUGALL and DOROTHY MCCABE.  Friday's question: What provincial legislature is known as the Pink Palace? Send your answers to ottawaplaybook@politico.com Playbook wouldn't happen without Luiza Ch. Savage and editor Sue Allan.   Follow us on Twitter Nick Taylor-Vaisey @TaylorVaisey Sue Allan @susan_allan Andy Blatchford @AndyBlatchford Maura Forrest @MauraForrest Zi-Ann Lum @ziannlum POLITICO Canada @politicoottawa   Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook  |  Playbook PM  |  California Playbook  |  Florida Playbook  |  Illinois Playbook  |  Massachusetts Playbook  |  New Jersey Playbook  |  New York Playbook  |  Ottawa Playbook  |  Brussels Playbook  |  London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters Follow us

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