The united state of Conservatives

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Sep 12, 2022 View in browser   By Nick Taylor-Vaisey Send tips | Subscribe here | Follow Politico Canada Thanks for reading Ottawa Playbook. I'm your host, Nick Taylor-Vaisey, on the way to bucolic St. Andrews by-the-Sea where Liberal MPs are in the middle of a caucus retreat. (Want to meet at a local coffee shop? Drop me a line.) But first, we take stock of PIERRE POILIEVRE's massive victory — and chart what happens next. And keep reading for super-important details about our upcoming trivia night. Did someone forward you this edition? Click here to sign up for your own.  DRIVING THE DAY Saturday night in Ottawa. | Nick Taylor-Vaisey/POLITICO THE ELUSIVE U-WORD —Take it with a grain of salt. Calls for unity follow every leadership campaign in every political party. It'd be weird not to remind members, politicians and operatives that the battle is over and they should put away their knives. And yet. Unity was a rhetorical guest of honor at Saturday's leadership event, where PIERRE POILIEVRE ran away with the party's leadership. — Emcee DEB GRAY: "Left wing, center ice or right wing, we're all on the same team." — Former leader ERIN O'TOOLE, in a pre-taped video: "Where there is unity, there is always victory." — Interim leader CANDICE BERGEN, in her farewell: "Live, talk and walk unity." — New leader, Poilievre: "To supporters of all of these fine candidates, I open my arms to you. Now, today, we are one party serving one country." That rhetoric might be a reflex, but the scale of Poilievre's victory is unlike anything Conservatives have seen in their modern form. The Shaw Centre floor was clear about its preferences. O'Toole's unity call received a tepid ovation. It was like a typical show at the National Arts Centre — the first rows eventually stood, then everyone else slowly took their cue. Not an elegant exit for a leader the room wanted to forget. Bergen was received as an interim hero. Another pre-taped video featured dozens of caucus members thanking her for her service in the interregnum between O'Toole's exit and whatever was about to happen next. Translation: She saved caucus from self-destruction. Thank god. Poilievre's brief appearance in that video tribute prompted the evening's first roar, but not the last. The mood was electric when leadership vote organizer IAN BRODIE announced Poilievre the winner. Mission accomplished, for now. — What's next: Everybody is spoiling for a fight — in 2025, if not before. "This is the battle that Conservatives want, and it's the battle that Liberals want," GARY KELLER, a vice-president at StrategyCorp and seasoned vet of Tory politics, tells POLITICO. First up for Poilievre is a national caucus meeting scheduled for today at 10 a.m. at the Sir John A Macdonald Building on Wellington Street. Sixty-two MPs and seven senators in the room endorsed the new leader. Thirty-eight people did not. The caucus will need a shadow Cabinet before Sept. 20 when the House returns for the fall. Poilievre's picks for that team — from deputy leader to the least consequential critic portfolio — will be his first test of caucus management. A happy caucus is a unified caucus. Just ask Erin O'Toole. — Related listening: On CBC's Front Burner this morning: Understanding Pierre Poilievre, Part 1. MENDING FENCES — Just weeks before the result, some strident operatives insisted to Playbook that they'd never campaign for a party led by Poilievre. By Saturday, they'd changed their tune. And the scale of the victory appears to have dictated the scale of contrition from Poilievre's top rival. On Sunday morning, JEAN CHAREST urged supporters to get behind the winner — almost as if the relentless personal attacks had never occurred. "Let's move on, unite the party, and form the next government," he said in a video. Charest's campaign co-chair MIKE COATES also timed a National Post op-ed for the morning after. He credited Poilievre with tapping into a zeitgeist of anxiety. "There is an anger in the land, and half of Canadian society is looking for a clean break from the way politics is conducted," he wrote. "Mr. Poilievre's policies may have seemed at times provocative, but he captured an increasingly popular sentiment that is looking for the clearest break from the Liberals." — It's not like there aren't caveats: In her own morning-after thread, Charest press secretary LAURENCE TÔTH hoped "harmful and toxic behaviours will be denounced more and that they will not occupy the place they do in the (Conservative Party)'s offices." Only Harper has ever kept most of the party happy most of the time. Every leader since has left some members pining for the good old days. On Saturday night, no one on the convention floor, or in the pubs later on, was talking about Harper. HE REALLY WON BIG, GUYS — CPC godfather STEPHEN HARPER won the leadership convincingly in 2004 over BELINDA STRONACH. But he racked up only 56.2 percent of the available points, and finished second in most Atlantic and Quebec ridings. Poilievre won 68.15 percent of points, and carried the vote in a staggering 330 ridings. Charest won the remaining eight, six in Quebec and two in Ontario. Charest barely won a majority of votes in his hometown of Sherbrooke, Que. He came out on top in Toronto's University–Rosedale and Ottawa Centre — domains of professors and public servants, not anti-establishment rabble rousers. Still, Poilievre nearly outpaced Charest in CHRYSTIA FREELAND's University–Rosedale. The final vote tally there was 44.8 percent to 41 percent. His supporters live everywhere. LESLYN LEWIS managed second-place finishes across the Prairies, but she didn't repeat the 2020 feat of winning in Saskatchewan. She swung that year's vote to O'Toole. But this race needed no kingmaker. — Further reading: The Writ's ÉRIC GRENIER crunched riding-by-riding numbers in record time. Check out his detailed analysis. For your radar JENNI BYRNE IS JUST GETTING STARTED — Your Playbook host and POLITICO's ANDY BLATCHFORD penned a profile of Byrne, a 25-year veteran of Conservative politics. In 2011, she was the first woman to lead a national campaign to a majority win. After an unsuccessful bid to repeat the feat in 2015, Byrne was written off by bitter Tories as the architect of failure. (Others call the criticism unfair.) She sat out elections in 2019 and 2021, and worked behind the scenes — and out front — to end O'Toole's time as leader. She was a force on Poilievre's campaign. His resounding win was Byrne's first major triumph at the federal level in a decade-plus. Byrne was jubilant in the convention hall Saturday night, embracing MPs and sharing insights with CTV's EVAN SOLOMON on a TV riser at the back of the room. This was Poilievre's win. But party insiders all knew it was a huge moment for Byrne. Enemies consider her a ruthless, no-holds-barred politico. But she's also a compassionate conservative — once abandoning a campaign at a pivotal moment to fly across the country for the funeral of a colleague's mother. Everybody agrees on this: She's a Conservative for life. And she's nowhere near finished. Read the full story here. THE ESTABLISHMENT LIFE — For the longest time, the 9,500 sq.-ft. Rockcliffe mansion known as Stornoway showed few obvious signs it was an official residence for the leader of Canada's Official Opposition. If you knew, you knew. But the property is surrounded by other mansions. It doesn't really stand out — even as it's been home recently to CANDICE BERGEN (when she's in Ottawa), ERIN O'TOOLE, ANDREW SCHEER and RONA AMBROSE. — A new clue: The National Capital Commission that maintains the home spent part of the spring adding a little panache to the southeast corner of the property. Tall hedges once defined that view. In May, the NCC's in-house gardeners honored Dutch PRINCESS MARGRIET's visit with — what else? — a tulip garden that displaced the hedges. The princess was famously born in Ottawa during World War 2, and she spent her earliest years at Stornoway. For years, a waving Canadian flag was obscured by those hedges. Now, the flag waves freely, nestled behind the garden — a clear signal that someone important lives on the grounds, even if it's still not clear who. — Will PIERRE POILIEVRE move in? After all, he lives in a riding 25 minutes from Parliament Hill. A brief history lesson: The anti-establishment PRESTON MANNING at first refused to move into the taxpayer-funded home when his Reform Party finished second in the 1997 election. (Manning is also believed to have opted out of his parliamentary pension.) He joked that he'd turn it into a bingo hall. He eventually "bit the bullet," as one wag described it to Maclean's, to avoid insulting Ontarians. (An Ipsos survey at the time found 49 percent of the country supported the move; 45 percent felt the opposite.) Poilievre's camp has yet to respond to Playbook's query about whether or not the new anti-establishment leader has plans to move in. He's the only Official Opposition leader in the Stornoway era ever to represent a nearby Ottawa riding. But a move to Rockcliffe is likely. Playbook talked to a lot of Conservatives in recent weeks. None was willing to wager Poilievre would remain in his suburban home. — Another getaway: The Official Residences Act allows Cabinet to designate a summer home for the Official Opposition leader, similar to the prime minister's hideout at Harrington Lake. It's never come to pass. (The odds of this ever happening are precisely zero.) TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS 10 a.m. Supreme Court of Canada Chief Justice RICHARD WAGNER holds a media availability in Quebec City. 10 a.m. Conservative Leader PIERRE POILIEVRE will address his party caucus. 11:45 a.m. NDP leader JAGMEET SINGH is in Sudbury, where he'll meet with seniors. 12:45 p.m. (1:45 p.m. Atlantic) Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU is in New Brunswick for his party's caucus retreat. He'll interrupt the team-building exercises and session planning to deliver "brief remarks." The Star's ALEX BALLINGALL has a preview. 1:30 p.m. Singh visits Collège Boréal. 7 p.m. Former prime minister STEPHEN HARPER and former U.S. president GEORGE W. BUSH will take the stage at the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto's first in-person "Campaign Launch" event in three years. — Looking ahead, the House will sit in a special session on Thursday to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II. The queen's state funeral will take place Sept. 19. In case you missed it: The opening session of Parliament has been moved to Sept. 20. Talk of the town Save the date: Join us for a live edition of Playbook Trivia on Sept. 29 at 7:30 p.m. at the Metropolitain in Ottawa. Count on questions on everything from Canadian political history to current-day obsessions to pets that have lived at 24 Sussex. The smart people at McMillan Vantage are defending champs . The players from McMillan Vantage show off their win in Ottawa Playbook's first-ever in-person trivia night. | POLITICO/Zi-Ann Lum Book your table now — teams of up to six — first come-first reserved. RSVP here with the name of your team and its players. MEDIA ROOM A tourist takes a photo of a display commemorating Queen Elizabeth II at Piccadilly Circus in London on Sept. 11, 2022. | AP Photo/Markus Schreiber — With Russian forces in full retreat from Kharkiv, the Kremlin's efforts to create a glowing propaganda narrative are in tatters, POLITICO's Sergei Kuznetsov reports. — World leaders are scrambling for invites to "a funeral like no other," our colleagues in London report. POLITICO has also obtained documents outlining strict protocol rules for foreign dignitaries. For example, world leaders have been advised they'll be bused to Westminster Abbey en masse on Sept. 19 from a site in west London. POLITICO's MAGGIE MILLER writes: The queen's death opens the floodgates on self-rule campaigns. — RAISA PATEL has the latest on infighting in the federal Green Party. — PATRICK BRETHOUR reports that a multiyear hiring spree has swollen the ranks of public servants by nearly a third since the federal Liberals came to power in 2015. — From the Globe's TIM KILADZE: How BlackRock is navigating the market chaos — and a nasty ESG backlash. — In case you missed it, JACOB LORINC has the takeout on the massive Bell Media downsizing that pushed out LISA LAFLAMME.  PROZONE For POLITICO Pro subscribers, our latest policy newsletter from ZI-ANN LUM: The week ahead: Ottawa gets set to hit refresh. In other news for subscribers:  — Google vs. EU, Part 2: Record EU fine set for Wednesday ruling. — Big 5 EU countries push ahead with minimum tax rate. — Looking to crack down on commercial surveillance, the FTC is open to ideas. — White House renews call to 'remove' Section 230 liability shield. — New York declares 'state of emergency' as polio continues to spread. PLAYBOOKERS Birthdays: HBD to retired journo DON MARTIN, MNA MARGUERITE BLAIS and former MP JEAN-FRANÇOIS FORTIN. HBD + 2 to NDP MP MATTHEW GREEN. Send birthdays to ottawaplaybook@politico.com. Spotted: Governor General MARY SIMON watching KING CHARLES III breaking news on the CBC … Sen. DENISE BATTERS' party loyal manicure … DAKOTA KOCHIE and TAYLOR PROVAK: Hitched . U.S. Ambassador DAVID COHEN in Gander. (Welcome to the Rock.) Media mentions: ROBERT HILTZ is the new managing editor of Ottawa Magazine … STEPHEN BRUNT has announced that he's leaving Sportsnet ... The PAUL WELLS Show pod is set to launch this month with the Star and iPolitics as media partners. Condolences: VERA DELACOURT, mom of SUSAN and JOHN, died last week, "the queen of the hearts of so many around her in her nearly 90 years on this earth." Obituary and celebration of life details are here. TRIVIA Friday's answer: THOMAS MACKAY is said to have named Rideau Hall. In The Laird of Rideau Hall, a book published in February, author ALASTAIR SWEENY suggests credit really goes to Mackay's daughter. Props to RAY BUNGAY and ROBERT MCDOUGALL. Today's question: Who was the last incumbent prime minister to win a fourth consecutive term? Send your answer 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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