Upstaging POTUS

Mar 23, 2023

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Thanks for reading the Ottawa Playbook. I'm your host, Nick Taylor-Vaisey. HAN DONG resigned from the Liberal caucus last night after Global News published explosive allegations about the MP’s relationship with Chinese diplomats. Earlier in the evening, a former prime minister returned to Ottawa to unload on his successor. Also, it's JOE BIDEN time.

DRIVING THE DAY

CRISIS MANAGEMENT — SAM COOPER's latest scoop spread like wildfire last night. HAN DONG denied everything, but announced in the House that he will sit as an independent MP as he works to clear his name.

COREY HOGAN spoke for the mystified masses:

"So either a government MP sold out their countrymen for political gain, our national security apparatus is totally out of control, or a major broadcaster is fabricating things. Cool. Cool."

Now there's an issues management curveball for the Liberal government on the eve of a bilateral check-in with the most powerful politician in the world.

Here's the CBC's CATHARINE TUNNEY with the scene on the Hill.

Stephen Harper in Ottawa, March 22, 2023.

Stephen Harper in Ottawa, March 22, 2023. | Adrian Wyld, The Canadian Press

HE'S BACK — The last time this many conservatives were in Ottawa at the same time, STEPHEN HARPER lived at 24 Sussex Drive. Now he's back. And so are they.

The blue-hued crew filled the Westin's fourth-floor meeting rooms for the annual Manning Centre conf—sorry, crap, the Canada Strong and Free Network conference. This year's theme is all about “working for the middle class.”

(No mention of "those working hard to join it.")

It's not exactly PRESTON MANNING's show anymore, but he was in the house for an opening night fireside chat with Harper, the returning hero, back on a high-profile Ottawa stage less than 24 hours before U.S. President JOE BIDEN rolls into town.

What did the conservative warhorses have to say?

— Joke of the day: "Only JAGMEET SINGH could walk into a room with JUSTIN TRUDEAU and come out with a deal that gets him nothing," said Harper. (Singh's NDP would counter with a burgeoning federal dentalcare program.)

— A long-awaited critique: Harper has mostly shied away from speaking poorly of his predecessor. But on the Westin stage a short walk from the Hill, Harper slammed the government's record. He complained of a "policy war" against working people, inflation created "out of thin air," an "elite-driven" climate change agenda and tax hikes "across the board" that managed to spare major corporations.

— What about Covid? “Every government went into deficit,” Harper said of worldwide pandemic spending in response to the deadly virus. “But some did it a lot more than others.”

— The peanut gallery: "Honestly, I have seen this show so many times I went and drank in the Shore Club," said a politico who's been around the block.

— A sunnier review: "An energized Stephen Harper clearly excited about the future of the conservative movement. Ultimately, the beneficiary of tonight is PIERRE POILIEVRE, who had two statesmen on stage singing his praises — which only serves to unite the party behind him in the next election" — LAURA KURKIMAKI, a longtime Hill staffer

— Joke #2: Harper celebrated the old Reform Party's fidelity to the grassroots, including a reliance on small donors that formed the basis of the modern Conservative fundraising machine. "That system doesn't include support from foreign governments," he deadpanned. "I just thought I would mention that. I don't know why. I hear it's topical."

VOTE FOR BEER — You know the Conservatives smell opportunity when JENNI BYRNE fires up Twitter (unless she's tweeting about the Habs).

Byrne retweeted Beer Canada VP LUKE CHAPMAN's support for a Tory motion that called on the government to cancel a planned increase on the federal alcohol excise tax.

Playbook has written about the intense lobbying campaign from the nation's big brewers. They won over Tory leader PIERRE POILIEVRE, whose non-binding motion to cancel the tax hike cleared a Commons vote late Wednesday. The Bloc Québécois and NDP joined the Tories in overwhelming the Liberals.

— Synergy: Labatt, a CSFN sponsor, hosted a reception immediately following the Harper/Manning fireside. WADE KELLER, the brewery's director of corporate affairs for Atlantic Canada, even helped Meta public policy head RACHEL CURRAN intro the former PM himself.

TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS

— Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU is in private meetings. Trudeau and SOPHIE GRÉGOIRE TRUDEAU will host JOE and JILL BIDEN at Rideau Cottage at 8:30 p.m.

2 p.m. (11 a.m. PT) Indigenous Services Minister PATTY HAJDU is in Kamloops with Kúkpi7 ROSANNE CASIMIR of Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc and COLLEEN ERICKSON, chair of the First Nations Health Authority. They'll make a funding announcement.

3:45 p.m. NDP leader JAGMEET SINGH will meet with the Canadian Dental Hygienists Association.

For your radar

President Joe Biden.

President Joe Biden, Jan. 12. | Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

HE'S (ALSO) HERE — Only 792 days after his swearing-in, President JOE BIDEN lands in Ottawa this evening for a 26-hour visit. The Canadians wanted more, but they're scoring an overnight POTUS stay — which the bromantic BARACK OBAMA never delivered for his progressive pal to the north. Call it a wash.

— The agenda: Biden will meet Governor General MARY SIMON when he arrives. He'll make his way to an informal evening hang with Simon's tenants, JUSTIN TRUDEAU and SOPHIE GRÉGOIRE TRUDEAU, at their residence on the Rideau Hall grounds.

The president will meet again with Trudeau and several Cabinet ministers Friday morning before delivering an address in Parliament. Across the street at the Macdonald Building, they'll hold a joint news conference (something Biden has not done of late with foreign leaders visiting the White House, POLITICO White House bureau chief JON LEMIRE tells us).

Biden's entourage includes Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN, National Security Adviser JAKE SULLIVAN and Homeland Security Adviser LIZ SHERWOOD-RANDALL.

The visit will conclude with a Friday gala dinner at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum with a guest list in the hundreds — including seven of Trudeau's Cabinet ministers. They'll toast each other surrounded by the Air Force's former warriors of the sky.

The remnants of Canada's doomed Cold War interceptor, the Avro Arrow, stand sentinel on the museum's sprawling showroom floor. Auto parts exec FLAVIO VOLPE, who's sure to be in the room, will have a golden chance to hype his own Project Arrow ZEV prototype.

Are you on the guest list for the gala? Do you know what's on the menu? Do you know who has the worst seat in the house? Your secret is safe with Playbook (and our many rapt readers). Spill!

Revelers can enjoy a cross-border nightcap at an afterparty co-hosted by the Canadian American Business Council and Canada2020. The venue remains a closely guarded secret, but it'll have to accommodate more than 300 afterpartiers.

— No side trip: Rumors circulated for weeks that the Canadian side lobbied for the trip to include a site visit outside of Ottawa. The Prime Minister's Office wouldn't confirm those details, but a senior government official in a Tuesday technical briefing said one of the "primary goals" was "sharing as much time as possible between the two leaders."

DONOR CIRCUIT — Remember that PIERRE POILIEVRE fundraiser in the GTA planned for Friday that we told you about earlier this week? It has vanished from the Tory website. We asked the leader's office and the party for a comment. Spokesperson SARAH FISCHER said the event was "rescheduled for a later date to be confirmed."

— Related: A senior U.S. administration official briefing reporters said Biden will have a "pull-aside" meeting with Poilievre. The president will also "have an opportunity to shake hands and exchange pleasantries with all of the opposition party leaders," the official said.

BUDGETMAKING 201 — AMITPAL SINGH, a former policy adviser to both CHRYSTIA FREELAND and BILL MORNEAU, published the second part of his Substack series on the policy and politics that drive government thinking on federal budgets.

— An excerpt: Following tense discussions with the Prime Minister's Office, budget proposals are triaged and grouped into three buckets: policy under consideration, policy-out, and policy maybe.

The first grouping represents what the minister will actually review via a “2-pager” — a succinct briefing of what's on offer.

At this point, department officials seek to push back against so-called “empire building.” Bureaucrats seek to control the scope of proposals, and limit the total number of under consideration.

Meanwhile, the kids-in-short-pants in the minister's office seek to build said “empire” — casting the widest-possible policy net that affords the minister the most latitude, all while intently building the context for the PMO’s preferred political story.

Once items are green-lit for review, likeminded policies are organized into a series of binders that begin flowing by mid-December. Aspiring stakeholders who wait for formal pre-budget consultations to open in January fall behind the eight-ball. The minister's all-important budget proposal reviews are already underway.

— Check out Singh's full post here.

MEDIA ROOM

The TikTok logo is shown.

Governments in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand and across Europe have moved to ban the use of TikTok on officials’ phones. | Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

— From POLITICO: What the hell is wrong with TikTok?

— And from our colleagues in LONDON: The end of BORIS JOHNSON.

— The Star's ROB BENZIE surveys the awkwardness in Conservative circles brought on by Volkswagen's recent investment in Canada. PIERRE POILIEVRE has complained about federal silence on taxpayer-funded corporate incentives. Also silent about potential subsidies? DOUG FORD's gang, which copies and pastes Ottawa talking points.

— Elsewhere in the Star, DAVID RIDER gives voice to the rumors that OLIVIA CHOW is being beckoned by allies to join Toronto's mayor race. "She's listening," reports Rider.

— Today's budget leak via NAJOUD AL MALLEES: Budget 2023 to detail crackdown on ‘junk fees’ for consumers.

— KEN BOESSENKOOL argues on The Line that DAVID JOHNSTON was the wrong pick for rapporteur. This line jumped out: "A key problem with our politics today is not too much partisanship, but rather too little. I believe our political parties are too weak, not too strong.”

PLAYBOOKERS

Birthdays: HBD to JODY WILSON-RAYBOULD, Conservative MP RICHARD MARTEL, Quebec Green Party leader ALEX TYRRELL, Manitoba MLA RALPH EICHLER, former P.E.I. NDP leader LARRY DUCHESNE and former Quebec politician MARIE MALAVOY.

HBD + 1 to Mainstreet Research pollster QUITO MAGGI.

Do you have a birthday coming up? Does a colleague? Send us the dates and we'll tell the world.

Spotted: Former PM STEPHEN HARPER, posing for photos at Fatboys in the ByWard Market with a long line of loyalists and curious politicos.

Bloomberg reporter BRIAN PLATT, tweeting the rimshot of the day from a flag-draped Wellington Street … DOUG FORD, regaling reporters with tales of a barber-induced disaster on a recent trip south of the border (seriously).

Movers and shakers: In the heated race for the Tory nomination in a yet-to-be-called Oxford byelection, party outreach coordinator ARPAN KHANNA scored the endorsement of former leadership candidate ROMAN BABER.

MATT BONDY, former deputy chief of staff to Premier DOUG FORD, is Enterprise Canada's newest vice-president (and Kitchener-based southwestern Ontario lead).

PROZONE

If you’re a subscriber, don’t miss our latest policy newsletter from MAURA FORREST: Freeland vows restraint en français.

From POLITICO's MYAH WARD: Biden and Trudeau to mix thorny issues with niceties.

In other Pro headlines:
— That lingering USMCA auto dispute.
— ECB's Lagarde: Market turmoil may help inflation battle.
— Treasury lays out roadmap for clean energy tax credits.
— Yellen: Treasury not looking to expand deposit guarantee.
— TikTok fervor sparks push for U.S. data privacy legislation.

On the Hill

→ Find the latest House committees here

→ Keep track of Senate committees here

9 a.m. The Senate energy committee meets to continue its study of climate change and Canada’s oil and gas industry.

9 a.m. The Senate fisheries and oceans committee meets to hear from government officials about the independence of commercial inshore fisheries in Atlantic Canada and Quebec.

9 a.m. The Senate agriculture and forestry committee will continue its study of soil health.

11 a.m. Health Minister JEAN-YVES DUCLOS will appear before the House health committee to discuss estimates and departmental plans. Mental Health and Addictions Minister CAROLYN BENNETT will follow at 12 p.m.

11 a.m. Conservative MP PHILIP LAWRENCE will speak to the House foreign affairs committee about his private member’s bill, C-281.

11 a.m. The House science and research committee will continue its study of support for the commercialization of intellectual property.

11 a.m. The House finance committee will resume its study of inflation in the current Canadian economy.

11 a.m. The House transport committee will meet to discuss large port infrastructure expansion projects in Canada.

11:30 a.m. Justice Minister DAVID LAMETTI will be at the Senate legal and constitutional affairs committee to take questions on Bill C-9.

11:30 a.m. The Senate social affairs committee meets to hear from witnesses about Bill C-22, which would create a new Canada disability benefit.

11:30 a.m. The Senate banking and commerce committee meets to discuss business investment in Canada.

3:30 p.m. The House international trade committee meets to hear from witnesses including the Canadian Canola Growers Association, Chicken Farmers of Canada and the International Cheese Council of Canada related to its study of Bill C-282.

3:30 p.m. The House heritage committee will continue its study of safe sport in Canada.

3:30 p.m. The House fisheries and oceans committee will continue to examine ecosystem impacts and management of pinniped populations.

3:30 p.m. The House status of women committee will continue its probe of human trafficking.

3:30 p.m. The House public accounts committee meets to consider an auditor general’s report on Covid-19 vaccines.

— Behind closed doors: The House veterans affairs committee meets to work on two upcoming reports; the House environment committee will consider its draft report on fossil fuel subsidies.

TRIVIA

Wednesday’s answer: The Stanley Cup was originally called the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup.

Props to J.D.M. STEWART, GEORGE YOUNG, KEVIN BOSCH, SHAUGHN MCARTHUR, NANCI WAUGH, ALLAN FABRYKANT, GERMAINE MALABRE, TRACY SALMON, TEVY PILC, SHANE O’NEILL, JENN KEAY and ETHAN SPENCER.

Today’s question: Who wrote the following words: “In my culture, we start telling the story of what the life of an individual should come to represent from the earliest age. The story I was told about myself was that I was born and expected to lead. It was not — is not — a choice. It is a responsibility I hold to my community, my people, and, indeed, to myself.”

Send your answer to ottawaplaybook@politico.com

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