| | | | |  | | By Zi-Ann Lum and Sue Allan | Presented by Amazon Canada | Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Ottawa Playbook | Follow Politico Canada Thanks for reading Ottawa Playbook. Let's get into it. In today's edition: → Calgary Mayor JYOTI GONDEK tells Playbook that the affordability issues facing cities are “very stark.” → Energy Minister JONATHAN WILKINSON has thoughts on Biden’s LNG exports freeze. → A co-captain of the PM’s resurrected “Team Canada” is heading to Washington.
|  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | 
“I'm a taxpayer," says Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek. "I don't like having my taxes increased, either.” | Jeff McIntosh, The Canadian Press | COWTOWN BOOM AND GLOOM — Barring the recent cold snap, trends show Calgary is a hot destination for migration. Every day an average of 60 people move to Calgary, Mayor JYOTI GONDEK told Playbook in an interview last week. “That's a very stark way to paint the picture,” she said in the library of Calgary’s historic city hall building. “We have not seen this before.” — After “Alberta is calling”: The influx puts pressure on municipalities to make sure people have places to live and reliable infrastructure, such as transport, to help communities thrive. More immigrants (from Canada and abroad) also means higher demand for schools, hospitals and daycare in a city of 1.4 million and growing. “We have very little control over those things,” Gondek said. Read the full interview for Pros here . — Bigger picture: Growing pains in an era of high inflation are not unique to Calgary and concerns about municipal budget shortfalls are not new. “Mayors across this country have delivered this message for years. This year, we are trying to demonstrate how stark things have become,” Gondek said. By law, municipalities cannot run a deficit, unlike the provincial/territorial and federal governments. — Doing the unpopular thing: To bridge the gap created by a C$311 million shortfall, Calgary city council approved a 7.8 percent property tax hike for 2024 — something other big cities have done. “We have to deliver the services and projects to Calgarians based only on one certain and predictable source of revenue and that's property tax,” Gondek said. “I'm a taxpayer. I don't like having my taxes increased, either.” — Budget ask: With Ottawa bureaucrats in budget-making mode, Gondek wants a new funding deal with the feds. She welcomes federal government reps to make the five-hour flight to Calgary to see first hand what’s happening. “We've got folks that are having trouble accessing proper transportation options,” she said. — For the record: The same can be said for Ottawa, a city where chit chat about bad transit bridges ideological divides.
| | | | A message from Amazon Canada: Amazon has invested more than $40 billion in Canada since 2010, contributing more than $33 billion to the GDP. Our 2023 Amazon Canada Impact Report shares the latest details of how Amazon is helping transform the potential of communities from coast to coast by creating more than 45,000 jobs; supporting small businesses; investing in renewable energy; developing diverse talent pools; and showcasing Canadian stories and talent across the globe. Learn how Amazon is delivering for Canadians. | | | | | For your radar | | ATODASO — Energy Minister JONATHAN WILKINSON says U.S. President JOE BIDEN’s freeze on new LNG export approvals reflects a shift that the U.S. is now considering its climate implications — and he’s “really happy” about it. “I spoke to people in the U.S. administration a couple of years ago about liquefaction and using electricity to do it so you actually significantly reduced the carbon intensity of the LNG, and they hadn't really even considered it,” Wilkinson tells Playbook. “My hope is that what we will see coming out of this is policies that actually look a lot like what we've already done.” A chorus of Canadian energy producers have voiced consternation over Biden’s decision. Enbridge CEO GREG EBEL told the Calgary Herald the move offers Canada a rare “second chance” to emerge as a global LNG leader. Canada currently has no LNG export facilities in operation. LNG Canada in Kitimat, British Columbia, is expected to be ready to ship its first exports in 2025. — Ottawa’s climate to-do list: By June, Wilkinson said, the government expects to bring forward amendments to the Impact Assessment Act in response to last fall’s Supreme Court decision that found swaths of the hallmark environmental law largely unconstitutional. — What’s next: Wilkinson tells Pro he’ll head to Germany in a few months to work with hydrogen stakeholders on how to “actually crystallize this from a business perspective.” The work follows a Canada–Germany Hydrogen Alliance agreement signed between Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU and Germany Chancellor OLAF SCHOLZ in August 2022 to get transatlantic fuel deliveries going in 2025. | | ALSO FOR YOUR RADAR | |
BEEN THERE, DONE THAT — KONRAD VON FINCKENSTEIN was still in front of the House ethics committee when the Conservative MPs in the room hit their socials.
“BREAKING NEWS,” tweeted Conservative MP LARRY BROCK who devoted one turn of inquiry to reading details of the prime minister’s Jamaican getaway into the record — “white sand beach” … “ eight-person hot tub” … “private compound” … “golf on site.” The interim conflict of interest and ethics commissioner explained to MPs that his office has all but moved on from thinking about Trudeau’s holiday stay. — Play the tape: “He consulted us. We advised him. They went to Jamaica,” von Finckenstein told MPs. “If it had not been an acceptable gift, it would have had to be reported on our website. Thirty days have passed, and nothing has been reported.” He told MPs his office determined PETER GREEN to be “a true friend” of Trudeau — one of more than 50 years — with “no relations with the government of Canada.” — For the record: The commissioner told MPs that “pre-clearance” is not a term he’d have used to describe his input on the travel plans. “I'm not responsible for the spokesman of the prime minister in the way he characterizes our interaction, I can only tell you what happened,” he said. “BREAKING,” tweeted Conservative MP MICHAEL BARRETT. “The Ethics Commissioner confirms he doesn’t pre-approve trips … Trudeau got caught lying about paying for his own expenses and his story changed three times. What else is Trudeau lying about?” Later in the House, Barrett asked: “When will the House leader and the prime minister start telling Canadians the truth?” — For more on ETHI: Here’s RYAN TUMILTY in the Post and MARIEKE WALSH in the Globe and ELIZABETH THOMPSON of CBC News. — Related, unrelated: MPs on ETHI agreed to hit up the House procedure committee with recommendations for overhauling the way Parliament handles international travel. — Parting advice: Somewhere in the two-hour session, NDP MP MATTHEW GREEN offered MPs some guidance he credited to a former football coach: “If you have to ask, you ought not be doing it.”
| | | | A message from Amazon Canada:   | | | | | Where the leaders are | | — Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU is in Ottawa with caucus at 10 a.m and QP at 2 p.m. — Deputy PM CHRYSTIA FREELAND will attend the national caucus meeting. At 12:30 p.m., she will meet with the Assembly of First Nations as part of pre-budget consultations. — Neither Conservative Leader PIERRE POILIEVRE nor Bloc Québécois Leader YVES-FRANÇOIS BLANCHET have released public itineraries for Wednesday. — NDP Leader JAGMEET SINGH has caucus at 9:30 a.m. and plans to attend QP.
| | DULY NOTED | | 9 a.m. Public Safety Minister DOMINIC LEBLANC and Justice Minister ARIF VIRANI have a press conference with Ontario Premier DOUG FORD in Aurora, Ontario, to talk about crime prevention and auto thefts. A media availability will follow. 12 p.m. (11 a.m. CT) The Canada Border Services hosts a photo-op in Winnipeg, teasing “the largest seizure of narcotics in Prairie history.” 1:15 p.m. Health Minister MARK HOLLAND, Citizens’ Services Minister TERRY BEECH, Labor and Seniors Minister SEAMUS O’REGAN have a date with TV cameras in West Block to deliver an update on the Canadian Dental Care Plan.
| | | 2024 WATCH | | |  International Trade Minister Mary Ng will spend Friday in Washington with a meeting with Canada's ambassador and the CABC on the books so far. | AFP via Getty Images | FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — International Trade Minister MARY NG is Washington-bound Friday as the Liberal government’s reassembled “Team Canada” gets moving on U.S. election prep. A preliminary itinerary, according to a senior government official, includes meetings with Canada’s Ambassador to the U.S. KIRSTEN HILLMAN and the Canadian American Business Council. Team Canada 2.0. co-lead Industry Minister FRANÇOIS-PHILIPPE CHAMPAGNE will not be tagging along on the end-of-week day trip.
| | PAPER TRAIL | | TAKE A BITE OF THIS — A nearly complete set of Q4 fundraising numbers are in with updated figures from the Liberals missing from the bunch as of Tuesday evening. According to the latest filings to Elections Canada, the Conservative Party led the pack, fundraising C$11,927,281 from 66,245 donors. Fundraising efforts were no doubt helped by a viral apple video of leader PIERRE POILIEVRE browbeating a South Okanagan newspaper editor during the same quarter, amplifying his profile and appeal to potential new donors. — New record: The Q4 result means Conservatives brought in more than C$35 million last year, smashing a record set by the party in 2019 when it boasted C$30.9 million in donations, setting an all-time record high for political party fundraising. — Leaderboard tallies: The NDP brought in a million more than they did during the third quarter, with $2,652,842 collected from 19,289 donors. The Bloc Québécois almost netted seven-figures with contributions form 6,506 donors totalling C$964,608. Supporters for the People’s Party of Canada, 5,148 donors to be exact, continue to keep the party afloat, contributing C$649,493 in the last quarter.
| | MEDIA ROOM | | |  US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly, and Canadian ex-diplomat Michael Kovrig on the sidelines of the 78th United Nations General Assembly. | AP | — “I feel obligated to set the record straight”: MICHAEL KOVRIG writes in POLITICO about what happened when he was arbitrarily detained in China as a human bargaining chip for 1,019 days. — Top of POLITICO this hour: Democrats risk a new progressive rebellion as Biden embraces border deal. — Overnight via The AP: Ex-Pakistani Prime Minister IMRAN KHAN sentenced to 14 years for corruption. — Former Republican Congressman and ex-OpenAI board member WILL HURD tells POLITICO Tech host STEVEN OVERLY that AI is too powerful to be left in the hands of a few Silicon Valley players. — The House has voted that Speaker GREG FERGUS will keep his job. The Canadian Press has the story. — CBC News’ KATE MCKENNA and PHILIP LING report on a massive “months-long” security breach at Global Affairs Canada. — Globe and Mail columnist ANDREW COYNE writes: The Federal Court’s Emergencies Act ruling isn’t what some Canadians think it is. — ABC Vancouver park board commissioner ANGELA HAER is vying for the Conservative nomination to challenge Liberal incumbent TALEEB NOORMOHAMED, reports DAVID CARRIGG in the Vancouver Sun.
| | | | A message from Amazon Canada: Since the launch of Amazon.ca in 2002, Amazon’s investments have had a positive ripple effect across the Canadian economy, fueling job creation and opportunity for local businesses, communities, and customers.
Amazon Canada’s 2023 Impact Report in a snapshot:
- Since 2010, Amazon has made direct investments of more than $40 billion in our Canadian operations, contributing more than $33 billion to the GDP.
- We’ve created 45,000 jobs with competitive pay and benefits.
- Amazon’s four renewable energy projects in Canada will generate more than 2.3 million MWH of clean energy – enough to power 1.69 million Canadian homes.
- Thousands of Amazon employees have participated in Career Choice, which empowers them to learn new skills in industries including transportation, technology and logistics.
- Amazon MGM Studios contributed $1.4 billion in estimated value added to the Canada GDP between 2021 and 2022, with more than 30 scripted and unscripted productions during this period.
| | | | | PROZONE | | Our latest policy newsletter for Pro subscribers from ZI-ANN LUM, KYLE DUGGAN and SUE ALLAN: Wilkinson shares his to-do list. Just published via Pro's ZACK COLMAN: Biden needs his young climate voters. But they’re angry about the war in Gaza. In other news for Pro subscribers: — Companies raise alarm to save e-commerce customs duty moratorium. — UK postpones energy security conference till 2025. — EU trade chief presses US on critical mineral pact. — Hochul's chance to reshape New York's utility regulator. — Carnegie Mellon's Jonathan Caulkins on what Canada does better on cannabis.
| | PLAYBOOKERS | | Birthdays: HBD to former Quebec Liberal leader DOMINIQUE ANGLADE (50!). Greetings also go to Bloc Québécois MP LUC THÉRIAULT. Birthdays, gatherings, social notices for this community: Send them our way. Spotted: Liberal MP ROB OLIPHANT toasting former Ontario Premier DAVID PETERSON’s 80th birthday … Liberal MP DARREN FISHER teasing that he’s chatted with the PM about “an exciting and challenging new Parliamentary role.” Industry Minister FRANÇOIS-PHILIPPE CHAMPAGNE, en route to Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, asked about being mocked by PIERRE POILIEVRE: “Listen, I don’t spend much time about this guy honestly. But what I care about is Canadians. No one knows him in Québec anyway. … Mention his name in Quebec and if you find people who know him, please give me their name.” A Supreme Court decision on DOUG FORD’s mandate letters dropping Friday. At least two dozen pro-Palestinian activists spending part of their Tuesday evening protesting in front of Princess Gate at Rideau Hall. Alberta Premier DANIELLE SMITH drinking a can of ginger ale with a super long plastic straw to troll Calgary’s single-use plastics ban. Movers and shakers: The PM has doled new parliamentary secretaries positions to ÉLISABETH BRIÈRE (PS to Mental Health and Addictions Minister YA'ARA SAKS); ANTHONY HOUSEFATHER (PS to Treasury Board President ANITA ANAND); and YASIR NAQVI (PS to Health Minister MARK HOLLAND). MONA FORTIER has a new job as deputy government whip. Former PMO staffer BRETT THALMANN has launched a new firm, Nexus Strategic Consultants, with ARTHUR LAM, former ministerial adviser to MARY NG and NAVDEEP BAINS. Media mentions: Former Hill reporter RACHEL GILMORE has joined adtech industry watchdog Check My Ads as an investigative reporter. Send Playbookers tips to ottawaplaybook@politico.com.
| | ON THE HILL | | — It’s caucus day on the Hill. The Senate returns Feb. 6. → Find House committees here. → Keep track of Senate committees here. 10 a.m. Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions Assistant Superintendent Tolga Yalkin will hold an hour-long virtual press conference about the release of the regulator’s final integrity and security guideline. 1 p.m. Bloc Québécois MP JEAN-DENIS GARON will hold a media availability in West Block about his private member’s bill (Bill C-290) related to whistleblowers. The House will vote on the bill after Question Period. 4:30 p.m. Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister GARY ANANDASANGAREE, Métis National Council President CASSIDY CARON and Cabinet ministers will deliver opening remarks at the Diefenbaker Building at the top of a meeting to discuss the Canada Métis-Nation Accord. 4:30 p.m. Procurement Ombudsman ALEXANDER JEGLIC will be at the House committee on government operations and estimates as it continues to study the ArriveCAN app. 4:30 p.m. The House defense committee will hear from ROBERT OLMSTED of Sirva Worldwide Inc. before turning off the cameras to discuss a draft report on threat analysis affecting Canada and Canadian forces. 4:30 p.m. The House veterans affairs committee will be in camera to discuss a draft of its report on women veterans. 4:30 p.m. The House industry committee will study Bill C-27 with help from VASS BEDNAR (McMaster University), ANDREW CLEMENT (University of Toronto) and NICOLAS PAPERNOT (University of Toronto and Vector Institute). At 6:30 p.m., LEAH LAWRENCE, who stepped down in November as president and CEO of Sustainable Development Technology Canada, will appear. We're tracking every major political event of 2024 on a mega-calendar. Send us events and download the calendar yourself for Google and other clients.
| | TRIVIA | | Tuesday’s answer: “It’s not just a big hole. It’s an obstacle," former AFN national chief OVIDE MERCREDI said of the Indian Act during a Crown-First Nations gathering in 2012. Props to JOHN ECKER, BRANDON RUSSELL, BOB GORDON, MARCEL MARCOTTE, JOANNA PLATER, MATT DELISLE and ROBERT MCDOUGALL. Wednesday’s question: Who was the first Black cabinet minister in Quebec history? Answers to ottawaplaybook@politico.com Want to grab the attention of movers and shakers on Parliament Hill? Want your brand in front of a key audience of Ottawa influencers? Run a Playbook ad campaign. Contact Jesse Shapiro to find out how: jshapiro@politico.com. Playbook wouldn’t happen without: POLITICO Canada editor Sue Allan, editor Willa Plank and Luiza Ch. Savage. | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | 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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