Canada
Trudeau's leadership questioned as Parliament returns
As MPs return to work in Ottawa, questions are swirling about Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's future as leader of the federal Liberals. The pressure is growing on Trudeau to resign as Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre enjoys a 20 point lead in the polls, with no more than 12 months to go until the next federal election. On Global National, Mackenzie Gray explains how Trudeau is about to face what could be the most serious challenge to his leadership and how many Liberals have reportedly signed a letter calling for his resignation.
Former B.C. premier Christy Clark interested in replacing Trudeau if PM steps down
In a statement sent to Radio-Canada in French, Clark wrote that she was open to returning to public life and "would like to be part of the discussion about the future direction of the Liberal Party and the country." Clark, 58, who served as premier from 2011-17, also wrote that "Canadians are tired of politicians who think that fear mongering and divisiveness will win an election and gain power." Your periodic reminder that, though some have tried, no one who has ever served as a premier has gone on to become a prime minister.
The Provinces
NB Liberals to form majority government, Holt becomes first female premier
Liberal Susan Holt will be the province's first female premier. It looks like someone campaigning as a Liberal can actually thump a Conservative. Susan Holt's Liberals win a majority, defeating Blaine Higgs' PCs.
Higgs loses own riding as PCs take devastating election blow
New Brunswick Progressive Conservative leader Blaine Higgs will no longer be the representative for Quispamsis. Liberals haven't won Quispamsis since 2006. Higgs has only himself to blame. He looked like he was mailing it in. The campaign was 32 days long. He had no public events on 10 days. THe campaign platform was 2 pages long and consisted of a promise to cut the HST. The winner, Liberal Susan Holt, took 2 days off and made 100 promises in her party's platform.
A look at Susan Holt, Liberal premier-designate of New Brunswick
Before politics: CEO of the Fredericton Chamber of Commerce, CEO of the New Brunswick Business Council, civil servant, business lobbyist, advocate, consultant and executive with an IT service company that trains and employs Indigenous people.
Barring recount upsets, expect a BC NDP government with Green support
Vaughn Palmer Barring the unlikely scenario of the Conservatives flipping enough seats to give them an outright majority, I expect Eby, and the New Democrats will remain in office with at least the tacit support of the Greens. Already there’s talk of a scenario where Eby prolongs his stay in office until a change of government at the federal level. The New Democrats could then capitalize on the anticipated backlash against the Pierre Poilèvre-led Conservative government. If that seems premature, if not downright presumptuous, it is entirely in keeping with the tone set by Eby after the NDP’s near defeat.
Sask. Party’s Moe says he was unaware of kids’ identities in change room complaint
Sask. Party's Scott Moe says he didn't know an NDP candidate's two children and their use of a school change room were the subjects of a complaint when he made an election promise. Moe said last week his first order of business, if his party is re-elected Oct. 28, would be to ban "biological boys" from using school changing rooms with "biological girls."
NDP says audio recording shows dissent among Sask. Party members
"Scott Moe has failed our students, teachers and parents — and his own candidates agree," Saskatoon Eastview [NDP] candidate Matt Love said Monday at a campaign stop in Saskatoon.
[Press release] Pallas Data: Most Accurate Polling Firm of 2024 British Columbia Election - Pallas Data
Pallas Data is the most accurate polling firm for the 2024 British Columbia provincial election. Pallas’ final poll only had 3% total error from the preliminary election results. This was the lowest total error of the ten polling firms that released estimates of British Columbians’ voting intentions ahead of the October 19th vote. While Pallas Data did end up taking first place, it is worth noting that nearly every polling firm provided close estimates of British Columbians’ intentions.
Elsewhere
China holds live-fire drills opposite Taiwan, a week after large-scale exercise
China is holding live-fire drills off the coast of its southern Fujian province that faces Taiwan. The new exercises Tuesday are taking place just a week after China held a massive air-and-sea drill it called punishment for Taiwan’s president rejecting Beijing’s claims of sovereignty.
Putin hosts BRICS summit in Russia under shadow of Ukraine war
Russia wants the BRICS summit to showcase the rising clout of the non-Western world, but Moscow's partners from China, India, Brazil and the Arab world are urging President Vladimir Putin to find a way to end the war in Ukraine.
Media
CBC head pressed by MPs over billing $6K for Paris Olympics stay
CBC president Catherine Tait claimed $6,000 in expenses for attending the Paris Olympics. Tait told MPs questioning the costs that she was at the Games in an official capacity
Science and tech
It’s Time to Build the Exoplanet Telescope
uch a telescope would peer deeper into the universe than any before it, answering fundamental questions: are we alone? What do Earth-like exoplanets around other stars look like? How did we get here? What weird stuff awaits discovery? Where is the limit on human ambition to know what is in our universe? The Monster Scope answers these questions.
The Calendar
- 1000 ET: West Block - PM Trudeau meets with his cabinet.
- 1000 ET: Ottawa - LPC MP Julie Dabrusin and Mona Fortier make a funding announcement
- 1100 ET: 410 Wellington - Foreign Affairs and International Development (FAAE) | Meeting 121 - Drafting report
- 1100 ET: 025-B West Block - Government Operations and Estimates (OGGO) | Meeting 147 - Drafting report
- 1100 ET: 430 Wellington - Health (HESA) | Meeting 133 - Opioid Epidemic and Toxic Drug Crisis in Canada
- 1100 ET: 420 Wellington - Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities (HUMA) | Meeting 130 - Advancements in Home Building Technologies
- 1100 ET: 125-B West Block - Official Languages (LANG) | Meeting 115 - Minority-Language Education Continuum
- 1100 ET: 225-A West Block - Procedure and House Affairs (PROC) | Meeting 128 - Review of the Members of the House of Commons Workplace Harassment and Violence Prevention Policy
- 1530 ET: 330 Wellington - Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics (ETHI) | Meeting 134 - Impact of Disinformation and of Misinformation on the Work of Parliamentarians
- 1530 ET: 025-B West Block - Finance (FINA) | Meeting 159 - Pre-Budget Consultations in Advance of the 2025 Budget
- 1530 ET: 430 Wellington - National Defence (NDDN) | Meeting 120 - Briefing on the Situation in the Indo-Pacific Region
- 1530 ET: 225-A West Block - Science and Research (SRSR) | Meeting 103 - The Mission, Mandate, Role, Structure and Financing of the New Capstone Research Funding Organization Announced in Budget 2024
- 1530 ET: 125-B West Block - Transport, Infrastructure and Communities (TRAN) | Meeting 132 - Drafting report
- 1530 ET: 420 Wellington - Subcommittee on International Human Rights of the Foreign Affairs and International Development (SDIR) | Meeting 58 - Patterns of Forced Migration in Different Regions of the World
Issued this day ...
… in 2004: Sc #2067. Art Canada: Jean-Paul Lemieux. Design: Gottschalk + Ash Intl.
There are nine artists featured in the Art Canada series that was issued between 2004 and 2012 and this series is the first, featuring the work of Québec artist Jean-Paul Lemieux (1904-1990). The Art Canada Institute entry on Lemieux notes he was a “painter, illustrator, critic, and teacher [and is], one of the most significant artists in the history of Canadian modernity. While Lemieux evolved on the margins of the principal art movements of his time, his oeuvre belongs with the great figurative exploration of the twentieth century. Born in Quebec City, he chose to pursue his artistic and teaching career in his native city. His art and his thought radiated outward from that centre for more than half a century.”
Each issue in this Art Canada series contains three pieces by the featured artist. On this stamp, we see Self-portrait (1974). Lemieux was 70 when he finished this work. “Self-portrait documents the stages of the old painter’s life,” the Art Canada Institute entry says. “With his back turned to the past, Lemieux looks out toward the spectator, and in his face we read all the loneliness of a man who sees time flowing inexorably away. Childhood, adolescence, and old age are seen here as they might appear in an image d’Épinal. The pictures placed against the white wall evoke earlier times in his life. Le visiteur du soir (1956) and Le cavalier dans la neige (1967), bear witness to the achievement of Lemieux’s artistic maturity. They appear as part of his biography, as players in their own right.”
You can see the original at the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec.