Canada
PM: Conversations ongoing after byelection loss
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is facing pressure to resign because of his faltering popularity, and his party's shocking byelection loss in a Liberal stronghold makes his future even murkier. Mackenzie Gray reports on the challenge Trudeau faces, how some federal cabinet ministers are standing by their leaders and what some other caucus members are calling for.
James Aylward picked to run for Conservatives in Cardigan, as former candidate questions process
James Aylward has won the nomination for the Conservative Party of Canada in the eastern P.E.I. riding of Cardigan, but not without controversy. Liberal fortunes in Atlantic Canada are still terrible but, believe it or not, pollsters have found a slight uptick in their numbers. As a result, my model -- which is based on an aggregation of various pollsters -- has the incumbent in Cardigan, Liberal Lawrence MacAulay, holding this riding by the narrowest of margins -- 1 %! -- if an election were held this summer. That said, it's not clear MacAulay will offer again. He's had the seat since 1988 and he will turn 78 this fall. When I asked him a couple of weeks if he planned to run, he gave me a vague answer like "I'm always running!". So we'll see. Now if MacAulay does not run, the scale tips to the Conservative Aylward as my model includes an incumbent 'bonus'. With no incumbent -- and given Aylward's local profile, Cardigan could turn blue for the first time since Mulroney's 1983 majority.
Court hears accused in Coutts blockade thought protest could lead to 'war'
Chris Carbert and Anthony Olienick are on trial charged with conspiring to commit murder at the blockade, which tied up traffic for two weeks at the busy Canada-U.S. border crossing at Coutts in 2022 to protest COVID restrictions and vaccine mandates.
OttawaSpends update: The Trudeau file so far
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's first "press conference" since the Toronto-St Paul's by-election loss was Wednesday on home turf for him, in his Montreal riding of Papineau. While he took questions about a range of issues, the announcement itself was unique in that it was called so he could announced federal government funding for projects in his own riding.
Prime ministers generally don't do this and it's only the second time in this Parliament that Trudeau has done it: Hand out a federal cheque for a project in his own riding.
I'm drawing here on a database I maintain of each every federal spending announcemement extending back through five Parliaments, beginning with the Harper minority that was elected in 2008. In the current Parliament, the one that began in 2021, there have been more than 17,000 spending announcements, each one logged to note the minister responsible for the spending; the MP or minister who made the actual spending announcement and, where applicable, the riding where the money will be spent.
On Wednesday, Trudeau said three new community centres would be built in his riding using a combined $33 million worth of federal infrastructure funding. With Wednesday's announcement, the totals for the riding of Papineau for this Parliament now total 45 different projects receiving a combined $55.5 million.
FWIW, that's actually a bit on the low end for most ridings. The average riding in this Parliament has received a combined $450 million for an average of 92 projects funded.
The only other time Trudeau was present in the riding for a spending announcement impacting his own riding: March 11 – when $2.5 million was allocated for a 23-unit housing project in Papineau.
And if you're keen to learn about my OttawaSpends project, I've got an X account set up called OttawaSpends where I tweet out details of every single one of those spending announcements and there's a link in the bio of that account that explains how the database works. DA
The Provinces
Andy Fillmore, outgoing Liberal MP, officially running for mayor of Halifax
Andy Fillmore, an outgoing Liberal MP who announced in June that he's leaving federal politics, launched his campaign for mayor during an event in Dartmouth on Wednesday.
Manitoba launches $25M electric vehicle rebate program to boost adoption, cut emissions
The Manitoba government introduced a new rebate program for electric vehicles to encourage more people to switch to electric cars and reduce emissions.
Former Green leader pans B.C. Premier Eby as out-of-touch elitist
Vaughn Palmer: Andrew Weaver reluctantly predicts a Conservative victory in this fall's provincial election.
Withholding carbon tax from Ottawa could cause 'significant errors' in Sask.'s future financials: auditor
Earlier this year the provincial government said it would no longer remit the federal carbon levy on natural gas. It would later extend that decision to electricity used to heat homes.
Elections P.E.I. issues request for proposals to introduce online voting for school boards
P.E.I.'s next school board elections might include online voting, but Chief Electoral Officer Tim Garrity says that doesn't mean a move toward online voting for provincial general elections or byelections.
B.C. government to launch online portal to combat 'bad faith' evictions
The Ministry of Housing says the Landlord Use Web Portal will go live on July 18, and will require landlords to generate eviction notices under the Residential Tenancy Act's provision allowing tenants to be evicted from a unit if a family member or caretaker intends to move in.
Elsewhere
Murdoch's Sun newspaper backs Labour in UK election
"It’s time for a change," the Sun said in an editorial published online. "The insurmountable problem faced by the (Conservatives) is that - over the course of 14 often chaotic years - they have become a divided rabble, more interested in fighting themselves than running the country."
Greece introduces 6-day work week, labour experts worried it “can spread”
Greece has become the first European country to introduce 48-hours of labour per week. As of July 1st, some Greeks have the option to work six days a week or add an extra two hours onto their workday. “I haven't heard anyone who's happy about it because the expectation — as you said it's an introduction — can spread to other industries. So, there is the concern that this is not going to stop here,” says Sakis Gekas, a modern Greek history professor at York University.
French elections: How the 221 candidate withdrawals have reshaped the second round
Calls for candidates not to stand in races where the RN could win have been complied with by almost everyone on the left, and to a lesser extent by Macron supporters.
This Wouldn’t Be the First Time an Incumbent Stepped Aside. Here’s What Happened Last Time
The road to LBJ stepping down took many turns, but it arguably began in the jungles of Vietnam ...
Media
Ontario to boost advertising dollars to news publishers
The province has directed its four largest agencies to spend 25 per cent of its advertising dollars on Ontario publishers. The government of Ontario has made a similar commitment on its advertising dollars.
Reader Notes
This newsletter is curated by David Akin, chief political correspondent at Global News. The headlines, excerpts, and photos are generated by the publishers of the clipping. The publisher is at the bottom left of the clipping. If I've got a comment, you''ll see that in italics. But if I've generated the headline and the excerpt, you'll see my take attribution by finishing with -DA in bold.
And a reminder to those new here -- this newsletter's production costs are covered mostly by donations. Chip in even $3 a month now at my Patreon page.
Science and tech
This Solar Charger Promises to Let You Charge Your EV Anywhere
The EV charger, which costs an estimated $3,000, can now be preordered for a $100 deposit.
If AI is the 'gas guzzler' of data, how do we get better mileage?
While data quality has been top of mind for years, identifying data essential for AI and training models is another challenge.
The Calendar
- 0900 ET: Montreal - Innovation Min François-Philippe Champagne makes a funding announcement.
- 0930 ET: Bromont, QC - Heritage Min Pascale St-Onge announces funding for athletes and sport.
- 0930 ET: Lennox Island, PE - Environment Min Steven Guilbeault makes a funding announcement.
- 1030 ET: Halifax - LPC MP Andy Fillmore makes a funding announcement.
- 1200 ET: Milton - Deputy PM and Fin Min Chrystia Freeland and Women and Gender Equality Min Marci Ien announces funding for athletes and sport.
- 1215 ET: Calgary - PrairiesCAN Min Dan Vandal makes a funding announcement.
- 1300 ET: Burnaby - NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh attends an event of the Society to End Homelessness.
- 1330 ET: Quebec City - Public Services and Procurement Min Jean-Yves Duclos announces funding for athletes and sport.
- 1500 ET: Calgary - Sport Min Carla Qualtrough , Treasury Board President Anita Anand, Employment and Workforce Development Min Randy Boissonnault announce funding for athletes and sport.
- 1700 ET: Calgary - CEDQR Min Soraya Martinez Ferrada speaks at the World Diversity in Leadership Conference
