Canada
Pierre Poilievre worries about threats against his family
The Official Opposition leader, speaking to radio host Alex Pierson, rejected any suggestion that the Trump rally shooting represented a need for political leaders like him to curb their rhetoric. “Let’s be very clear. My criticisms of the prime minister are entirely reasonable and focused on his policy agenda. We are not going to self-censor ourselves now. We are not going to allow the shooter to shut down our debate.”
Armed reservist who crashed truck into Rideau Hall looking for Trudeau released
Corey Hurren was fuelled by conspiracy theories and anger at gun laws when he went after the prime minister with five firearms on July 2, 2020.
Morrice says not yet, but not never to Green leadership
“One day in the future, it’s not something I’m ruling out,” Morrice said in an interview with The Record this week about the future of the party, the upcoming election, and the benefits of being Green in a room of red, blue and orange.
The Provinces
B.C. premier wants to support N.L.’s plan to sue Ottawa over equalization program
"The thing that really frustrates me, and an issue that I'm raising at the (Council of Federation) table and generally, is that B.C. taxpayers are sending tax dollars to Ontario through equalization. That is completely absurd. Ontario is not struggling to provide schools or hospitals," Eby said.
Eight surprising numbers in the Higgs government’s economic review
New Brunswick gained more than a net 25,000 newcomers last year. That’s as net international migration brought in 20,340 people and net interprovincial migration added 6,914. Offsetting that number was the number of deaths exceeding the number of births in New Brunswick for the ninth consecutive year. The good news is that New Brunswick’s population did grow in all regions of the province last year, but nowhere near evenly. The growth in population in Westmorland County -- that's Moncton, Shediac -- is quite something
LCBO strike latest: Tourism industry struggling as convenience store applications pour in
Instead of allowing the 450 grocery stores that already hold an alcohol licence to sell multi-packs of beer and pre-made drinks from Aug. 1, stores have been told they can begin ordering the drinks on Thursday and sell them to customers the moment they arrive.
Trump shooting: Legault rectifies remarks that Quebec has no political violence
Speaking to reporters at the Council of the Federation meeting in Halifax, Legault said what happened over the weekend to Trump "is worrying for democracy in the United States" but "we don't have that — violence against politicians, in Quebec." Legault's comments had the leader of the Parti Québécois inviting the premier to brush up on the province's history.
Elsewhere
Biden Facing Challenges in Two Must-Win States, Times/Siena Polls Find
The polls, taken before the assassination attempt on Donald J. Trump, found President Biden trailing Mr. Trump in Pennsylvania, a swing state critical to his re-election hopes, and slightly ahead in Virginia, a state he won by 10 points in 2020.
Why Trump’s victory over death could land him in the Oval Office for a second time
James Rowe: Why does surviving political violence often bolster popular support? Because evading death can make politicians seem super-human, even god-like.
The Moral Collapse of J. D. Vance
Tom Nichols: ... what should we call J. D. Vance, the self-described hillbilly turned Marine turned Ivy League law-school graduate turned venture capitalist turned Senate candidate? Words fail. His perfidy to his own people in Ohio is too big to allow him to escape with the label of “opportunist,” and yet the shabbiness and absurdity of his Senate campaign is too small to brand him a defector or a heretic.
Donald Trump Is an Opioid for the Masses, But He Can't Solve America's Growing Social-Cultural Crisis
And here's the newly minted Republican VP running to mate Trump himself, JD Vance, writing in 2016 about Donald Trump. To many Americans, Donald Trump feels good, but he can’t fix America’s growing social and cultural crisis, and the eventual comedown will be harsh.
Text Trends in ‘24: Messaging and Fundraising
Text is an ideal channel for campaign communication, but there are questions about the design of these messages. Political campaigns in Canada do not generally discuss their texting strategies but, from what I can tell, small-c conservatives like the federal CPC or Alberta UPC, use texting way more than their progressive opponents for voter ID and voter contact. That said, I had a conversation once with a Liberal election war room operative in charge of that party's texting operation and learned how a single, well-written, well-time text to supporters once brought in $150,000 in donations. Texts have become a crucial part of modern campaigning.
Media
CBC/Radio-Canada board approves bonuses for 2023-24, but will review performance pay
CBC would not disclose how much money was paid out to the 1,194 eligible employees for the 2023-24 fiscal year, with spokesman Leon Mar saying in a statement that the information is part of "internal financial operations."
Corus Entertainment says ongoing job cuts will amount to 25% of full-time positions
“We’re making tough decisions to shutter areas of the business we can no longer sustain and pause longer term development activities while we implement efficiency initiatives,” said co-chief executive John Gossling during a conference call with analysts. “Our plan is to emerge as a smaller but more profitable business with a sustainable future.” Corus is the owner of my employer, Global News.
Beloved news anchor Linda Olsen to retire from Global Calgary
Olsen's last day anchoring Global News at 5 Calgary and Global News Hour at 6 Calgary will be on Monday, Aug. 19. I was on set with Linda for Global's last two Alberta election specials. She is a real pro and a delight to work with.
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 me taking attribution by finishing with -DA in bold.
You can help keep this newsletter going with a monthly pledge -- Just $5 would do it -- via Patreon or, if you want to make a one-time donation, send an e-transfer to jda@davidakin.com. Thanks for all your help!
Science and tech
The First AI-Powered Storytelling Teddy Bear Is Here. I Gave It to My Kids to Test
Poe is an animated talking teddy bear toy that uses ChatGPT to generate children's stories. I took it for an early test run and bedtime got strange.
How to Clean a Link Before You Share It (And Why You Should)
A web link can be absolutely stuffed with parameters that include ways to track you, tell the website to do certain things that completely change the way it looks or operates, or more often than not tells a site where you got the link from so that they can do something with that information, such as pay the link provider a referral fee.
The Calendar
- 0800 ET: Gaspé, QC - Fisheries Min Diane Lebouthillier makes a funding announcement.
- 1000 ET: St Catharines, ON - LPC MP Vance Badawey and Chris Bittle speak about Green Shipping Corridors.
- 1100 ET: Port Hastings, NS - LPC MP MIke Kelloway makes a funding announcement.
- 1245 ET: Markham, ON - Deputy PM and Fin Min Chrystia Freeland tours an energy utility facility and speaks to reporters.
- 1300 ET: Vancouver - Energy and Natural Resources Min Jonathan Wilkinson and LPC MP Taleeb Noormohamed speak about energy affordability.
- 1330 ET: Toronto - Justice Min Arif Virani , Diversity Min Kamal Khera and LPC MP Julie Dabrusin speak about energy affordability.
- 1330 ET: Charlottetown - Veterans Affairs Min Ginette Petitpas Taylor and LPC MP Robert Morrissey speak about energy affordability.
- 1400 ET: Lévis, QC - Transport Min Pablo Rodriguez and LPC MP Joel Lightbound speak about energy affordability.
- 1915 ET: Burnaby, BC - NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh meets with Mayor Mike Hurley.
