Liberal MP Raj Grewal made a surprise announcement last night, that he’s resigning his seat because of “personal and medical reasons,” which the PM later called “serious personal challenges” – a phrase that only raises the number of questions about what it could be. Aside from losing one of the best-dressed MPs on the Hill (Grewal is a frequent recipient of sartorial snaps on this blog), where this announcement gets very interesting is the bind that it places on NDP leader Jagmeet Singh.

Liberal MP @RajLiberal Raj Grewal is resigning his seat. Here is his post to constituents. #cdnpoli #hw pic.twitter.com/e5qky0LHqv

— Hannah Thibedeau (@HannahThibedeau) November 22, 2018

Yesterday, I learned that Raj Grewal is facing serious personal challenges, and today he announced he is stepping down as Member of Parliament for Brampton East. While it may have been a difficult decision, it was the right one. I hope he receives the support he needs.

— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) November 22, 2018

Singh had initially stated that he wanted to run in Grewal’s riding during the next election, given that it was his riding provincially (note to non-Ontarians: in this province, the federal and provincial ridings are identical with a couple of exceptions in Northern Ontario), and for almost a year, he kept stating that he was “comfortable” not having a seat and waiting to run in that same Brampton riding in 2019. That is, until his party’s poll numbers started tanking and he realized that he needed to actually be present in Parliament if he hoped to regain any traction. (Also of note, his brother now holds the seat provincially.) But in August, Singh committed to run in Burnaby South, and has been spending some time there campaigning, and recently announced that he found a rental property there.

So this leads us to wonder – will Singh abandon Burnaby South, where he has already expended some effort and expense, or will he decide that since Brampton is now back on the map, that it’s the smarter decision to run in given his roots and history in the riding? This just as Singh learned that he’ll get the byelection in Burnaby South that he’s been (belatedly) demanding in February. So there’s a choice to make, and we’ll likely hear all about it in the coming days. (Also, expect the Conservatives to push conspiracy theories about just how “convenient” it was for Grewal to suddenly resign now, and how this must mean the Liberals really want him in the House because they think it’ll give them some kind of advantage; this line of baseless speculation was proffered on Power & Politics last night and I expect to hear it repeated in the coming days).

Good reads:

• Justin Trudeau was in Calgary to help sell his fiscal update, and to offer some reassurance to the oil sector that he’s taking the oil price differential seriously.
• Bill Morneau says that the Conservatives are making spurious partisan complaints about the tax credits for media. (Note to Morneau: You’re not helping your case).
• The Commons is preparing to sit late tonight to pass back-to-work legislation for Canada Post, and the Senate is preparing to sit over the weekend.
• Any back-to-work legislation that is passed will face court challenges, though the government insists this bill is vastly different from the previous Conservative bills.
• The government won’t disclose what attempts Russia has made to meddle in Canadian elections, other than to say that they did interfere.
• New data shows that “birth tourism” numbers may be higher than initially indicated – but there is no indication how many of these are refugee claimants.
• The government has spent $2.3 million on housing asylum claimants in Toronto-area hotels.
• The government has paid $11 million over the past three years trying to fix the Phoenix pay system.
• MPs on the public safety committee expressed concern that Russia and China may be trying to hijack Interpol to turn it into a “witch hunt organisation.”
• If you’re looking for some gob-smacking reading, a report on making Canada a culinary tourism destination is utterly galling in the industry’s complaints.
• Environmental groups are claiming that Export Development Canada sponsors more oil and gas projects than they do clean technology.
• Karina Gould says that Maxime Bernier can be in the leader’s debates (as designed) if he can reach the threshold of candidates nominated in 90 percent of ridings.
• The scripts that Alberta NDP backbenchers were to memorize if asked about sexual misconduct allegations were accidentally emailed to CBC. Oops.
• Colby Cosh offers his assessment of Trevor Tombe’s bleak portrayal of Alberta’s finances, and points out why it’s not such an easy fix.

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