While a Council of the Federation meeting will be happening this week in Saskatoon, Jason Kenney has been planning a pre-meeting for several premiers at Stampede, last night and today. It’s an interesting bit of dynamic because while Kenney is one of the most junior members of the Council (with only PEI being more junior), he’s trying to act like a bit of a ringleader for the various conservative-led provinces as they wage war against Justin Trudeau and the federal government. We’ll see how well that goes over.
Alberta premier @jkenney is welcoming a trio of fellow conservative premiers to a Stampede breakfast and private meeting Monday: Doug Ford (ON), Scott Moe (SK), Blaine Higgs (NB), as well as NWT Premier Bob McLeod. 2/
— Jason Markusoff (@markusoff) July 5, 2019
However, I’m told Kenney invited other premiers to Calgary as well. Brian Pallister, Manitoba’s Tory premier can’t fit it in. Maybe some non-conservatives were invited too? Have not confirmed that yet. 4/
— Jason Markusoff (@markusoff) July 5, 2019
So it would be dicey for Kenney to use his Stampede pre-summit summit of conservative premiers to create a right-wing bloc. That may please Ford, but not Moe, who's chairing the Saskatoon summit and will want to be non-partisan and statesmanlike, at least then & there. 6/
— Jason Markusoff (@markusoff) July 5, 2019
This much is clear: Kenney, new guy at the premier's table, is trying to assert himself as de facto leader and power broker. Pre-empting the annual premiers' conference with a mini-summit of his own certainly helps him accomplish that. 8/
— Jason Markusoff (@markusoff) July 5, 2019
Monday's Stampede summit of nearly half the Canadian premiers likely kicks off the week that will culminate whatever @jkenney's cooking up as aspiring Primo of Premiers.
I'll be there with notepad (and cowboy shirt).
10/10— Jason Markusoff (@markusoff) July 5, 2019
Meanwhile, John Horgan says he’s hoping that they can use this meeting to get something accomplished, and that it won’t be a number of premiers trying to have a stand-off against Trudeau in advance of the election. But given that several of those premiers have been having public tantrums over the carbon price, two of them now having lost their court challenges, I’m quite certain that they’re going to have some kind of theatrical blow-out for the sake of Andrew Scheer to come in and try and look statesmanlike. (Have I mentioned that fixed election dates are garbage?)
Good reads:
- CBSA is ramping up its efforts to remove failed asylum claimants and others deemed inadmissible, but still not many irregular migrants (yet).
- Here are five things to know about immigration detention in Canada.
- The Canada Pension Plan has divested its holdings in some American private prisons that have been used for migrant detentions.
- The Seaspan shipyard in Vancouver has been cannibalizing parts from its unbuilt third Coast Guard science vessel to repair the first one off the assembly line.
- CFIA is defending its handling of horse shipments bound for Japan for meat.
- The Hill Times talks to three former MPs hoping to make a comeback this fall.
- Andrew Scheer spent his weekend glad-handing at the Calgary Stampede.
- Maxime Bernier was also at Stampede to draw people into his personality cult party.
- With unmitigated gall, Quebec’s education minister said that Malala Yousafzai could teach in his province if she removed her headscarf.
- Critics are pushing back against Jason Kenney’s planned witch hunt – err, “public inquiry” into those who are mean to the oil sector.
Odds and ends:
While the Americans rail about a potential citizenship question on their census, it’s been in Canada since 1901. (We also don’t let parties draw riding boundaries.)
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