Saskatchewan premier Scott Moe is in trouble. The COVID numbers in his province are still out of control, five of the patients that they had to airlift to Ontario because they didn’t have enough ICU capacity have died, and his approval ratings are plummeting. So what does Moe think the solution to his problems is? Taking a page from Jason Kenney’s playbook and trying to pick fights with Ottawa, and in keeping with Kenney’s playbook, Moe has decided to also try adopting a tactic of “We want what Quebec has!” and wants Saskatchewan to be declared a “nation within a nation.”

That’s right – the nation of Saskatchewan, which is defined not by language (though they do call hoodies “bunny hugs” there, so that counts, right?) or by culture (going to Roughriders games is a distinct culture from the rest of Canada, right?), but by…well, he won’t exactly say. Which is pretty much where the rationale for his argument falls apart entirely. Because he doesn’t actually know what the hell he’s talking about, he is aping talking points from Kenney and company, and spouting a random sampling of phrases from Quebec nationalists, and hoping it gives him credibility. Rest assured, it doesn’t.

Seems to be a strong current of thought that Quebec has used nationalism as a power-play to gain leverage within Canada and it’s a strategy worth emulating. / https://t.co/2T75hWoUoK

— Alexander Panetta (@Alex_Panetta) November 9, 2021

who feel it get misty-eyed at the sight of their province’s flag. Many dream of seeing it fly alongside the flags of other countries at global events. Nationalist politics stem from that, not the other way around.

2) That nationalism/separatism really is a source of leverage

— Alexander Panetta (@Alex_Panetta) November 9, 2021

/ Just mentioning because it really does seem to be gaining currency — the idea that Quebec’s threatening to leave Canada is its source of power

What I’m saying is A) That threat comes from a deeper place than wanting stuff from Ottawa & B) That’s not its main source of power

— Alexander Panetta (@Alex_Panetta) November 9, 2021

The other thing that Moe seems to forget that this kind of nationalism/separatism talk has consequences. In Quebec, it devastated their economy in the seventies and eighties as head offices departed for Toronto, and the former financial capital of the country, Montreal, was a corporate graveyard. Not sure that this is an outcome that Moe is gunning for, but hey, those who fail to learn history correctly… Moe seems to think that he can get more autonomy from the federal government in this way, but he doesn’t actually make any case for it. He brays that Quebec has their own immigration deal with the federal government (because they are prioritizing francophones – and they are now facing labour shortages because they have been overly restrictive), or that they got a special deal around national childcare (because they already had a system in place that meets the criteria where Saskatchewan does not), but doesn’t acknowledge the reasons why, and is simply playing people for idiots. But really, this is all Moe just being Jason Kenney’s Mini-Me, and it’s not going to work.

Good reads:

• There is talk that Justin Trudeau could be headed to Washington DC for a “Three Amigos” summit on November 18^th.
• Karina Gould says she is still waiting for a proposal from Ontario regarding $10/day childcare, but it sounds like there may be a dispute over full-day kindergarten.
• Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem says that he sees reducing inequality as part of the central bank’s mandate, which means an inclusive recovery.
• Financial analysts around the country are hoping the Bank of Canada’s inflation-targeting mandate remains unchanged – why fix what isn’t broken?
• CMHC says that they have programmes underway to encourage the construction of greener and more sustainable affordable housing.
• The CEO of Air Canada says he has hired a private French tutor, after last week’s comments touched off another firestorm in Quebec.
• Anti-abortion groups are whinging about the government’s promise to revoke charitable status from so-called “pregnancy crisis centres.”
• The Ontario Court of Appeal has ruled that the province has violated an 1850 treaty with First Nations in underpaying its members for resource revenues in the region.
• Erin O’Toole unveiled his list of critics, and has put Pierre Poilievre back into the finance portfolio, claiming he’s a good communicator. (He’s not).
• Conservative MP Marilyn Gladu apologised for spreading vaccine misinformation, after she and Leslyn Lewis were excluded from critic portfolios.
• The Conservatives are demanding to see the phone and email records of their  member of national council who circulated the leadership review petition.
• Maclean’s interviews Jagmeet Singh post-election.
• Singh also admitted that no, there are no formal talks with the Liberals about some kind of confidence deal (and certainly not a coalition).
• Doug Ford says he’s proud that he tore up green energy contracts and destroyed windmills, even though it cost millions of dollars to do so.
• Mike Moffatt outlines his study on blind bidding, and why banning it may not drive down real estate prices as the federal government is hoping.
• Althia Raj also sees O’Toole’s railing about a fictitious Liberal-NDP coalition as an attempted distraction from his other, internal problems.
• Chris Selley lambastes the Conservatives’ “civil liberties caucus” as an example of the party not needing enemies given their own antics.
• Colby Cosh explains why egg-fried rice is a trigger for censorship in China. Seriously.
• My column walks through why Erin O’Toole won’t really put his foot down on his anti-vaxxer MPs, as he prefers to sit on the fence and try to play both sides.

Odds and ends:

My latest Loonie Politics Quick Take talks about why there won’t be a deal between the Liberals and the NDP.

Haven’t had a chance to check out #UnbrokenMachine, my book on how Canadian politics works? How about #RoyalProgress, which I also contributed to? Now is your chance to get them for 25% off! https://t.co/dUyHNq3QaI

— Dale Smith (@journo_dale) November 7, 2021

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