Royal arsenal

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6 days ago

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Happy Monday. Thanks for reading Canada Playbook.
Let's get into it.
→ The PM's Trump cards? A king and queen.
→ First up in a high-stakes session? Electing a speaker.
→ Plus, DAVID PRATT shares a footnote on the Golden Dome.
Trade war
THE KING'S SPEECH — As King Charles arrives in Ottawa today for Tuesday's opening of Parliament, the 76-year-old British monarch — who remains Canada's head of state — will be summoning all the soft power he can muster.
It is the first time a British monarch has delivered a speech from the throne since 1977 — a highly public love-bomb at a time when U.S. President DONALD TRUMP has ramped up the hostile rhetoric, lobbed tariffs Canada's way, and even flirted with annexation, POLITICO's ANNABELLE DICKSON and team report.
'This historic honor matches the weight of our times,' PM Carney said, when he announced his VIP guest.
Insert eyeball emoji: The links between the royals and Canada's PM are strong, Dickson writes: 'Carney's brother SEAN is the chief operating officer at Kensington Palace — the working residence of PRINCE WILLIAM.
For Charles, the trip is personal. His mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, was deeply passionate about her Commonwealth role.
→ It's not a risk-free strategy: Back in the U.K., it could cut across the U.K. government's focus on charming, rather than fighting, the U.S. president.
Plus, royal skeptics in Canada warn it could reignite republican debate.
— Call me maybe: U.S. Ambassador PETE HOEKSTRA told CBC's 'The House' that while he's 'excited for Canada' about the king's visit, there are easier ways to get a message to Washington. 'Just give me a call,' he said. 'Carney can call the president at any time. Send the message.'
Oh, and Canada should get over the '51st state' thing, he told host CATHERINE CULLEN. 'If the Canadians want to keep talking about it, that's their business. I'm not talking about it. Donald Trump is not talking about it.'
— News you can use: For our Ottawa readers, the Citizen has a roundup of street closures over the next two days while King Charles and Queen Camilla are in town.
— In case you need it: The royal itinerary is here.
— In related reading: The Globe's MARIE WOOLF reports that Bloc Québécois MPs are reviving a bid to end the centuries-old requirement to pledge loyalty to the monarch before they take their seats in Parliament. The Star's ROBERT BENZIE reports on a turn in the polls for the monarchy in Canada. 'A Trump bump has turned the Crown frowns upside down,' he writes.
Talk of the town
SEE YOU TOMORROW — One sleep left until the 'House-warming' party hosted by the Métropolitain, Earnscliffe Strategies and your friends at POLITICO.
Shortly after KING CHARLES III's throne speech in the Senate, the fishbowl gathers to renew acquaintances after a frenzied five months. We anticipate schmoozing with purpose, given the Hill-wide job board is bursting.
— Update your calendar: The fun starts when the pomp down the street winds down. The Met is welcoming guests as early as 5 p.m.
NEXT UP: TRIVIA NIGHT — Our next Playbook Trivia Night is booked for Monday, June 2 at the Met. Time: Doors open at 7 p.m. First round starts at 7:30.
— Registration is open now. Space is limited. RSVP via this Google Form
THREE THINGS WE'RE WATCHING
DIVISION BELLS — When the House returns at 8 a.m. today, the first order of business will be the election of the House of Commons speaker. Dean of the House Bloc Québécois MP LOUIS PLAMONDON, first elected Sept. 4, 1984, will preside over the vote since he has the longest unbroken record of service.
— In the speaker race: Liberal MPs GREG FERGUS, SEAN CASEY, ALEXANDRA MENDÈS, ROB OLIPHANT, FRANCIS SCARPALEGGIA and SHERRY ROMANADO, plus Conservative MPs JOHN NATER and CHRIS D'ENTREMONT.
— On Sunday: Prime Minister MARK CARNEY and Conservative Leader PIERRE POILEVRE rallied their respective caucuses with campaign-like speeches.
'We're going to have to do things previously thought impossible, at speeds not seen in generations,' Carney told his caucus before they closed doors to meet in private. 'It's my solemn commitment to work with all of you — to seize this moment for Canadians, to build big, to build bold, to build together, to build now.'
— Liberal priorities: Carney said the first order of business for his government would be to introduce legislation to implement a middle-class tax cut and eliminate the GST for first-time homebuyers. He also vowed major defense spending increases to meet NATO's 2 percent target. He made no mention of a budget, which is now expected in the fall.
— For your scorecard: JAMES MALONEY was elected Liberal caucus chair. The Canadian Press reports: A majority of the caucus voted down a motion to adopt rules set out under the Reform Act.
— The Conservatives' list: 'We've got to get the cost of living down, and we're going to be demanding a spring budget that reveals the true deficit,' Poilievre said Sunday.
During the campaign, Carney liked to say 'a slogan is not a plan.' In his remarks, Poilievre redirected the jab back at the PM. 'That is a slogan,' Poilievre pointed out. 'But I'll tell you what a plan is. A budget is … literally a plan.'
Poilievre said he and the Conservatives will cooperate with Carney to bring an end to tariffs imposed by the United States.
HAIL TO THE CHIEFS — This week we'll learn more about who is who in the offices of Carney's Cabinet ministers. EMILY HAWS of the Globe managed to get her hands on an internal email detailing the first dozen assignments.
— Also TBD: We'll soon find out who has been tapped to sit on the Board of Internal Economy, the governing body of the House. We know for sure that Government House Leader STEVEN MACKINNON and Liberal MP RACHEL BENDAYAN will be there.
The mighty PROC — the House procedure committee — will also be appointed.
READY, SET … OH, OH! — Canada's rookie PM will make his Question Period debut Wednesday at 2:15 p.m. — a weekday spectacle fueled by outrage in pursuit of clickbait. Remember when Speaker GREG FERGUS got heckled while preaching about House decorum? No amount of global economic experience could prepare the PM for the high-decibel free-for-all of QP. On the upside, he won't have to square off against Poilievre until fall.
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Where the leaders are
Prime Minister MARK CARNEY has an audience with KING CHARLES at Rideau Hall.
Conservative Leader PIERRE POILIEVRE won't be in the House of Commons, but ANDREW SCHEER is expected to be there.
Bloc Québécois Leader YVES-FRANÇOIS BLANCHET will meet his caucus and hold an afternoon press conference in the foyer of the House of Commons.
Interim NDP Leader DON DAVIES has not released his public itinerary.
Green Party Leader ELIZABETH MAY will attend Parliament in person.
Trade war
GOING BALLISTIC — DAVID PRATT only spent six months as Canada's defense minister but he still managed to start something that has major ripples today as President Trump and the PM consider Canada's role in the president's Golden Dome missile shield.
— Known unknowns: Pratt told Playbook that he sent a letter to then-U.S. Defense Secretary DONALD RUMSFELD in January 2004 proposing to negotiate Canada's entry into the Pentagon's Ballistic Missile Defense Shield.
→ Looking good, until: 'There seemed to be, at least to me and with the Prime Minister [PAUL MARTIN], as well, significant support for this within the Cabinet,' Pratt said.
But domestic politics intervened when the June 28, 2004, election reduced the Martin government to a minority. The NDP held the balance of power and leader JACK LAYTON shared a message with Martin: Kill BMD or your government falls.
In February 2005, Martin just said no to President GEORGE W. BUSH.
→ Local politics: 'The Martin government wanted to survive, and it needed the NDP support for that,' Pratt recalled. 'There was a fairly significant portion of the Liberal caucus that just had an allergy to George Bush and didn't want to get close for that reason.'
— Yesterday is today: Pratt says Golden Dome is 'unrealistic' given that it aims to protect such a huge land mass and has a massive initial price tag of $175 billion.
Full disclosure: Pratt is now a defense industry consultant and lobbyist, but he says he has no clients linked to Golden Dome. 'I'm speaking about this issue as a former MND and someone whose position on missile defense has not changed in 20 years,' he says.
— Historical footnote: Pratt lost his seat in that 2004 campaign to a Conservative staffer named PIERRE POILIEVRE.
— Now what?: DAVID PERRY, the president of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute tells Playbook it was a mistake for Canada to opt out of BMD in 2005.
'We've decided that we don't want to defend ourselves against ballistic missiles,' Perry said. 'So, if somebody aimed one of them at Parliament Hill, we'd ostensibly let it go boom. No one else would want to create that kind of insane dynamic.'
MORNING MUST-CLICKS
— From POLITICO's DANIEL DESROCHERS and PHELIM KINE: Foreign countries pan trade offers from Trump White House.
— MEGHAN POTKINS, BARBARA SHECTER and JOE O'CONNOR of the National Post profile TIM HODGSON, Canada's new energy minister. They note: 'Whether Hodgson can channel his experience on Bay and Wall Streets to defuse those tensions [with Alberta and Saskatchewan] and produce real results that satisfy the oilpatch without abandoning Liberal climate commitments could be a make-or-break question for the new government.'
— 'Uncertainty has come down. But look, it's still elevated. There's still work to do,' Bank of Canada Governor TIFF MACKLEM tells MARK RENDELL in a Q&A on inflation, tariff relief and what it's like working alongside his former boss at the Bank.
— DAVID THURTON of CBC News reports on the NDP's last-ditch efforts that tried to save JAGMEET SINGH and his riding.
— The Canadian Press notes that talks between Canada Post and negotiators from its union are expected to resume over the next few days.
PROZONE
For Pro subscribers, our latest policy newsletter: Canada and the U.S.: 'Golden Dome' buddies?
In other news for Pro readers:
— Trump grants extension to European Union on tariff hike.
— Trump to appoint oil and gas industry veteran as Alaska adviser.
— MAHA targets environmental chemicals.
— US carbon tariffs wouldn't cut global emissions, report says.
PLAYBOOKERS
Birthdays: Bonne fête to Quebec Premier FRANÇOIS LEGAULT, former Foreign Minister JOHN BAIRD and former MPs DENIS LEBEL and ROBERT AUBIN.
ANJA KARADEGLIJA of The Canadian Press also celebrates today.
Noted: A judicial recount has confirmed Conservative KATHY BORRELLI won the riding of Windsor—Tecumseh—Lake Shore by four votes. A recount in Terra Nova-The Peninsulas found that Conservative JONATHAN ROWE won the riding over Liberal ANTHONY GERMAIN by 12 votes. And the Bloc Québécois has filed a Superior Court challenge to overturn results in Terrebonne after losing by one vote.
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce has mandate letters for the Carney Cabinet.
Royal Roads University has named its new campus in Langford after the late JOHN HORGAN, honoring the former B.C. premier and ambassador to Germany.
Movers and shakers: The Canadian Tax Observatory is on the hunt for a founding CEO.
Former Cabinet minister ED FAST has joined the board of the Institute for Research on Public Policy.
CHRISTOPHER SANDS has launched a Substack on Canada-U.S. relations.
Media mentions: The Michener Awards Foundation announced its plans to award ROBERT FIFE with the Michener-Baxter Award for exceptional service to Canadian public service journalism.
Got a document to share? A birthday coming up? Send it all our way.
TRIVIA
Friday's answer: On May 18, 2016, then-Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU apologized in the House for the the Komagata Maru tragedy.
Props to AMY SCANLON BOUGHNER, MARC LEBLANC, SARAH ANDREWS, YAROSLAV BARAN, DAVID GRANOVSKY, CHARLES DILLON, ROBERT MCDOUGALL, DARREN MAJOR, LAURA JARVIS, RAY DEL BIANCO, JEFFREY VALOIS, DARRYL DAMUDE and MARCEL MARCOTTE.
Today's question: Before the Speech from the Throne, what bill will receive first reading in the House?
Send your answer to [e-mail]
Canada Playbook would not happen without: Canada Editor Sue Allan, editor Willa Plank and POLITICO's Grace Maalouf.