
Ivison: What really goes on inside the leader's election campaign bus
Article content
John Ivison has been on the road with the federal leaders' election campaign tours for his eighth go-round, and offers a behind the scenes look at life with the boys and girls on the bus. Watch the video or read the transcript.
Article content
Article content
Every election campaign brings me back to Timothy Crouse's classic account of the George McGovern U.S. presidential bid in 1972, The Boys on the Bus.
Article content
Crouse said that what reporters know best, is not the voters but the tiny community of the press bus and plane, 'a totally abnormal world that combines the incestuousness of New England hamlet, with the giddiness of a mid-ocean gala and the physical rigour of the Long March'.
Article content
Article content
This is my eighth general election and it's an accurate description.
Article content
Article content
The past week on the Carney Express has involved a lot of hurry up and wait; being shepherded onto buses and planes: arriving like thieves in the night at some unremarkable hotel and leaving as the sun is coming up.
Article content
'Did you enjoy your stay,' I was asked when checking out in Montreal. It was hard to say. We'd only been there for eight hours, six of them asleep.
Article content
The days are a blur. On Sunday, after a rally in Nepean, we flew to Prince Edward Island, landing in the teeth of a cyclone. It was a huge relief not to end up as the eighth paragraph of a PM plane crash story.
Next morning, we flew to Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and fell asleep in Quebec City.
Article content
Once a day, we get a chance to question the candidate for 15 minutes, which forms the basis for the day's news. Not everyone gets a question, so reporters huddle – not so much a conspiracy as colleagues cooperating to ensure everyone's questions are covered.
Article content
Most days, the candidate will take part in a ludicrous photo op requiring him to risk losing a digit on a saw at some factory or other.
Article content
Article content
I bumped into Carney while he was having breakfast and he told me as Bank of England governor, he once had to drive a simulator around a racetrack at the Jaguar car factory. 'Has anyone ever made it round,' he asked. 'Lewis Hamilton almost did,' came the reply. The headline of the Governor crashing the economy into a wall wrote itself.
Article content
Article content
Carney was much more comfortable playing road hockey with a bunch of 10 year olds, his only concern being that he might take out one of the kids. Elbows were down for the day.
Article content
I've travelled on three campaigns covering Justin Trudeau, four with Stephen Harper; I was in the Rockies with Andrew Scheer and watched Jagmeet Singh longboat on the tarmac in Halifax and found quiet time to write a column on a bench in Kelowna.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Toronto Star
an hour ago
- Toronto Star
NDP leader says Carney needs to keep Parliament in the loop on trade talks
OTTAWA - Interim NDP Leader Don Davies is accusing Prime Minister Mark Carney of not being transparent about negotiations with the U.S. on getting President Donald Trump's tariffs lifted. Davies said Wednesday that Parliament has not been kept in the loop on what Carney and Trump are talking about behind closed doors, or whether Ottawa has involved stakeholders in negotiations with the U.S. 'Previous Liberal governments have made quite a deal out of appointing different stakeholders from society to be present in advising them. Yet we don't know anything about that in these negotiations,' Davies told reporters outside the House of Commons just ahead of question period. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW 'It's time that Carney government became more transparent with Canadians, let us know who's negotiating, and definitely explain to Canadians why he's pursuing deeper military and economic integration with the United States when he promised Canadians that he would do exactly the opposite.' Carney declared during the recent federal election that Canada's old relationship with the United States, based on deepening economic integration and military cooperation, had come to an end and he vowed to stand up to Trump in the face of steep U.S. tariffs. CBC/Radio-Canada reported earlier Wednesday that the U.S. and Canada are hashing out a 'working document' that outlines details of a potential trade deal and states that Canada will participate in Trump's Golden Dome missile defence project. The prime minister's office is neither confirming nor denying that report. Asked by reporters about talks on the U.S. tariffs, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said the government's 'endgame' is to have all of Trump's tariffs removed, but he referred journalists to Carney and Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc for the most up-to-date information. 'It's a very dynamic situation,' Champagne said. 'We've been engaging with our friends in the United States. You know, we talk to different people in the administration.' But Carney and Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand breezed past reporters who shouted questions at them on Wednesday, while LeBlanc was not seen in Parliament. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Ontario Premier Doug Ford publicly confirmed the secret, top-level discussions last week, saying that Carney and Trump are in 'deep discussions' on trade and working 'around the clock to get a deal.' 'They're right at the brink,' Ford said in Toronto on June 5. Pete Hoekstra, Trump's ambassador to Canada, said in an armchair talk at the Canadian Club of Ottawa on Wednesday that he thinks there's a 'possibility to have a great deal.' He said that 'all indications' are that the two countries could reach a 'very positive agreement,' but couched that 'there's also the possibility you could end up with something like no deal or whatever.' 'Until a deal is announced, you really won't know what's it in it,' Hoekstra said. Trump has insisted that Canada could join his unbuilt Golden Dome continental missile defence program at a cost of $61 billion. Carney confirmed last month that he is in talks with Trump about the project. 'It's something that we are looking at and something that has been discussed at a high level,' Carney said at a press conference in Ottawa on May 21. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 11, 2025. Politics Headlines Newsletter Get the latest news and unmatched insights in your inbox every evening Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. Please enter a valid email address. Sign Up Yes, I'd also like to receive customized content suggestions and promotional messages from the Star. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Politics Headlines Newsletter You're signed up! You'll start getting Politics Headlines in your inbox soon. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page.


CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
ADVERTISEMENT Watch Sources tell CTV News that negotiations are underway for a new Canada-U.S. deal CTV News' Mike Le Couteur says government officials spoke under the promise of anonymity about an ongoing ‘negotiation' between Carney and Trump.
Watch CTV News' Mike Le Couteur says government officials spoke under the promise of anonymity about an ongoing 'negotiation' between Carney and Trump.


Cision Canada
2 hours ago
- Cision Canada
Readout - Prime Minister Carney speaks with President of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Français
OTTAWA, ON, /CNW/ - Today, the Prime Minister, Mark Carney, spoke with the President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Prime Minister Carney and President Lula discussed opportunities to deepen trade between Canada and Brazil. The leaders agreed to accelerate co-operation on energy security and critical minerals, particularly as part of Canada's 2025 G7 Presidency and as Brazil hosts the 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30) later this year. Prime Minister Carney and President Lula emphasized shared values between the two nations, including protecting the environment and building stronger economies in partnership with Indigenous Peoples. Prime Minister Carney invited President Lula to Canada's 2025 G7 Leaders' Summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, where the leaders look forward to meeting next week. This document is also available at