Ivison: What really goes on inside the leader's election campaign bus
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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.
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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.
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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'.
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This is my eighth general election and it's an accurate description.
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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.
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'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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Toronto Sun
2 hours ago
- Toronto Sun
BELL: Danielle Smith is playing nice with Carney, Poilievre is not
Alberta premier plays ball with Carney unless or until he screws over her province Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks as he attends a tour of the Fort York Armoury in Toronto on June 9, 2025 in Toronto, Canada. Prime Minister Carney has pledged to meet NATO's 2% spending pledge this year. (Photo byPierre Poilievre figures he's got Prime Minister Mark Carney's number. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account If an Albertan dials it, they will almost certainly not get what they want. On Monday, Poilievre raises the curtain on who he believes is the real Mark Carney. The Conservative leader says Carney recently made 'a very troubling comment.' He only heard it in French. 'The premiers will have a veto on pipelines.' B.C.'s NDP Premier David Eby is standing in the way of the bitumen pipeline Alberta Premier Danielle Smith would like to see going to the west coast, with product heading to ready and willing Asian customers. 'Is the prime minister effectively saying we're not going to get any pipelines built?' asks Poilievre. 'If you wait until everyone agrees on everything nothing will happen. We can't wait any longer. We have to get things done. It's going to take some backbone. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'We, as Conservatives, believe in pushing ahead with pipelines.' Read More Poilievre adds the shortest and easiest pipeline route is through northern B.C. to the west coast and the port of Prince Rupert. The Conservative leader says it is insane almost all the Alberta oil is sold to the U.S. at a discount 'to the exclusive benefit of American refineries and commodity traders.' He says 'giant leaps' are needed on this file and Liberal anti-oil policies also must be punted. Leader of the Conservative Party Pierre Poilievre speaks with reporters in the Foyer of the House of Commons, Monday, Jun 9, 2025 in Ottawa. Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press Meanwhile, Premier Danielle Smith plays nice with Carney, at least for now. In fact, she has had many kind words for the prime minister even when newshounds push the premier to see if she will dish some dirt on Carney. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Smith feels Carney wants to do the right thing. To Smith, he appears sincere. She believes Alberta is making progress with him. He is moving in the right direction. Yes, Smith says Carney is far better than former prime minister Justin Trudeau. A sea of change. She says many people are telling her to give this Liberal prime minister a chance. A recent nose count showed even some federal Conservative voters in Alberta are moderately impressed with Carney. Believe it or not! The premier goes further. She thinks Carney realizes he has to change course from the Trudeau years if he wants to survive politically. Smith thinks Carney is taking seriously the sentiment for Alberta independence. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith speaks at the First Ministers' Meeting at TCU Place. Photo taken in Saskatoon, Sask. on Monday, June 2, 2025. Michelle Berg/Saskatoon StarPhoenix Yes, Smith has had phone calls and returned texts from Carney. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. She feels if Alberta demonstrates the pipeline to the west coast is in the national interest the province will be able to get pipeline approval. On weekend TV, Smith is confronted with the fact Carney believes a pipeline thumbs-up will need the 'consensus' of the provinces. If a province doesn't want a pipeline you're out of luck and the B.C. government doesn't want Smith's pipeline to the west coast. When faced with Carney handing the B.C. government what amounts to a veto, the Alberta premier does not go after the prime minister. Smith figures Team Canada is going to prevail. She will try to convince the B.C. NDP premier to support the pipeline. Smith says she knows Eby is on Team Canada and she doesn't think Eby will go off Team Canada. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. B.C. Premier David Eby. B.C. Government We will know pretty soon where the chips will fall. The good news for Carney is Smith is not being a public thorn in the side of the prime minister. She is prepared to work with him at this time. No doubt she is trusting in the one thing we know about Liberals. They do not really believe in anything, One day they will give you the impression they stand for something. It is their principle. Here they stand. The next day, if the wind switches direction, they will stand for the exact opposite of where they stood and sound so sincere when they are advocating what they had previously attacked. That's why they can take much of the Conservative policy and say it is Liberal. That's why they can do the fear-mongering Elbows Up and then drop it when they no longer need to whip people up. They got their votes. Mission accomplished. Smith thinks Canadians are with Alberta on pipelines and Carney knows it. So Smith will play nice with Carney. If it all works out, and there are many who bet it will not work out, the Alberta premier can take a victory lap. If it doesn't work out, there is always a return to the old script. Another Liberal shafts Alberta. Then all hell will break loose. rbell@ Toronto Blue Jays World Olympics Editorial Cartoons Relationships
Global News
2 hours ago
- Global News
Canadian military surpasses 2025 recruitment goal, hits 10-year high
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National Observer
2 hours ago
- National Observer
Carney vows Canada will meet 2 per cent NATO spending pledge this year
Canada will meet its NATO defence spending commitment for the first time in decades as it comes to grips with an alarming new world of threats, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced in Toronto Monday morning. Carney said Ottawa will rapidly advance its military spending timeline to hit the NATO target of two per cent of national GDP by adding $9 billion in spending to the fiscal framework this year. 'Canada will achieve NATO's two per cent target this year, half a decade ahead of schedule,' Carney said. At the same time, he warned Canada depends too much on an increasingly unreliable United States for its defence and is spending too much of its rearmament budget south of the border. 'The United States is beginning to monetize its hegemony, charging for access to its markets and reducing its relative contribution to our collective security,' he warned. The federal government currently is spending about 1.45 per cent of real GDP on defence and has not spent anywhere near two per cent since 1990 — despite having promised its biggest allies for years that it would. NATO's GDP forecast puts Canada's economy at $3.1 trillion for the year, making its two per cent NATO commitment worth about $62.5 billion, according to senior government officials. Carney said he will 'expand the reach, security mandate and abilities of the Canadian Coast Guard and integrate it into our NATO defence capabilities to better secure our sovereignty.' Senior officials said in a background briefing that while the Coast Guard will be folded into defence, there are no plans to arm Coast Guard personnel. Canada has come under intense pressure from allies to swiftly increase its military budget to levels not seen since the Cold War. Monday's announcement comes just ahead of a major NATO meeting in the Netherlands set for later this month. Allied nations are expected to adopt a plan at that meeting to hike the NATO member spending target to five per cent of national GDP — a level Canada has not reached since the 1950s. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte also said during a visit to London Monday that alliance members will need to increase their air and missile defences by 400 per cent to counter the threat from Russia. During the recent election campaign, Carney promised only to meet the two per cent target by the end of the decade. But Carney said Monday his agenda will move forward at a rapid pace and Ottawa will design a new defence policy and industrial strategy to lift up the defence sector. He said that work will make use of Canadian steel and aluminum — industries currently under threat from US President Donald Trump's tariff war. US ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra said on social media that he welcomed Carney's announcement. He said it was an "important step toward strengthening the Alliance and reinforcing our shared security." Business groups that have long called for Canada to meet the target applauded the move. The Chamber of Commerce said it suggests a change in approach under Carney, while the Business Council of Canada called it encouraging. Christyn Cianfarani, president of the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries, said that while Canada's collective defence has "atrophied" over the decades, the sector has a lot to offer the economy at a precarious time. "There is a very big economic boost that you can get and perhaps Prime Minister Carney, being a businessperson, could see the connection between the two — that if you're going to spend a lot of money trying to right the ship ... then you want to do it in your own backyard," she said. But Cianfarani said that for Carney's plan to work, a risk-averse federal bureaucracy will have to learn how to accelerate defence spending. 'Will the machinery of the government underneath the prime minister be able to go from flash to bang and make this happen? And that is a real risk," she said. "They will need to dig deep. There will need to be very creative solutions.' The Department of National Defence has long struggled to spend all the money budgeted for it. Carney said the new funds being injected into the department are very "spendable" and added that his government is working to reform defence procurement. The new defence spending plan includes $2.6 billion for recruiting and retaining Canadian Armed Forces members, $1 billion for boosting military capabilities, $2.1 billion for a new defence industrial strategy and $2 billion to diversify Canada's defence relationships beyond the US. Carney cited in his speech planned purchases of aircraft, submarines and drones — all items he spoke about during the recent election campaign. Although background documents given to journalists Monday referred to boosting military capabilities, the Department of National Defence offered no new details. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre told a press conference in Ottawa on Monday that he wants to see the details on the military capabilities the federal government is planning to acquire. "Yes, we'll hit the two per cent and then we can discuss how much higher to go after that," he said. "But the focus of NATO and our country has to be what extra defence capabilities are we able to add, and how can we be the strongest possible military with the most affordable price tag to the taxpayer at the same time." Carney vowed that "none" of the new spending announced Monday would be "creative accounting" meant to impress NATO accountants. He also said he won't have to raise taxes to pay for any of it. Carney also announced a plan to set up a new defence research bureau, to be called BOREALIS, which he said would "advance cutting-edge research in artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and other frontier technologies."
