The icy Florida-Canada tiff hits the rink

Politico

3 days ago

Good morning and welcome to Wednesday.
The Florida Panthers and the Edmonton Oilers will face off in hockey's Stanley Cup Finals this week — a rematch of last year's championship series that brought the Cup to South Florida for the first time.
It's no surprise a Florida team has made it this far once again — a team from the Sunshine State has featured in the finals every season since 2020 (proving good hockey isn't just a chilly, northern thing).
What is surprising: How divided Florida and Canada have become in the time since last year's matchup.
Florida has long been a popular tourist destination for Canadians, with 3.3 million visiting in 2024. But President DONALD TRUMP's sweeping tariffs and musings about Canadian statehood opened a rift that only widened when former Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU retaliated with tariffs of his own. Trudeau, as his time leading in Ottawa came to a close, encouraged Canadians to do their part in pushing back by changing their summer vacation plans or 'foregoing Florida orange juice altogether.'
Gov. RON DESANTIS hit back in March during his State of the State speech, boasting about the state's 2024 Canadian tourism numbers. 'That's not much of a boycott in my book,' he said. 'Maybe they wanted to get a glimpse of what a Stanley Cup winning hockey team actually looks like.'
The jab is particularly poignant in Canada, considered the birthplace of ice hockey and the home of plenty of the best players in the National Hockey League. The sport is deeply embedded in Canadian culture and is a staunch point of pride.
Ottawa Playbook author Nick Taylor-Vaisey detailed this peculiar intersection of sports and geopolitics: 'The cross-border angst peaked during the NHL's Four Nations Faceoff in February, when Canadians and Americans duked it out (literally) twice in five days. Montrealers rained boos on the 'Star-Spangled Banner' at an emotionally charged round-robin matchup, and visiting Canadian fans belted out their anthem when Canada won the championship in a hostile Boston arena.
'The booing was less boisterous at the Toronto Blue Jays' home opener, which fell in the middle of the federal campaign. Canadians are now stereotypically polite during the other anthem, expending most of their energy on 'O Canada.''
Yet even with the increased animosity, some are still optimistic about Florida-Canada relations.
'We're pretty proud of our connections with Canada,' ROBERT WEISSERT, the executive director of the state's 'embassy' in DC, called the Florida House. It's a nonprofit located near the Supreme Court that 'champions all things Florida.'
He pointed to both the tourism connection as well as a commercial one between the two: 'There are many banks and restaurants that only exist outside of Canada in Florida,' he said.
As for the Canadian Embassy, officials said it would fly an Oilers flag both on the inside and outside of the DC building during the series, which starts tonight in Sunrise.
But Nick points out one other thing to look out for during the series on the Edmonton side: 'Canadian patriotism plays a bit differently in Alberta, where a fledgling separatist movement has caught the attention of the political class — and many residents feel at least as Albertan as they do Canadian.'
But if Trump drops a dismissive '51st state' barb online or in the Oval Office? Standard Canadian politeness at Edmonton's Rogers Place could disappear in a flash.
— Veronica Bianco
Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget that Playbook should look at? Get in touch at: [e-mail].
... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ...
BOARD SAYS O-NO — 'State university leaders rejected Santa Ono as the University of Florida's prospective president Tuesday in a shocking move sparked by conservative outrage over his support of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives while leading the University of Michigan,' reports POLITICO's Andrew Atterbury.
'The unprecedented decision by the university system Board of Governors erases a presidential pick that UF trustees expected to propel the school into greater national prominence. But Ono was met with a lukewarm response from Gov. Ron DeSantis, a powerful voice in higher education, and outright opposition from other Republicans including Sen. Rick Scott and Reps. Byron Donalds and Greg Steube.
'Florida's flagship university now must restart a presidential search from square one as uncertainty surrounds what's next for Ono, who only weeks ago led one of the country's top universities.'
NEW EDUCATION COMMISSIONER NAMED — 'Gov. Ron DeSantis positioned a critical ally to run the Florida Department of Education on Tuesday by recommending his deputy chief of staff, Anastasios Kamoutsas, for the job,' reports POLITICO's Andrew Atterbury.
'Kamoutsas, who has played a key role in implementing major pieces of DeSantis' conservative education agenda, is slated to replace Manny Diaz Jr., who is leaving the agency to lead the University of West Florida. The state Board of Education is scheduled to consider formally appointing a new commissioner during a meeting [today].'
INSIDE THE GOV'S ROUGH YEAR — 'It's shaping up to be the year from hell for Ron DeSantis,' reports POLITICO's Gary Fineout. 'The Florida governor has been in a war of words and blame with the Republican state House speaker. A drawn-out budget dispute has left him frozen on filling key positions. Allies are streaming out the door, and it's unclear whether a successor in the governor's mansion will continue his legacy initiatives.
'Florida's current unsettled political landscape is a reminder that DeSantis — about 17 months removed from his unsuccessful bid for president — no longer has an iron grip on his state's politics. And it's a long cry from the once-rising conservative star whose handling of Covid-19 and his battles over education, race and gender identity garnered widespread attention — and have been replicated to some extent by the Trump administration.'
LET THE KIDS POST — 'A federal judge blocked Florida officials Tuesday from enforcing key pieces of the state's high-profile law restricting social media access for children,' reports POLITICO's Andrew Atterbury.
'Judge Mark Walker determined Florida's law prohibiting children younger than 14 from using many platforms while demanding parental approval for 14- and 15-year-olds is 'likely facially unconstitutional,' delivering a blow to state Republicans fighting for stricter social media regulations. State Attorney General James Uthmeier is almost certain to appeal the decision, which came after Walker previously ruled top social media companies failed to prove how the law would hinder them.'
BUDGET BATTLE KICKS OFF WITH HEALTH CARE — '[Budget] meetings began Tuesday with the health care budget, with the $46.9 billion House budget coming in at $1.8 billion less than the $48.7 billion offered by the Senate,' reports POLITICO's Arek Sarkissian.
'The House health budget would slash funding for 3,600 agency jobs that have not been filled in 90 days, while the Senate plan cuts just more than 400 jobs, some of which have been vacant for more than 180 days.'
WATER HIKES — 'The Public Service Commission on Tuesday rejected arguments from its staff and the Office of Public Counsel in voting to allow a water company to seek rate hikes under a 2023 state law change,' reports POLITICO's Bruce Ritchie.
'The PSC voted 3-2 to hold a hearing on Central State Water Resources' request to set rate hikes based on raising the value of three ailing water systems above their net book value.'
CRACKDOWN — Florida Attorney General JAMES UTHMEIER said law enforcement would search 'every inch' of the state to find undocumented immigrants, in a speech condemning a Lake County man found guilty of sex trafficking a minor, reports Kairi Lowery of the Orlando Herald. The man's visa had been expired for about four years.
Uthmeier joined State Attorney BILL GLADSON and Eustis Police Chief CRAIG CAPRI in Lake County to announce Gomez's life sentence. Gladson and Capri both echoed Uthmeier's rhetoric on undocumented immigrants. 'You're not going to find yourself just deported on a plane back to some other country,' Gladson said. 'There are worse things than getting deported.'
PENINSULA AND BEYOND
WHAT'S IN A NAME — 'Along with changing the iconic Pensacola Beach welcome sign to read 'Gulf of America,' Escambia County is planning to change the wording in county ordinances,' reports Mollye Barrows of the Pensacola News Journal.
'At least 23 ordinances mention the Gulf of Mexico by name. They include ordinances on a range of legal issues from the 'Leave No Trace' law which addresses obstructions on Pensacola Beach to laws on Perdido Key Habitat Conservation and local dog parks.'
— 'Pulse memorial gets $5 million pledge from Orange County,' reports Stephen Hudak of the Orlando Sentinel.
— 'Miami-Dade's sagging condo market could be 'next great crisis' as values drop,' by Douglas Hanks of the Miami Herald.
...HURRICANE HOLE...
AS PEOPLE STRUGGLE WITH INSURANCE COSTS: 'A Florida insurance company's husband-and-wife team of top executives earned pay in 2023 and 2024 that totaled more than $50 million, according to federal filings,' reports Anne Geggis of the Palm Beach Post.
'Tampa-based Slide Insurance Co., the state's sixth-largest insurance company, which started operations in 2022, paid its CEO Bruce Lucas $21 million last year, more than all other Florida insurance companies except for one. And Slide's COO Shannon Lucas made $16.5 million that same year, according to a May 23 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, first reported in the Insurance Journal.'
NOW HIRING — 'After public backlash and concern, the National Weather Service is beginning the process of hiring more than 100 employees to 'stabilize operations' at its field offices around the country,' reports NPR's Greg Allen.
'Following cuts ordered by the Trump administration earlier this year, the weather service lost nearly 600 positions.'
— 'Severe weather: As budget cuts hit, AI tools could fill gaps but data they need is at risk,' by Laura Cassels of the Florida Trident.
CAMPAIGN MODE
LOSING LATINO SUPPORT? — 'After Latino voters moved toward President Donald Trump in November, a new in-depth survey of this demographic shows their support for him could be breaking,' reports POLITICO's Andrew Howard.
'Throughout the president's first few months in office, his favorability among Latinos is crashing, especially among independents and women, according to a new poll conducted by Global Strategy Group and commissioned by Somos Votantes, a Democratic-leaning group that focuses on Latinos.'
TRUMPLANDIA AND THE SWAMP
SPACE AXE — Forty-one of NASA's science projects are on the chopping block after the Trump administration released new details about their budget proposal for the agency, which slashes their funds by about 25 percent, reports Eric Lagatta of the Tallahassee Democrat.
The cut would be the biggest in NASA's history for a single year if Congress approves the proposal. The Planetary Society called it 'an extinction-level event for the space agency's most productive, successful, and broadly supported activity: science.'
TRANSITION TIME
— Sen. RICK SCOTT announced this morning that STU SANDLER is the new chief of staff for his office. Sandler has previously worked as political director for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the executive director for the Michigan Republican Party, deputy director of the Republican Jewish Coalition and director of external affairs for Michigan Attorney General MIKE COX. The former chief of staff, CRAIG CARBONE, is leaving at the end of this week.
ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN
— 'A beginner's guide to the Florida Panthers: Stanley Cup Final edition,' by Axios' Martin Vassolo.
— The South Florida Sun Sentinel has also put together a list of watch parties.
BIRTHDAYS: Former Miami-Dade County Judge Ed Newman … Julie Fess, government affairs consultant with Gunster ... Holly Benson, former state legislator and former Agency for Health Care Administration secretary.