Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
Erin O’Toole loses Conservative Party leadership vote
Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole lost his bid to remain at the helm of the party after his own elected members of Parliament voted him out.
The final result was 73 to 45, according to caucus sources who were at the meeting. It amounts to a decisive 62-per-cent rejection of O’Toole. The Globe and Mail is not identifying the sources for this story, because they weren’t permitted to disclose internal party deliberations.
The vote ends a protracted battle over his brief 17-month tenure as leader and launches the party into its third leadership race since 2015.
- John Ibbitson: The Conservative Party will now search for a leader who can unite them. Good luck with that
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Ottawa police chief says all options on the table to resolve trucker convoy protest – including negotiation or enforcement
Ottawa’s police chief said Wednesday that all options for the resolution of the demonstration in the country’s capital are on the table and range from a negotiated conclusion to an enforced one, but he said all approaches come with significant risks, including rioting, injury and death.
Peter Sloly said that his service is also aware of a significant element from the United States that has been involved in the funding, organization and demonstrating taking place on Parliament Hill and surrounding streets and that there are plans for more to come.
Individuals from every part of the country have come to Ottawa, he added, noting that there are local residents also participating in the events, which have put the city, its residents and police officers at great risk.
- Protesters in southern Alberta allow Coutts border to partially reopen after five days of protests over COVID-19 rules
- Opinion: Calling COVID-19 vaccine mandates a ‘crime against humanity’ isn’t just wrong, it’s dangerous
- Where in downtown Ottawa is the trucker convoy based, and where have disruptions spread? A visual guide
Canada in talks about sending more forces to eastern Europe, Anand says
Defence Minister Anita Anand says discussions are under way around increasing Canada’s military presence in eastern Europe to bolster NATO’s eastern flank in the face of Russia’s military buildup.
Yet even as the United States became the latest NATO member to commit more forces to the region with the deployment of 3,000 additional troops to Europe, Anand is declining to say when a Canadian decision could come.
“At the current time, we are considering options to reinforce in eastern Europe,” Anand said, adding: “We are working with our allies and co-ordinating across the alliance.”
- Canadian-led battlegroup ‘on front line’ with Russia in NATO’s defence of Baltics
Rogers looks to raise US$2-billion, sources say, in its second large bond offering in recent months
Rogers Communications is building its war chest by marketing its second $2-billion debt offering offering in as many months, ahead of its planned takeover of Shaw Communications Inc.
The telecom giant is working on Wednesday with a syndicate of banks on the sale of at least $2-billion of U.S. dollar-denominated hybrid bonds to U.S. institutional investors, according to sources at three investment banks involved in the marketing campaign. The Globe and Mail has agreed not to name these sources because they are not authorized to speak for the company. A spokesperson for Rogers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In December, Rogers initially set out to sell Canadian investors $1-billion of hybrid bonds that paid 5-per-cent interest and came due in 60 years.
- Rogers continues overhaul of senior leadership team after fight for control of telecom giant
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Israel having trouble repeating its world-leading success in fighting COVID-19 as Omicron cases surge: If there was one country that seemed to have its pandemic-response act together, it was Israel. Then came the highly contagious Omicron variant, and Israel now finds itself back on the pandemic front lines, with one of the highest per-capita infection rates in the world.
- Britain’s COVID-19 human challenge trial offers insights into why the virus spreads so quickly
Charles Hamelin, Marie-Philip Poulin named Canada’s flag-bearers: Women’s hockey captain Marie-Philip Poulin and speed skater Charles Hamelin will share the duty of carrying Canada’s flag at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. In a country that churns out Winter Olympic stars, Poulin and Hamelin are two of Canada’s finest, with nine Olympic appearances and eight medals between them.
Jeff Zucker resigns as CNN president: CNN president Jeff Zucker resigned from the media company after failing to disclose he was in a consensual relationship with another network executive. He was asked about the relationship during an investigation into former CNN anchor Chris Cuomo, who was ousted for helping his brother, then-New York governor Andrew Cuomo, navigate a sexual harassment investigation.
Listen to The Decibel: How Boris Johnson might survive his boozy scandal: The much-anticipated report into the parties at 10 Downing Street by British civil servant Sue Gray said that some of those gatherings represented a failure in leadership at a time when the rest of the country was under strict lockdowns. Europe Correspondent Paul Waldie tells us what was in the report, what’s been left out and why it might not be enough to oust a political survivor like Boris Johnson.
Parents are bankrolling their kids’ house down payments - but can they afford it?: Home prices have skyrocketed since the start of the pandemic, a trend that’s gotten so bad some parents have been giving their adult kids the money they need for a down payment. But what impact is it having on their own finances?
MARKET WATCH
Canada’s main stock index climbed to its highest level in more than two weeks on Wednesday, as gains for energy and financial shares offset a decline in the technology sector. All three Wall Street benchmarks also closed higher, a fourth straight session of gains after a turbulent start to the year, aided by upbeat earnings from Google-parent Alphabet and chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index ended up 42.44 points, or 0.2 per cent, at 21,362.36, also its fourth straight advance, and the highest closing level since Jan. 17. According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 gained 42.77 points, or 0.91 per cent, to end at 4,589.03 points, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 67.09 points, or 0.46 per cent, to 14,413.10. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 211.07 points, or 0.60 per cent, to 35,624.21.
The Canadian dollar traded for 78.88 cents US compared with 78.78 cents US on Tuesday.
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TALKING POINTS
Unlike Putin, the West doesn’t know what it wants in Eastern Europe
“The West has been only half-open to Ukraine, just half-supported its independence, territorial integrity and transition to being a viable, sovereign, democratic European state. Ukraine is not in NATO, nor will be any time soon, but NATO is in Ukraine. NATO member states, including the U.S. and U.K., have supplied weapons and have military training personnel there. Ukraine is not in the EU, nor will be any time soon, but the EU is in Ukraine.” - Timothy Garton Ash
In online learning, best practices around testing students have posed tests of their own
“Creating a fair and trustworthy way to test students online has proven to be more challenging than I ever imagined. It has raised some tough questions: Are the grades awarded from online testing comparable to those obtained in traditional formats? What happens in a hybrid situation when lectures or tests are virtual? How will employers decipher and weigh the grades from online courses?” - Mark Lautens
LIVING BETTER
The best of January TV on streaming
From left, Violet (Sue Ann Pien), Jack (Rick Glassman) and Harrison (Albert Rutecki) in As We See It.Ali Goldstein/Amazon Studios
From Yellowjackets, a dark tale of brutality inflectedwith livid humour, to As We See It, a “dramedy” about twentysomething roommates who are on the autism spectrum, January was a splendid start to the year on TV, says Globe critic John Doyle. Here’s a list of the best.
TODAY’S LONG READ
Social media doppelgangers stay on top of Canadian news one confused tweet at a time
After Winnipeg city council voted Monday to condemn racist imagery at a protest over the weekend, a Regina resident wanted his councillors to do the same.
So he did what many people do in the 21st century when wanting something from a politician. He tweeted at them.
The response wasn’t quite what he was looking for.
“I am not the mayor,” came the written response. “This is my name.” Read the full story.
Evening Update is written by Beatrice Paez. If you’d like to receive this newsletter by e-mail every weekday evening, go here to sign up. If you have any feedback, send us a note.