Hello,
Patrick Brown, disqualified in his bid to win the leadership of the federal Conservatives, says he will seek a second term as mayor of Brampton.
Mr. Brown made the announcement on Monday in the Toronto-area community of about 660,000 people where he has been mayor since 2018 after a run in politics that included stints as a Conservative MP, and leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservatives.
“My entire focus in the years ahead is going to be making sure that we have Brampton in a strong position, that we continue to make sure our city gets its fair share, that we’re able to get good-paying jobs in our community,” he told a news conference.
The municipal election is scheduled to be held on Oct. 24 and the deadline for registering as a candidate is Aug. 19.
Lawyers for Mr. Brown are attempting to appeal his disqualification as a Conservative leadership candidate over campaign financial irregularities.
Mr. Brown said Monday that the case against him was “manufactured” by the party, and his legal team is working to clarify the situation. “We’re still pursuing our legal options to make sure what was done was exposed,” he said.
Mr. Brown, whose campaign has said it signed up about 150,000 Conservative supporters for the leadership race, has previously endorsed Jean Charest as leader, but said Monday that his supporters could consider another candidate who shares Mr. Brown’s “inclusive values,” namely Ontario MP Scott Aitchison.
Elsewhere, a Liberal MP entered a mayoralty race in British Columbia.
Sukh Dhaliwal is seeking to become the mayor of Surrey, the second most populous city in the province. He is leading a slate of candidates for council under the new United Surrey banner.
There is no federal legislation prohibiting or disqualifying a MP from being a candidate in a municipal election
Mr. Dhaliwal, the MP for Newton-North Delta from 2006 to 2011 and then MP for Surrey-Newton since 2015, is entering a crowded field.
Current Mayor Doug McCallum is seeking his fifth term as mayor. Also former NDP MP Jinny Sims, who beat Mr. Dhaliwal for his seat in 2011, and was defeated by Mr. Dhaliwal in 2015, is also seeking the mayor’s office. Current city councilor Brenda Locke is also running for the job.
With a file from The Canadian Press.
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TODAY'S HEADLINES
PAT KING GETS BAIL - A key figure of the self-described “Freedom Convoy” protest has been granted bail after spending five months in jail, an Ottawa court decided Monday. Story here from CBC.
BOISCLAIR JAILED - Former Parti Québécois leader André Boisclair has been sentenced to two years less a day for sexual assault. Story here.
AMAZON PROFITS APPROACH WARRANTS CHANGE: TORIES AND INDUSTRY GROUPS - The federal Conservatives and industry groups representing Canada’s small businesses and technology sector are calling for changes to the tax system that for years allowed Amazon.com Inc. to book its Canadian retail profits in the U.S., minimizing its exposure to corporate taxation here. Story here.
TWO MORE B.C. CABINET MINISTERS RULE OUT BID TO REPLACE HORGAN - Two more high-profile British Columbia NDP cabinet ministers have announced they’re not running to replace Premier John Horgan, further solidifying a likely coronation for Attorney-General David Eby. Story here from The Province.
ESCALATE INTERNATIONAL PRESSURE ON RUSSIA: ZELENSKY TELLS TRUDEAU - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky implored Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to escalate international pressure on the Kremlin after Canada circumvented its own sanctions against Russia to help European allies. Story here.
PROTESTERS CURTAIL TRUDEAU APPEARANCE - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s day of whistle stops in the Ottawa area ended early Friday as anti-Liberal protesters gathered outside a brewery before he arrived. Story here.
$8,000 FLIGHT FOR SASKATCHEWAN MINISTER - Saskatchewan’s Finance Minister spent nearly $8,000 on a private plane to attend a chamber of commerce lunch days after she tabled a provincial budget containing tax hikes. Story here.
TRUDEAU GETS A `VERY SHORT’ HAIRCUT - The Prime Minister has a new haircut. Story here from canoe.com. As a Canadian Press pool report on Justin Trudeau’s visit to a visitors centre in Gatineau Park said on Friday, “It’s … very short..”
CONSERVATIVE LEADERSHIP RACE
CAMPAIGN TRAIL - Scott Aitchison is in the Greater Toronto Area. Roman Baber is holding a meet-and-greet event in Oakville. Jean Charest is in Toronto. Pierre Poilievre is in Ottawa. No details on Leslyn Lewis’ campaign whereabouts Monday, but she has stops across Ontario through the week.
AITCHISON AT MUNK SCHOOL - Mr. Aitchison is scheduled to participate in an hour-long forum at the Munk School of Global Affairs on Wednesday at 2 p.m. Peter Loewen, the school director, will be the moderator, Details here for the in-person and online event.
THIS AND THAT
The House of Commons is not sitting again until Sept. 19. The Senate is to resume sitting on Sept. 20.
NWT PREMIER HAS COVID-19 - Northwest Territories Premier Caroline Cochrane says she has tested positive for COVID-19. “My symptoms are mild and I’m doing well. Thankfully I have both my shots and have been boosted,” Ms. Cochrane said in a tweet here.
ALGHABRA IN KAMLOOPS - Transport Minister Omar Alghabra, in Kamloops, B.C., announced that the federal government is providing the city’s airport with more than $1.8-million for an airfield electrical replacement project.
BLAIR IN VANCOUVER - Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair held a news conference in Vancouver on Monday with British Columbia Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth during which he announced advance payments of over $870-million to the B.C. government to support flood, landslide and storm recovery efforts in the province.
CHAMPAGNE IN UNITED KINGDOM - Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne is in the United Kingdom on Monday and Tuesday to attend the 2022 Farnborough International Airshow and meet with stakeholders in the aerospace, space and defence sectors. His agenda includes a fireside chat with the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada and a media availability.
THE DECIBEL On Monday’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast, The Globe’s Asia Correspondent James Griffiths says that China will be closely watching the unrest in Sri Lanka where months of fuel, medicine and food shortages have prompted protestors to take to the streets and the homes of the country’s leaders and will be evaluating whether Sri Lanka will stay within its sphere of influence. The Decibel is here.
PRIME MINISTER'S DAY
In British Columbia, the Prime Minister visited a local children’s day camp in the Interior Region of the province, and a local food processing facility and was scheduled to visit a local family farm. The Prime Minister’s Office did not disclose specific communities on their daily media advisory,
LEADERS
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet is in Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean as part of a summer tour running from July 18 to 22, 2022.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, in Whitehorse, met with the Council of Yukon First Nations and was was scheduled to meet with Yukon First Nation Wildfire - a partnership of nine Yukon First Nations stakeholders. that train and employ response crews for wildfires, flooding and other disaster and response mitigation efforts - and to hold a meet and greet event in Whitehorse.
No schedules released for other party leaders.
TRIBUTE
ST-PHILIPPE PASSES - Nadège St-Philippe, a prominent TV host and weather presenter on Quebec’s TVA television network since 2006, died Saturday evening, after she had been diagnosed with cancer for a second time late last year. Story here from CBC.
PUBLIC OPINION
Data Dive with Nik Nanos: When it comes to public opinion, a majority of Canadians believe the country should expand oil and gas exports to help give the world more secure energy supplies. However, a majority also want Canada to meet climate commitments, even if it means energy prices increasing. The Dive is here.
OPINION
Kelly Cryderman (The Globe and Mail) on how Danielle Smith’s push for provincial autonomy in the UCP leadership race is driving astounding political rehabilitation: “Since Ms. Smith lost the PC nomination contest in Highwood in 2015 – and Mr. Prentice lost the election to the NDP – she steered clear of elected politics (until now). But she’s always kept her hand in it, hosting a news and talk show on private radio, as well as emceeing various conferences and speeches. It’s been a slow burn, but she’s stayed in the public eye. Her strategy seems to have been at least a partial success. And political memories are, for the moment, being overtaken by a relentless barrage of Smith campaigning and policy.”
Christian Leuprecht and Shuvaloy Majumdar (Contributed to The Globe and Mail) on how Canada is allowing Russia’s energy blackmail to win the day in Europe: “Canada is in a deep strategic crisis. In a contest where the democratic world’s economic and political order is under systemic assault by tyrants, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government appears to be dispensing with natural Canadian strengths that would change the geopolitical equation. Ottawa claims to be defending the rules-based international order, and yet, confronted by the Kremlin and Beijing, it is doing the opposite – it is undermining it. The Trudeau government’s decisions are helping bolster the democratic world’s authoritarian rivals.”
Steven Tobin and Parisa Mahboubi (Contributed to The Globe and Mail) on how Canada keeps making labour market mistakes by missing recession-era opportunities: “Once labour and skill shortages rear their ugly heads, it’s almost too late to do anything. They require a quick response in order to increase the supply of labour with the required skills – but workforce investments of this nature take time and, because of skill losses during unemployment, the longer people go without working the more challenging and costly these programs become. Of course, hindsight is 20/20, but we keep making the same mistake over and over. During economic downturns, such as the one at the start of the pandemic, governments have focused too narrowly on income support when, in addition, they should also use these periods as opportunities to make the right investments in people and skills.”
Steve Paikin (TVO) on Ontario New Democrat Gilles Bisson looking to the future after three decades at Queen’s Park: “The June 2 election night featured the worst — and the best — experiences of Bisson’s 32 years in provincial politics. On the one hand, the Progressive Conservative candidate, Timmins mayor George Pirie, romped to victory with almost 65 per cent of the votes, compared to less than 30 per cent for Bisson. Timmins was one of many ridings formerly held by the NDP that switched to the PCs last month. But Bisson shocked Pirie’s team when he showed up at his opponent’s campaign headquarters on election night with a handful of his own campaign team and NDP MP Charlie Angus, a long-time friend. As PC supporters looked on suspiciously, Bisson marched up to Pirie, shook his hand, congratulated him on his victory, then gave a concession speech at the new MPP’s headquarters. “The whole room was thinking, ‘What the f**k is he doing here?’” Bisson says jocularly. “But it’s what you need to do when you lose. We don’t need to be Donald Trumps with a January 6 insurrection. We have a great democratic system here in Ontario. You have to accept these things and be gracious in defeat.”
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