Hello,
Former Alberta premier Rachel Notley, after almost a decade at the helm of province’s New Democratic Party, is stepping down.
It’s a development that will precipitate a race to win the leadership of the party and Official Opposition.
Notley said today that she will stay on as leader until a replacement is chosen and is not endorsing any candidate. That means she will remain on the front bench during the spring sitting of the Alberta Legislature.
Notley served as premier from 2015 until 2019, when she was defeated by the United Conservative Party led by Jason Kenney. In May, 2023, Notley’s NDP lost the election to the UCP led by Danielle Smith. But still, the NDP captured 38 of the 87 legislature seats to become the Official Opposition, the largest in provincial history.
REPORTER’S COMMENT
Rachel Notley took a party that was viewed almost exclusively as a vehicle for opposition to the dynastic Progressive Conservatives and built it into a real governance option for many Albertans. Party supporters worried the movement had been extinguished when Grant Notley died in a plane crash four decades ago. But Ms. Notley’s ascension as leader, in her father’s footsteps, in 2014, followed by her party’s electoral win the next year, rewrote the script on Alberta politics.
Even in the most recent loss in May’s election, the NDP’s popular vote and seat gains in Calgary have kept the governing United Conservative Party on edge.
Although there are many potential contenders, there is not yet a clear front-runner in the leadership race. One of the biggest questions in the province will be whether the Alberta NDP will still be a political force without Notley at the helm.
At a news conference Tuesday, she left the door open to this not being the true end to her political career. She said with certainty she’s not interested in federal politics, but is still deciding whether to run in the riding of Edmonton-Strathcona in the next provincial election. “There is certainly a chance,” she told reporters. “And there’s a chance I might not.” – Kelly Cryderman
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TODAY'S HEADLINES
Americans face a tough choice in fall election as polarization becomes more profound, says Justin Trudeau: At a gathering of the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal, the Prime Minister said Americans will have to decide whether they want to continue being a country that is optimistic and engaged in the future.
Ottawa clamps down on university research partnerships with China, Iran and Russia: The long-promised package of reforms would ban federal granting agencies and the Canada Foundation for Innovation from funding sensitive technology research at any university, laboratory and research institution if they are co-operating with military, national defence or state security bodies of countries that could pose a risk to Canada’s national security.
Inflation heats up in December, posing a challenge for the Bank of Canada: The Consumer Price Index rose at an annual pace of 3.4 per cent last month, up from 3.1 per cent in November, Statistics Canada said in a report.
Two federal officials suspended without pay over contract misconduct allegations: Cameron MacDonald, an assistant deputy minister at Health Canada, describes the reprisals against him and Antonio Utano as “Kafkaesque madness” in a strongly worded letter to the House of Commons committee on government operations.
Atlantic, federal housing ministers agree factory-produced homes offer way forward: Federal Housing Minister Sean Fraser has been promoting the housing catalogue and more factory-built homes as a modernized version of efforts from the era after the Second World War.
Bennett to become Canada’s ambassador to Denmark: Radio Canada says the Trudeau government is about to appoint former cabinet minister Carolyn Bennett, a Toronto MP for 26 years, as ambassador to Denmark.
Ontario minister defends plan to provide some government services out of Staples’ stores kiosks: The government didn’t deny the deal with Staples was sole-sourced, but Todd McCarthy, the Minister of Public and Business Service, suggested that process wasn’t followed because this is a “pilot project.”
Twenty per cent rise in hate incidents in nation’s capital over the past year: Ottawa’s police chief says these “concerning” numbers underscore the need for improved education on combating hatred.
THIS AND THAT
Cabinet retreat: The Prime Minister’s Office has confirmed a cabinet retreat in Montreal from Sunday until Tuesday. Among the topics on the agenda, says an announcement from the PMO, is Canada’s relationship with the United States ahead of this fall’s presidential election.
Commons and Senate on a break: The House of Commons is on a break until Jan. 29. The Senate sits again on Feb. 6.
Deputy Prime Minister’s day: Private meetings in Toronto.
Ministers on the road: Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault, in Winnipeg, met with provincial and territorial labour-market ministers to discuss Canada’s labour market and the future of employment. Tourism Minister Soraya Martinez Ferrada, in Longueuil, Que., announced government support for Polara, which creates electric-vehicle charging infrastructure. Diversity Minister Kamal Khera, in North Vancouver, B.C., announced funding for Black communities in British Columbia and revealed the theme for Black History Month. Fisheries Minister Diane Lebouthillier, in St. John’s, and accompanied by Rural Development Minister Gudie Hutching, made an announcement on an investment under the National Shipbuilding Strategy. Immigration Minister Marc Miller, in the New Brunswick town of Caraquet, updated various elements related to francophone immigration in Canada. Filomena Tassi, minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, in Markham, north of Toronto, and accompanied by International Trade Minister Mary Ng, made a technology-sector announcement. Later Tassi, in nearby Unionville, announced support of main street businesses across Southern Ontario.
PRIME MINISTER’S DAY
Justin Trudeau, in Montreal, participated in an economic discussion at an event held by the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal.
LEADERS
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre was scheduled to attend a fundraising reception in the Montreal enclave of Westmount.
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May met with constituents in Sidney, B.C.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh was to meet with Burnaby, B.C., Mayor Mike Hurley.
No schedules released for Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet.
THE DECIBEL
On today’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast, Niall McGee, The Globe’s mining reporter, explains how the leader of one First Nation in the area of Ontario’s Ring of Fire is pushing to allow for mining of the area believed to contain critical minerals worth tens of billions of dollars and why he sees it as important for reconciliation.
OPINION
The Globe and Mail Editorial Board on how there’s no excuse for not paying jurors properly: “Juries are fundamental to our legal system, which makes it all the more puzzling why governments across Canada, with the notable exception of Saskatchewan, refuse to properly pay jurors for their time.”
Campbell Clark (The Globe and Mail) on when Doug Ford will rein in Ontario’s foreign-student industry?: “For months now, federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller has been warning provinces that if they don’t rein in the boom in foreign students, Ottawa will have to do something. By provinces, he really means Ontario, the irresponsible actor that has blown up the system for the whole country. Yet there’s been no word from Ontario Premier Doug Ford on whether he has any plans to fix the problem. So far, his government has done almost nothing.”
André Picard (The Globe and Mail) on how Florida’s plan to import drugs from Canada is a non-starter: “The idea of raiding Canada’s medicine cabinet has existed for decades. As far back as 1999, and as recently as 2019, maverick U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders has been leading caravans of Americans to Canada to purchase cheaper drugs such as insulin. Small-scale purchases like that are not a problem.”
Lloyd Axworthy and Fen Osler Hampson (Contributed to The Globe and Mail) on how the G7 can prove its commitment to Ukraine by seizing Russian assets: “To its credit, Canada has already taken the lead on asset forfeiture, announcing changes to its sanctions legislation in 2022 as well as the forfeiture of some $26-million in a Canadian company owned by sanctioned Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich; last year, the federal government seized a Russian-owned heavy-lift cargo jet with plans to transfer it to Ukraine. It must now be the voice of reason and conviction at the G7.”
Robert Libman (The Montreal Gazette) on how Denis Coderre could help the Quebec Liberals: “The Liberals were decimated in the last election and have decided to wait until early 2025 to select a new leader. For many in the party, Coderre is damaged goods and his arrival on the scene is like a skunk at a garden party. And yet this is probably the best thing that can happen to the Liberals. Not necessarily because Coderre is the saviour who can immediately bring them back to where they can win the next provincial election, but because it thrusts the Liberal party back into the conversation.”
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Ian Bailey