Capital Dispatch: 'Canada will be absolutely fine'

Here's what you need to know about the top political stories of the week.

November 8, 2024

Canada prepares for America's second Donald Trump presidency   Americans decided. The massively consequential news that Donald Trump -- record and all -- has been re-elected president and will take back occupancy of the White House in January was the biggest news in this nation's capital this week. Plus, the domestic political headlines you may have missed.    The week that was Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and members of his cabinet were quick to congratulate U.S. presidential and vice-presidential victors Donald Trump and JD Vance on Wednesday morning after the Republican ticket crossed the 270 electoral college threshold overnight.  Canada's top politicians quickly faced a barrage of questions about how the federal government intends to navigate a second term. Trudeau and his cabinet sought to offer assurances to Canadians, businesses, and stakeholders that the federal government has a plan to protect domestic interests. "I want to congratulate Donald on a decisive victory last night. I look forward to working with President Trump once again," Trudeau told reporters. "I know that there's lots of work for us to do, and I'm looking forward to doing it."  "I want to say with utter sincerity and conviction to Canadians that Canada will be absolutely fine," Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said. Without offering specifics, ministers cited leveraging existing relationships with Trump's inner circle, promoting their shared interests in addressing what he two countries see as China's unfair trade practices in the auto sector, and drawing attention to how integrated the two countries' economies and supply chains are. Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said Canada still has time to make its case, as Trump won't take office until January. "I was already texting folks in the United States, and they're responding. So, this is good," Champagne said. With Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre pushing for an early election, which if polling persists, could see him take the top job and take over managing the cross-border relationship, it's worth noting what he, and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh had to say about Trump's win.  Poilievre congratulated Trump and vowed to work with him "to benefit both countries," and said the results reaffirm the need to scrap the carbon tax. "The U.S. has already taken half a trillion dollars of investment and jobs from Canada under nine years of Trudeau, and our people cannot afford homes and food," Poilievre said. Singh did not congratulate Trump on his win. Instead, he said he is "worried." "There's a lot of really challenging and problematic things that Mr. Trump has said. Things that are going to cause deep, deep fears for people around the world, but here in Canada as well," Singh said. Trudeau and the U.S. president-elect the spoke Wednesday night. A senior Canadian government source told CTV News that the two had a "warm conversation," with Trump describing his past relationship with Trudeau as "great" and noting that they "got a lot done together." Trudeau mentioned how his own father lost an election and came back to win, a point Trump enjoyed, the source said, adding that the president-elect called Pierre Elliott Trudeau a "fantastic guy." After all the congratulations and attempts at assurances, the processing of what this could mean for Canada really began, across sectors.  From increased pressure on defence spending, to the looming tariff threat that could shrink the Canadian economy and drive prices higher, we talked to some smart people about the implications.  The quote that's resonated with me, and helped distill down the economic concern came from an interview with economist and Atkinson Fellow on the Future of Workers, Armine Yalnizyan.  "We'll see higher prices, higher interest rates, because inflation won't go away, and that will slow down the economy and the purchasing power of Americans, consequently, cascading over the border into our own well-being, both as consumers and as workers," she explained to me.  On the border angle we got new details this week about the scope of the Canadian government's concern and preparations. As colleagues Judy Trinh and Joe Lofaro report, The RCMP confirmed it has been preparing contingency plans for a potential influx of asylum seekers crossing the border ahead of Trump's inauguration, given his promise of "mass deportations." The plan includes deploying more RCMP officers along the border, buying or renting space to temporarily hold migrants, purchasing more police vehicles, and leaning on resources from other provinces as they did following the 2016 election.  "All options are on the table right now," RCMP Sgt. Charles Poirier said. "But at the end of the day, if someone comes in, we absolutely need to arrest them. So, we'll put in whatever resources we have to make sure we arrest everyone that comes in." Lastly, Trudeau is reviving a special cabinet committee dedicated to Canada-U.S. relations in light of the outcome of the election. The committee will focus on "critical Canada-U.S. issues," according to a Thursday statement from the Prime Minister's Office.  Leaning back into her cross-border mediator role, Freeland will chair the committee. Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc will be vice-chair. The other ministers on the committee give a clear sense of the files where the federal government is bracing for the most friction.  They are: Transport Minister Anita Anand; Defence Minister Bill Blair; Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne; Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly; Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay; Immigration Minister Marc Miller; International Trade Minister Mary Ng; Emergency Preparedness Minister Harjit Sajjan; and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson.  Testifying before a parliamentary committee on Thursday, LeBlanc said that the prime minister called him on Wednesday to talk about his role, but that he doesn't yet know what the agenda items will be.   The committee is meeting for the first time Friday, and Freeland is expected to take questions afterwards. Keep your eyes on CTVNews.ca/politics for the latest on that this afternoon.

Not to be missed Joly calls $9M condo purchase an 'operational decision' Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly defended the purchase of a $9 million condo for the Consulate General of New York City at a parliamentary committee Tuesday, as a necessary investment. For an hour, the Liberal minister pushed back on accusations from Conservative members of the committee who accused the government of wasting taxpayer dollars on a luxury condo located on Billionaires' Row in Manhattan. As colleague Mike Le Couteur reports, in a number of combative exchanges, Conservative MP Michael Barrett accused current Consulate General of New York and former journalist Tom Clark of lying in his previous testimony to the committee where he said he was not involved in the decision to purchase the new residence.  Canada 'deeply concerned' after alleged Russian sabotage plot     The Canadian government says it has raised concerns directly with Russian officials after media reports this week revealed an alleged Russian sabotage operation. The alleged plot included plans to send parcels packed with incendiary devices aboard aircraft destined for Canada and the United States. "The Government of Canada is aware of and deeply concerned with Russia's intensifying campaign, from cyber incidents and disinformation operations to sabotage activities," wrote Public Safety Canada spokesperson Zarah Malik in an emailed statement to CTV News. As colleague Brennan MacDonald reports, Malik added that Canada directly expressed this concern to Russian officials, stating that any threat to the safety of Canadians is "unacceptable." Sparks fly pension perk of proposed election date change Sparks flew at a parliamentary committee Thursday as MPs questioned Canada's democratic institutions minister about a widely-opposed provision in electoral reform legislation that seeks to delay the next fixed election date by one week and as a result could protect dozens of MPs' pensions.Testifying about Bill C-65, the "Electoral Participation Act," Public Safety and Democratic Institutions Minister Dominic LeBlanc faced a barrage of questions about the government's proposal to move the next fixed election date from Oct. 20, 2025, to Oct. 27, 2025. With all opposition parties coming out against the change – and LeBlanc stating he will "happily respect the will of this committee" if it leaves the fixed date as it stands. The provision appears unlikely to make it into the final version of the legislation. Indigenous judge and TRC chair Murray Sinclair dies at 73 And, Murray Sinclair died peacefully on Monday in Winnipeg, according to a statement from his family. Throughout his life, Sinclair tried to shine a light on the dark corners of Canada's history. As the head of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) he led Canada through a reckoning with its past abuses of Indigenous peoples in residential schools. In a statement, his family said Sinclair "committed his life in service to the people: creating change, revealing truth, and leading with fairness throughout his career." After delivering the TRC report he was appointed as a senator where he continued his work. Condolences poured in from across the country, with Rose LeMay calling him Canada's Martin Luther King Jr. and Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew saying it will be a while before "our nation produces another person the calibre of Murray Sinclair."

Quote of the week "I know that a lot of Canadians are anxious, a lot of Canadians have been anxious this week, a lot of Canadians were anxious throughout the night, and I want to say with utter sincerity and conviction to Canadians that Canada will be absolutely fine. We have a strong relationship with the United States. We have a strong relationship with President Trump and his team… I have really great confidence that at a moment like this — which is a moment of great change for the world, we have to be candid about that — I have real confidence that Canada is going to come together and face this moment as a united Team Canada. We've done it before every time we face a big national challenge, and I have already had so much outreach from business leaders, from provinces, from labour leaders across the country. We are going to work together and I'm confident we will continue to be successful in not only defending the national interest, but ensuring that Canada thrives."    - Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, reacting Wednesday to Trump's win.

The week ahead It's a break week next week, as MPs will be in their constituencies for Remembrance Day on Monday. Though, that doesn't mean major political news will slide to the backburner.   For weeks there's been chatter about when the prime minister would shuffle his cabinet.   Now that the U.S. election is in the rearview and we all know which president-elect the Canadian government will be contending with, could this week while the House of Commons isn't sitting be the time for Trudeau to refresh his front bench?

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