Yesterday, prime minister Mark Carney had a sit-down meeting with Pierre Poilievre about, well, we’re not entirely sure. Both of their readouts are very different spins on their conversation, but I guess it was about looking at ways to cooperate over the next few months? But let’s take this with a shaker’s full of salt.

Carney is certainly looking to get bills passed through the current minority parliament in a way that won’t be drama with every vote, particularly as he is now down two MPs (soon to be three), while Poilievre has no actual interest in going to an election anytime soon because a) he can read the polls just as much as anyone else and Carney’s favourables are particularly high right now, and b) he wants the NDP to be able to actually fight an election so that they can peel voters away from the Liberals, as the Conservatives need a relatively strong NDP to make that happen, and they are in no position right now. So he needs to save some face while playing along with Carney, so that translates to this faux conciliatory tone, while his “specific suggestions” are always to destroy all environmental laws, and to inevitably drive investment away through uncertainty and increased litigation—such a winning strategy! In any case, I suspect that they will have agreed to pass certain bills, possibly with amendments, by a certain date, before Poilievre gets to carry on with his little song and dance about imaginary taxes and “red tape,” because he has demonstrated time and again that “cooperation” means “do what I say.”

Meanwhile, Jamil Jivani headed to Washington, and apparently got a briefing from Dominic LeBlanc before he left. That said, Carney was throwing some shade around about how Jivani is not the party’s trade critic, and that he was mostly doing it for media attention. Mélanie Joly also noted that he has never said anything about the job losses at the GM plant in his riding, so she was not exactly convinced by his desire to help. In any case, Jivani had his meetings, and tweeted that he had a message from Trump, which was that he “loves” Canadians. Gee, thanks.

Ukraine Dispatch

At least seven people were killed when Russia shelled a front-line town in Donetsk. There are evacuations taking place in Zaporizhzhia region as Russians advance on more settlements. More power cuts are expected as they expect more attacks on Kyiv. Zelenskyy says that 55,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed so far, which is a lot less than the Russian casualties, which total over a million deaths and injuries.

Good reads:

• Anita Anand went to Washington for the critical minerals summit, but did not sign any agreements related to it.
• Sean Fraser has (correctly!) dismissed Danielle Smith’s demand for more input in to the appointment of judges in her province.
• Randeep Sarai wants foreign aid to generate economic spinoffs for Canada (which both misses the point and is absolutely squandering our soft power. FFS!)
• The government re-introduced a bill to make electronic health records able to be safely shared outside of existing silos.
• The government is expected to announce its automotive strategy today, which includes scrapping the EV mandate in favour or more fuel efficiency standards.
• The government is scrapping the offices of special advisors on antisemitism and Islamophobia in favour of a new “Council on Rights, Equality and Inclusion.”
• Taiwan’s representative to Canada is concerned that the trade agreement has been waiting for final signature for months while Carney has been pursing China.
• Here is a look into those slop videos appearing on YouTube, intent on sowing divisions between Canada and the US, as someone is making money that way.
• Liberal MP Corey Hogan wants to reform Question Period to include longer questions and answers; opposition parties aren’t keen because they only want clips.
• Here is an update on the state of the NDP leadership race, where Avi Lewis leads in fundraising but that may not help on a ranked ballot.
• Alberta NDP leader Naheed Nenshi is warning federal counterparts not to mess things up for them as they work to defeat Danielle Smith’s corrupt government.
• Stéphane Dion offers a dire warning to Albertans about the cost of secession, particularly if it means being absorbed by the US.
• Emmett Macfarlane calls out Danielle Smith’s latest attack on the constitution with her demands about judicial appointments.
• Matt Gurney wants people to stop comparing Poilievre with Trump—fair!—and says that while Poilievre has his problems, being Trump-like isn’t one of them.

Odds and ends:

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