Hello, welcome to Politics Insider. Let’s look at what happened today.
The Ontario Liberal Party is standing by the results of its nomination contest in the Toronto riding of Scarborough Southwest as losing candidate Liberal MP Nate Erskine-Smith met with his team to discuss next steps after raising concerns about the race.
On Saturday, Liberal members in the riding chose businessman Ahsanul Hafiz as their next provincial candidate in a yet-to-be-announced by-election, beating Erskine-Smith in a close contest.
Laura Stone reports that the nomination was seen as a critical step in Erskine-Smith’s plan to run for the leadership of the Ontario Liberal Party. He is currently a federal MP for the neighbouring riding of Beaches-East York.
The stakes were raised even higher the night before the vote, when Erskine-Smith’s team released a video with him alongside Prime Minister Mark Carney, who wished him well in provincial politics.
In the end, Erskine-Smith lost the nomination by 19 votes.
Erskine-Smith has been tight-lipped about his future plans if he were to lose the nomination. His spokespeople did not immediately respond to requests for comment today.
According to the party, Erskine-Smith has 72 hours, or until Tuesday night, to appeal.
In other news, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand says Canada’s continuing efforts to secure the return of Ukrainian children abducted by Russian officials show how Ottawa is trying to work with a range of countries to advance practical, humanitarian goals.
In an interview with The Canadian Press ahead of a conference in Brussels today, Anand said Ottawa is focused on what it can achieve for Ukrainians, rather than whether Russia is currently committing an act of genocide.
“For me, the important question is, what are we doing here and now, what are we doing to bring Ukrainian children home,” she said.
“The issues relating to terminology and the classification of the illegal and unjustifiable Russian invasion will be heard in the international court system. We all know that Russia’s actions are against international law – they’re reprehensible and we will do all we can to hold Russia to account.”
In 2024, the Trudeau government co-launched with Ukraine an international coalition of countries pushing for the return of Ukrainian children abducted during the war. Canada is co-hosting a Monday summit of that coalition in Brussels to take stock of those efforts.
Since March, 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin and a senior Russian official have been subject to an International Criminal Court arrest warrant on charges of unlawful deportation and transfer of children.
Ukraine and its allies believe Russia has effectively abducted 20,000 children; about 2,000 of them have returned. Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab believes there are actually 35,000 Ukrainian children being forcibly held in Russia, the parts of Ukraine it occupies and Belarus.
Nate Erskine-Smith walks out of Birchmount Park Collegiate Institute after losing the Ontario Liberal Party nomination in the riding of Scarborough Southwest.Arlyn McAdorey/The Globe and Mail
What else is going on
Ottawa permanently renews creative export initiative, pledges $95-million over five years: On the eve of the Cannes Film Festival, where the industry chatter on the ground suggests that the era in which global culture revolved around the United States is now over, Culture Minister Marc Miller announced today the permanent renewal of a large-scale initiative supporting Canada’s creative pursuits abroad.
Pearson CEO touts `incredible’ benefits of current airport ownership model: As talk of privatization swirls, the head of Toronto’s Pearson airport says the existing public ownership model has served travellers well – but she remains open to “enhancements” that tap into private-sector investment.
Senate bill proposes giving Ottawa the power to confiscate Russian state assets: The measure could help repurpose Russian funds for Ukraine’s reconstruction.
Four Canadian cities compete in race to host defence bank headquarters: Ottawa, Montreal, Vancouver and Toronto are vying to host the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank, which is expected to bring with it about 3,500 jobs.
Six months after loss of measles elimination status, Canada nowhere close to stamping out the virus: Canada officially lost its long-held measles elimination designation in November after failing to interrupt transmission of the highly contagious virus within one year of its outbreak.
Québécois dubbing of The Simpsons to continue after fan protest: The version of The Simpsons dubbed in Québécois French has been saved after Bell Media reached a deal with Disney Entertainment to broadcast the series.
On our radar
Commons on a Break: The Commons is on a break until May 25. The Senate is also on a break, until May 26.
Prime Minister’s Day: Mark Carney did not have any public events today.
Party Leaders: In Winnipeg, NDP Leader Avi Lewis held a town hall with MP Leah Gazan and Manitoba Education Minister Tracy Schmidt. No schedules released for other party leaders.
Ministers on the Road:
In Brussels, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand co-chaired a meeting of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children. She also met with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and with senior officials from the European Union and Ukraine. As well, she delivered remarks to the EU Foreign Affairs Council.
In Charlottetown, Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon announced the renaming of the Charlottetown Airport to honour Alexander B. Campbell, the premier from 1966 to 1978. Also, MacKinnon announced an investment of up to $14.3-million for the Charlottetown Harbour Authority Inc.
In Dartmouth, Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab highlighted housing investments from the Spring Economic Update.
In Montreal, Canadian Identity Minister Marc Miller announced support for the growth of Canadian creative industries in international markets.
In Trois-Rivières, Industry Minister Mélanie Joly announced funding for a Kruger Inc. project at the Wayagamack Mill.
In Vancouver, Housing Minister Gregor Robertson, also Minister responsible for Pacific Economic Development Canada, announced $17.3-million to help eight tech-sector businesses accelerate the adoption and commercialization of AI and quantum technologies.
In Vancouver, Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon announced the federal government and Telus are advancing work under Ottawa’s initiative to enable large-scale sovereign AI data centres.
In Whitehorse, Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu, with Yukon Economic Development Minister Jen Gehmair, announced skills-development funding for workers.
New Ottawa Bloomberg leader: In the nation’s capital, Bloomberg News Canadian government reporter Brian Platt is taking over as Bloomberg’s Ottawa bureau chief, succeeding Laura Dhillon Kane, who is moving to Toronto to take on an editor role with the organization.
Quote of the Day
“My view is not to say we have to accept the Liberal government vision of how the country is supposed to work, which doesn’t work for us and most other provinces either. And it’s not, `It’s time for a divorce.’ As I told the Prime Minister, it’s more like couples counselling. Let’s get together at a table. Let’s identify the issues that are problematic and let’s work them out.’” - Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, speaking today in Edmonton, on the relationship between the province and Ottawa.
Question period
Canada has had one prime minister who practised as a physician. Who was he?
Scroll to the bottom of this newsletter for the answer.
Perspectives
Pierre Poilievre encounters nothing but jerks, all day long
A useful question for Mr. Poilievre to ask himself – though one he has made pretty clear he will not be wrestling with – is who exactly are these naysayers critiquing his approach.
— Shannon Proudfoot, Feature Writer
First Nations must be treated as economic equals in Canada
Indigenous tokenism doesn’t cut it any more. Minority capital and infrastructure stakes, or installing a single Indigenous person on a board of directors – that’s no longer enough. That isn’t partnership. It’s dominance with a smile.
— Tanya Talaga, Columnist
Ottawa spends $6-billion subsidizing trades - for young men. What about young women?
While Team Canada Strong addresses the challenges faced by young men, do we need an equivalent program to bolster other critical sectors of the economy – such as child care – that are predominantly staffed by women? The answer is yes.
— Ilona Dougherty is managing director of the Youth & Innovation Project. Brett House is professor of professional practice in economics at Columbia Business School.
Go deeper
- Follow along for our stories on Canada-U.S. relations as news develops
- Get the latest insight and analysis from our political opinion writers
Got a news tip that you’d like us to look into? E-mail us at tips@globeandmail.com. Need to share documents securely? Reach out via SecureDrop.
The answer to today’s question: Charles Tupper, a Conservative, briefly served as prime minister in 1896. He was 74 when he became PM, making him the oldest man sworn in for the post. Nova-Scotia-born Tupper was also the first president of the Canadian Medical Association. According to the CMA, he was known for keeping his medical bag under his seat in the House of Commons.