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Sep 14 2023

Liberals warned. Legault’s complaint. Swift beat.

Sep 14, 2023
David Akin's Roundup
Clippings of #cdnpoli, #media, and #tech content aimed at those with an interest in Canadian politics and policy. And sometimes Canadian postage stamps.
A warm welcome to readers who've recently signed up. Great to have you along. One quick style reminder: The headlines you see here and the blurbs below them are generally written by the organization to which I've linked. I don't write them. I will sometimes make some comments in the blurb and when it's my words, they'll be in italics. If I'm making an extended comment under one of the items,   I'll keep the italics off but you'll see me sign off like this: - DA
Canada
‘You should be worried,’ pollster warns Liberal MPs as Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives pull further ahead
Several Liberal MPs have criticized their own government, with some raising doubts about Trudeau’s midsummer cabinet overhaul, and others frustrated by the government’s performance. [TorStar]

Housing Minister Sean Fraser says Canada needs to look at innovative ways to build more homes, including more factory-built homes. [Global]
At a stop in the NDP-held riding of North Island--Powell River .. The Conservative Party leader's campaign-style stop touches on pipelines, crime, mandates, inflation, housing and more. A heckler was escorted out. Also: On Poilievre's social feeds, the Conservatives claim 2,500 were in attendance. [CHEK]

The report added that Canada’s population growth rate is set to fall after 2025, when the current immigration policy comes to an end and Canada sets new immigration targets. [Global]

Canadians’ level of anger up 7 points from the spring, driven by frustration of young people over the economy, inflation, and housing. [Pollara]
From the provinces
Premiers’ Performance: Facing re-election, Manitoba’s Stefanson’s approval trends upward, but remains low
In the midst of a contentious provincial election, PC leader and Premier Heather Stefanson climbs a bit -- but is tied with Ontario's Doug Ford as the most unpopular premier in the country. [Angus Reid Institute]
The Liberals, who had a full slate of candidates in 2019, will not be on the ballot in Brandon West, Dauphin, Dawson Trail, Flin Flon, Lac du Bonnet, Red River North, Selkirk and Swan River. While most are regarded as safe seats for the PCs or NDP, Dauphin and Selkirk are projected to be among the swing ridings in Manitoba’s 43rd general election. [Wpg Free Press]
The issue of “Pretendianism” or having false claims of being Indigenous is rearing its head in the Manitoba election campaign. This was after a minister in Premier Heather Stefanson’s cabinet was called out for claiming to be Métis without providing any proof that he was. [APTN]
Harvest numbers are in for Manitoba as the province sees more than 50 per cent of crops picked and gathered. The province reminds crop producers to be mindful of weeds. [Global]
The political landscape in British Columbia shifted slightly Wednesday with the defection of an Opposition BC United caucus member to the provincial Conservatives, who will now have two members of the legislature. The Conservatives now have official party status. [CP]
"There's already enough English among young people in general in Quebec,'' Premier François Legault said to reporters on Wednesday. [Global]
Several Peel District School Board students, parents and community members are concerned about a seemingly inconsistent approach to a new book weeding process intended to ensure school library books are inclusive, but that appears to have led some schools to remove thousands of books published in 2008 or earlier. [CBC]
The Peel District School Board follows the library weeding guidelines set by the Canadian School Libraries Association. These guidelines direct the teacher librarians at our 259 schools to keep books with any publishing date that are accurate, relevant to the student population, inclusive, not harmful, and support the current curriculum from the Ministry of Education.  To be clear, books such as The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank and the Harry Potter series remain in our collections, and where needed, newer versions may be purchased if the book is in poor condition. [Press release]
Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones says the province is spending $25 million to create a Black health and social services hub in Peel Region.  [Global]
Two members of Tim Houston's cabinet won't be on a ballot in the next election, leaving the door open for the premier to replace them when he shuffle his cabinet Thursday. [CBC]
Elsewhere
This paper is intended to answer these questions. It opens with five facts about polarization in the United States today and what those imply for possible interventions. A literature review follows, organized chronologically to explain the scholarly shift from thinking of polarization as an ideological, policy-based phenomenon to an issue of emotion, as well as the emerging understanding of polarization as both a social phenomenon and a political strategy. [Carnegie Endowment for International Peace]
Former President Donald Trump will give his first broadcast network interview since leaving office, sitting down this week with Kristen Welker as she debuts as host of Meet the Press. [CP]
The Labour leader embarked on an international tour on Thursday night to garner global support for Labour’s immigration plans, which is expected to include meetings with Emmanuel Macron and Justin Trudeau. [The Guardian]
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Media
Amber Dowling: The future of CanCon, and Canadian television in particular, is on the cusp of a major change – one that, for the time being, no one wants to talk about. [Globe and Mail]
It's not every day a local news opening gets international attention. But, like pretty much everything else Taylor Swift touches, a job listing from The Tennessean and parent company Gannett for a “Taylor Swift Reporter” made sparks fly on Tuesday. [Nieman Journalism Lab]
Sci/Tech

The dream of carrying one power cable for all your devices is becoming a reality. But things aren’t as simple as they sound. [NYT]
Web scraping data with rvest to enhance the information in the Tombstone Project. Web scraping is a vital tool these days for journos and there are lots of different technologies to do that. I'm invested in R so I'm always interested in helpers like this. [Louise E Sinks]
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The Calendar
  • 0900 ET: London, ON -   The Liberal National Caucus will meet.
  • 1030 ET: Sherbrooke, QC - BQ Leader Yves-François Blanchet speaks to reporters. 
  • 1200 ET: Vancouver, BC - Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre speaks to reporters. 
  • 1530 ET: Smithers, BC - Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre speaks to supporters. 
  • 1630 ET: London, ON - PM Trudeau speaks to the Liberal National Caucus.
  • 2100 ET: Terrace, BC - Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre speaks to supporters. 
Issued this day ...
...in 1988: Sc 1221: Baseball in Canada. Design: Les Holloway.

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