July 2024

Former Minister of Foreign Affairs Marc Garneau says Canada has lost its place in the world under the prime minister Justin Trudeauwhom he criticizes as an ill-prepared leader who prioritizes policy and makes grand statements without any implementation. “I think Justin Trudeau overestimated Canada’s impact abroad,” Garneau writes in his autobiography, “A Most Extraordinary Ride: Space, Politics and the Pursuit of a Canadian Dream,” which is due to be published in October by Signal, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House. Although much of the book is a journey into Garneau’s military and astronaut career before his political career, the final third is devoted to his time as a Member of Parliament. Garneau, now 75, was first elected in 2008 as the Liberal MP for the Montreal riding of Westmount-Ville Marie, a riding that later became Notre-Dame-de-Grâce-Westmount after boundary changes in 2015. The story continues below the advertisement He ran an unsuccessful campaign for the party leadership in 2013, eventually withdrawing from the race and supporting Trudeau, who ended up winning a landslide victory. After the Liberals came to power in 2015, Garneau served in Trudeau’s cabinet for six years, including more than five as transport minister. He spent the last nine months as foreign affairs minister, until Trudeau removed him from cabinet entirely after the 2021 election. In his book, Garneau acknowledges having been “caught off guard” by this decision, a decision that Trudeau never explained according to him. He writes that Trudeau did indeed offer him the ambassadorship to France during a phone call about the decision, but Garneau declined. He said he would have preferred to be ambassador to Washington, D.C. Trudeau thought about it and ultimately declined. “Canada’s position in the world has fallen”: Garneau Garneau said he and Trudeau had little in common beyond their “liberal values” and were not close. The story continues below the advertisement Another thing he clarifies: Garneau thinks Trudeau did not value the importance of a foreign affairs minister and that he is not very good at international relations. “Unfortunately, Canada’s reputation in the world has declined, in part because our statements are not always accompanied by the ability to act or by measures that clearly demonstrate that we mean what we say,” Garneau writes. “We are losing credibility.” He describes Trudeau’s trips to China in 2016 and 2017, and to India in 2018, before his tenure as foreign minister, as “unsuccessful.” 2:51 What does the future hold for Trudeau’s political career? The two trips to China failed to revive negotiations on a free trade agreement with China. Trudeau was criticized at the time for trying to address non-trade issues in talks with the Chinese government. He notably emphasized human rights, which did not go down well in Beijing. The story continues below the advertisement The failures of the India trip have been well documented, including the embarrassment of inadvertently extending an invitation to a reception to a man convicted of attempting to assassinate an Indian minister in Canada in 1986. Latest news from Canada and around the world sent to your email address, as it happens. “We weren’t well prepared,” Garneau said of the three foreign visits. “Basically, we didn’t know who we were talking to. We thought we could seduce and we were surprised that it didn’t happen like that. Gone is the lucidity of a prime minister like Jean Chrétien, who always knew who he was dealing with and who forged pragmatic alliances with world powers.” Garneau also criticizes Trudeau for delaying the release of new national strategies for dealing with China and expanding Canada’s relationships in the Indo-Pacific region. The China strategy was delayed largely because Trudeau and his “entourage” were reluctant to disclose anything about it while Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor were still detained in China, he writes. “I think it was a mistake, pure and simple.” Similarly, he says he was unable to present a new Indo-Pacific strategy to cabinet, and it was not released until November 2022, a year after it was ready and a year after Garneau was removed from the portfolio. Garneau declined an interview request about the book. The story continues below the advertisement Trudeau’s office did not respond to a request for comment on its contents. 2:06 Trudeau ordered to resign after Toronto by-election defeat The former astronaut is not the first former Trudeau cabinet minister to pen a memoir lambasting the prime minister. In 2023, former Finance Minister Bill Morneau published his own memoir, in which he criticized Trudeau for making largely unilateral decisions and putting politics before policy. Fashionable now Greece to introduce 6-day workweek. Could Canada follow? Tenants under pressure: when will the fever die down in a booming rental market? Both describe a concentration of power in the Prime Minister’s Office that has not improved despite Trudeau’s promises of decentralization when he came to power in 2015. Garneau writes that when he was in charge of transport, Trudeau did not seem to take much interest in the issue. When he moved to foreign affairs, he hoped the prime minister would be more interested in seeking his advice on various issues. The story continues below the advertisement But, Garneau said, he didn’t. He writes that Trudeau contacted him only once for advice, during a meeting with then-ambassador to China Dominic Barton, in a discussion about the plight of the two Michaels. “The Prime Minister’s distance led me to conclude that he did not consider my advice useful enough to want to hear me directly, relying instead on his staff,” Garneau says. “I was disappointed, to say the least. Communication between him and me was expected to be through the Prime Minister’s Office, and therefore I never knew what information, if any, was reaching him.” Trudeau government too reactive, says Garneau According to Garneau, the Trudeau government is generally too reactive and ill-prepared. “It is not enough to pay attention only when a problem arises, which is what this government has become accustomed to doing,” he…

The Labour Party, led by Keir Starmer, swept the polls in the UK this week, while Canada is set to appoint its first female chief of defence staff. And who is Count Binface, the “intergalactic space warrior” who ran against former British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak? Here are some of the top stories this week. What will Canada-UK relations look like under a Labour government? The election of a new Labour government will take place on Thursday. British elections may come with the promise of change in the UK, but the immediate impact on Relations with Canada is less clear. The story continues below the advertisement Relations between Canada and the United Kingdom, while generally strong, have hit some bumps this year. The recently defeated Conservative government unilaterally suspended trade talks with Ottawa in January and recently put renewed pressure on NATO allies, including Canada, to further increase their defence spending. In the short term, these tensions could persist, analysts say, although shared priorities between Labor and the Liberals could lead to an easing in the future. Meet the ‘intergalactic space warrior’ who challenged Britain’s Rishi Sunak One of the candidates was the last Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and currently leads the Conservative Party. Another claims to come from spacehas promised to “build at least one affordable house, which is more than all the other parties can muster” and wants to force all former prime ministers to join the military. They were both running for the same constituency in the north of England, although one did so in a more satirical manner than the other. 2:16 Calls grow for Biden to step down as Trump uses immunity as leverage TRUDEAU AND BIDEN: QUESTIONS ABOUT LEADERSHIP Trudeau says ‘many discussions’ underway after surprise byelection defeat Last week’s crushing defeat in a Toronto riding in by-elections has sparked “lots of conversations” within the Liberal Party, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday, as questions also swirl around his political future. The story continues below the advertisement Since the Conservatives’ surprise victory in Toronto-St. Paul’s — a Liberal stronghold for more than three decades — Trudeau said the party has “engaged in many important conversations.” The email you need for the day the main news from Canada and around the world. “Let’s be very clear, the defeat in the by-election last week, without wanting to sugarcoat things, was difficult, it’s something we have to take seriously,” he told reporters in Montreal. Should Biden step down? Calls mount after debate sparks fitness concerns Calls are growing louder for an American president Joe Biden to abandon his re-election bid after last week’s shaky debate performance raised concerns among Democrats about his fitness and ability to beat the former president Donald Trump. But political analysts say that as long as Biden refuses those calls, replacing him with another candidate before the November election will be difficult and unlikely. On Tuesday, Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas became the first sitting Democratic lawmaker to publicly urge Biden to withdraw from the party’s presidential nomination, saying “too much is at stake” for Biden to stay in the race and lose to Trump. Lieutenant-General Jennie Carignan will be the first woman to serve as Canada’s Chief of the Defence Staff Lieutenant General Jennie Carignan will become Canada’s new Chief of Defence Staffmaking her the first woman to be chosen for the position. The story continues below the advertisement Carignan, who currently serves as chief of professional conduct and culture, will replace Gen. Wayne Eyre, who is set to retire this summer. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who announced Carignan’s appointment on Wednesday, said she was the “right person” to lead Canada’s military at a “pivotal moment” with “complicated geopolitics and heightened threats,” particularly in the Arctic. Carignan is set to officially take command of the Canadian Armed Forces at a ceremony on July 18. David Vigneault, head of Canada’s spy agency, retires After seven years in this position, David Vigneault East outgoing as director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS). Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc announced the news on X Thursday, wishing Vigneault the best in his next chapter. “David Vigneault has dedicated his entire career to serving Canadians, protecting them and our national interests from those who seek to harm them,” LeBlanc wrote. Fashionable now Canada Post employee saves the day after child forgets stamp on postcard sent to grandmother Ozempic and Wegovy Use May Be Linked to ‘Stroke’ and Blindness, Study Finds Unemployment rate climbs to 6.4% in June. Here’s how the Bank of Canada could respond The Canadian labour market continued to slow in June, with younger workers particularly struggling during the typically busy summer season. The story continues below the advertisement The unemployment rate climbed to 6.4% last month as the country lost 1,400 jobs. The unemployment rate for youth aged 15 to 24, however, is more than double that at 13.5%, the highest level since September 2014, excluding the COVID-19 pandemic. Greece to introduce 6-day workweek. Could Canada follow? Workers in Greece will have to work slightly longer hours starting this week, the country Presentation a six-day work week for some. Under new labor laws passed last year, some Greek workers began working 48 hours a week from Monday, a move that union representatives across sectors have called “barbaric.” However, the movement is does not find many takers here in Canada. The Digital Services Tax has come into effect in Canada. How could it affect you? THE Digital Services Tax is now in force. Foreign tech giants now have to pay a three percent tax on Canadian users’ revenues, retroactive to 2022, after the federal government enacted the measure with a decree in council June 28. Many of these large companies are based in the United States, and the U.S. government and business communities on both sides of the border have called on Ottawa to end the measure. The story continues below the advertisement Electric vehicles could become more expensive in Canada. Are…

Liberal MP Anthony Housefather He said he was “looking forward to making a real difference” as the government’s new special adviser on Jewish relations and anti-Semitism. The Prime Minister’s Office announced his appointment to the post on Friday, saying Housefather will advise the prime minister and cabinet and work with the Jewish community. Housefather, who is Jewish, has spoken out about the rising number of anti-semitism in Canada since the current conflict between Israel and Hamas began in October. The appointment comes four months after the Housefather considered leaving the Liberal caucus after an NDP motion on the Israel-Gaza war left him feeling angry and isolated within his party. After that period of reflection, he said he would remain a Liberal and that Trudeau had asked him to work with the government to tackle the “massive” problem of anti-Semitism in Canada right now. The story continues below the advertisement 2:12 Montreal MP Anthony Housefather ponders his future in the Liberal Party Housefather then helped launch a congressional committee study of anti-Semitism on college campuses in May. The email you need for the day the main news from Canada and around the world. Housefather himself has been the target of anti-Semitic hate, including earlier this week when posters were plastered on street signs in Montreal calling him a Nazi, equating Zionism with terrorism and telling him to “leave Canada.” Housefather welcomed his appointment, which will include working with Deborah Lyons, the federal government’s special envoy for combating anti-Semitism. “Jewish Canadians must feel safe in our communities, on campuses and in Canadian life,” he said in a statement. The original NDP motion called, among other things, for Canada to officially recognize the State of Palestine. Fashionable now Greece to introduce 6-day workweek. Could Canada follow? LCBO stores to close as Ontario-wide strike begins