A new blueprint for growth. You listening, Ottawa?

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WELCOME TO OTTAWA PLAYBOOK. I’m your host, Nick Taylor-Vaisey. It’s Friday, and we’re wrapping up the Better Future summit. Also, ZI-ANN LUM sat down with CATHERINE MCKENNA and ANDY BLATCHFORD got his hands on a new Canada-U.S. border report.

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OFFICE HOURS — Your daily Playbook correspondent is back for more. Today, I’ll be wrangling fellow politics and policy geeks at a downtown Ottawa pub, starting at 4 p.m. No agenda, just serious reflection on the state of the world and standard-fare gossip. RSVP via email and I’ll send you our coordinates.

DRIVING THE DAY

BLUEPRINT FOR GROWTH — The Better Future summit picked a hell of a week to book the Shaw Centre in downtown Ottawa and plot the road ahead for Canada’s prosperity. It just so happened to fall a day after Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU unveiled his new Cabinet.

Everybody in the room agreed on one thing: Economic growth is vital to progress, but growth isn’t as simple as it used to be. Every single person needs to benefit. (Not everything was on the table. These were still capitalists, after all, and not too many NDP-types were skulking the halls of the convention centre.)

— What they achieved: The summits goals were lofty: Fly people in to a real conference, stream the proceedings to anyone who couldn’t make it, listen hard to smart people talking about dense public policy issues, do a little bit of networking for the first time in forever, and then publish a scorecard with 21 different metrics to hold the country accountable to itself.

This is the scorecard. Every member of the coalition that powered the summit — all 109 — agreed these were the metrics to monitor as Canada barrels toward 2030. It’s not simple: three big buckets of things are divided into six buckets of things. The coalition will keep an eye on, for example, the proportion of women in senior management, business investment in R&D, the number of companies worth more than C$1 billion, and clean tech’s GDP share.

In a country that likes to talk and talk and talk about how to make things better, the Coalition for a Better Future at least walked away with a tangible framework to get there — and an army of advocacy and lobby groups, some with deep pockets, ready to swear by it.

— The last word: Playbook caught co-chairs ANNE MCLELLAN and LISA RAITT before they left the Shaw Centre. They made the case for why governments will have to listen to them, how they hope to grow their coalition, and what’s on the horizon.

You mentioned in your closing remarks that governments won’t be able to ignore this group. What makes you so confident?

McLellan: We are unique. On a national basis, this is the first time we’ve been able to bring together so many organizations, agencies and interests representing so many hundreds of thousands of people, a whole cross-section of Canadian society — from nonprofits, charitable organizations, through to the private sector, small business, big business — representing such a diverse group of interests and aspirations. We all want prosperity. We just want to make sure that prosperity is sustainable and fair.

What did people in government say to you while the summit was on?

Raitt: They’ve been kind of busy while we were busy! They’ve been doing an election. Let’s be honest, Anne and I are both former politicians. When you see another body coming together to talk about things that you think may be the purview of Parliament, you’re going to be a little bit worried about what’s going on over there. That being said, what we just accomplished today is non-threatening to any political party.

McLellan: Right now, we have new ministers learning new jobs. But I think probably across the board, they’re not unaware of a heightened sense of anxiety on the part of Canadians. Part of that is driven by COVID. But I think that anxiety was starting to develop before COVID, around housing, for example, and the affordability of housing.

They know that level of anxiety is increasing, as we talk more about inflation, for example. I’m hoping that the government, once new ministers get in place, their staff gets organized and briefed, that they will look around and say, “You know what, this whole economic growth agenda is really important.”

Who’s not part of your coalition that you’d like to see join?

Raitt: I’d like to see the arts and culture sector be involved. They’re a big piece of the economy, a massive piece of the economy.

McLellan: And more youth. We had younger people — certainly younger than me, but then again, virtually everyone is younger than me these days. I’m not suggesting youth speak with one voice. Obviously, they don’t. But I think more youthful participation.

What’s the next big thing for the coalition?

McLellan: I think it’s too soon to plan the next summit. We’re just catching our breath from this one. But we are going to start to bear down on the scorecard. When you look at the metrics, there’s a lot of work that still has to go into more finely tuning the definitions in terms of what we will actually be measuring going forward.

BANNER YEAR FOR THE OIL PATCH: 2021 will be a boon for Canada’s oil and gas industry, the summit heard from ARC Energy Research Institute deputy director PETER TERTZAKIAN.

— Money mirage: “The industry has spent the last five years cutting its costs, and all of a sudden the price of oil and gas has gone up. There is going to be over C$80 billion, probably 15 percent of which is free cash flow.” That money could have been allocated to an energy transition, Tertzakian said. “But no, now it’s being clipped as dividends and going out the back door of the country to international shareholders.”

Missed the summit? Here’s who was there. Playbook looks forward to the next conference of human beings out in the wild. If you know where we should go next, please god tell us.

PLAYBOOK PREVIEW — CATHERINE MCKENNA will make her next move official today with the launch of Women Leading On Climate. Its genesis goes back to 2018, the former politician told Playbook, when she hosted a summit called Women Kicking it on Climate.

— “It just struck me that women were doing a lot of the heavy lifting and had way more ambition often on climate,” McKenna said. “I’ve just decided in a way to recreate it, but to make it much broader.” The intention, she said, is to create a global network of women and girls and to help them scale projects that take on climate change. “That means money.”

— Money talk: McKenna said she’s been fundraising. Scottish First Minister NICOLA STURGEON is participating, she said, alluding to “major philanthropists” who have also signalled their interest in the initiative to spotlight and catalyze climate actions outside of government.

— Speaking of Scotland: McKenna is also Glasgow-bound for COP26, independent of the Canadian government’s delegation. Her focus will be on Women Leading On Climate, she said, unabashed about the perks of retiring from federal politics. “It definitely gives me flexibility. That’s something I like,” she said. “I like actually being a bit more master of my own destiny.” McKenna will be launching her new initiative via Instagram Live at 12 p.m. EDT.

BORDER PATROL — The U.S. and Canada have started peeling back Covid restrictions at the border. But a group of former top lawmakers warn in a new report that thanks to the ever-present virus, whatever’s being loosened up today at the frontier may have to be boarded back up tomorrow. The problem? They argue in their paper, to be released later today, that businesses and citizens have no “new normal” to adapt to.

“What happens if a new variant, or another pandemic virus entirely, emerges?” write members of a binational task force convened by the Wilson Center’s Canada Institute. “There is no commitment by the governments to stay this course, and therefore no basis on which businesses, communities, and individuals can plan for their future.”

The task force boasts some big political names — among them former Quebec premier JEAN CHAREST, former Canadian deputy prime minister ANNE MCLELLAN (a familiar name to Playbook readers), former Washington governor CHRISTINE GREGOIRE and former Vermont governor JAMES DOUGLAS.

— What went wrong: In one example, the group said the governments’ failures to produce border reopening plans, along with their often-abrupt announcements to ease back restrictions, “exposed the lack of coordination by officials in Ottawa and then in Washington.” The task force argued the rollout undermined confidence in the measures themselves.

— For next time: The report listed recommendations — from the creation of airport-style pre-clearance for travelers planning to cross the border by land to the need to adapt restrictions to local pandemic conditions instead of shutting the whole thing down.

WHIPPED — A Europe-bound JUSTIN TRUDEAU snuck in a Thursday announcement of the new chief government whip: STEVEN MACKINNON, a three-term MP who once advised PAUL MARTIN and eventually served a term as his party’s national director. Trudeau also named MacKinnon to the Privy Council.

Before elected life, MacKinnon worked for Hill + Knowlton Strategies. He upset NDP MP FRANÇOISE BOIVIN in 2015 and has spent the last three years as parliamentary secretary to two procurement ministers — CARLA QUALTROUGH and ANITA ANAND. He weathered the Phoenix debacle and the mad race for vaccines.

WILLIAM AMOS, a former MP who held the neighboring Pontiac riding until September, applauded his friend’s promotion: “He is effectively the VP of Human Resources for the governing Liberals. And the Outaouais now has a representative participating in Cabinet meetings, with Steven’s appointment to Privy Council.”

SENATORS, VAXXED — The Senate is adopting a similar mandate as the elected Commoners up the street. Speaker GEORGE FUREY consulted with parliamentary groups before the announcement, which has just one type of exemption: “Those who have a medical exemption will have the option of providing proof of a recent negative COVID-19 rapid antigen test result.”

TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS

Trudeau is in the Netherlands, where he’ll address the Dutch parliament before sitting down with PM MARK RUTTE. Then it’s off to Rome for the G20.

Deputy Prime Minister CHRYSTIA FREELAND is already in the Eternal City for a joint meeting of G20 finance and health ministers — followed by a working dinner for the same group.

ASK US ANYTHING

What are you hearing that you need Playbook to know? Any questions about the next session of Parliament? Send it all our way.

PAPER TRAIL

MARKING THE BLUEPRINT — Ottawa loves focus groups. Every few days, the repository of federally commissioned opinion polling pings with a newly published report. Some are quantitative surveys (i.e. polls), others are qualitative (read: focus groups). Thursday brought a new result that dove into Budget Day 2021.

The Department of Finance asked Léger Marketing to interpret the reaction to Freeland’s pre-election budget. Léger split its analysis into four groups: parents, seniors, Quebecers and CERB recipients. What they learned might explain why the Liberals were so confident heading into a summer election.

— What mattered to parents: They gave good marks to the government on gender equality, the environment, support for young Canadians, improving fairness in the tax system, and “doing all it can to fight Covid-19.” Child care was popular with this group, especially among women. And Freeland’s budget got mostly positive reviews.

— What mattered to Quebecers: They gave the budget the highest score of any other subset. Quebecers were onboard with a luxury tax on expensive vehicles. Before they heard the budget speech, respondents felt the economy was headed in the wrong direction. Those opinions flipped afterwards. Some felt the government wasn’t ambitious enough on its climate targets. (Enter STEVEN GUILBEAULT?)

— What mattered to seniors: They gave the budget the lowest score of any subset. Older Canadians were the wariest of spending. Many of them also said climate targets — e.g. net-zero by 2050 — strayed too far into the future. Léger summarized their overall view of the budget as positive, but skeptical.

— What mattered to CERB recipients: They “gave average ratings to most of the measures” and were “cautiously optimistic.” Almost half of CERB recipients felt the country was headed in the right direction before seeing Freeland’s speech. Afterwards, their expectations were “met or exceeded,” and a majority said Canada was on the right track.

— The big takeaway: Léger paraphrased the overall response like so: “It would be difficult to be negative about this budget that included elements to ‘satisfy everyone in Canada,’ was in continuity with the efforts to limit the negative impacts of the pandemic on Canadians, as well as a ‘recovery-oriented budget.’ ” Music to the ears of majority-hungry Liberals.

PROZONE

Pro subscribers should not miss ANDY BLATCHFORD, ZI-ANN LUM and SUE ALLAN’s Pro PM Canada newsletter: 5 ways to get to ‘what next’

In other headlines for Pros:

— Facebook’s meta-problem on Capitol Hill.
— Why the COP26 climate summit won’t save the planet.
— States bring U.S. closer to de facto vaccine passport standard.
— Exxon CEO denies inconsistencies in company’s public statements on climate change.
— Kerry warns world ‘not yet’ in line with limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees.

MEDIA ROOM

— FATIMA SYED‘s The Backbench podcast dishes on the new cabinet. (Warning: This episode is only for subscribers.)

— Radio-Canada’s LOUIS BLOUIN senses frustration on the Liberal backbench about the lack of any post-election caucus meetings to date. NATHANIEL ERSKINE-SMITH said the caucus wasn’t consulted on pandemic relief programs: “They wouldn’t have made the wrong decision to cancel that benefit had they listened to caucus.”

— Chrétien-era cabinet minister SERGIO MARCHI sizes up the new 39-member front bench, which is " a tad large.” Two words to describe the moment he got the call: magical, nervous.

— The Telegraph-Journal’s ADAM HURAS writes up the “quiet push to get GINETTE PETITPAS TAYLOR to take a run at the provincial Liberal leadership” in New Brunswick.

— CBC’s DAVID THURTON monitors Green Leader ANNAMIE PAUL‘s loooooong exit from the role atop the party. Members aren’t waiting for her to formally quit.

What are you reading? Playbook wants to know.

PLAYBOOKERS

Spotted at the summit: NAVDEEP BAINS and Business Council of Canada prez GOLDY HYDER deep in conversation in a pair of red Muskoka chairs with the best view in town.

Bains was later spotted running up a very long down escalator, just for fun.

Spotted elsewhere: The unparalleled ALISON UNCLES greeting guests at the National Arts Centre where PAUL WELLS spoke with Raitt and McLellan Thursday evening.

MATTHEW GREEN sharing his oath of office via TikTok.… Former U.S. ambassador BRUCE HEYMAN continuing his campaign to get DAVID COHEN to Ottawa.… Longtime bureaucrat BILL GOULDING retiring after 30 years in the public service.

British Columbia Premier JOHN HORGAN will have biopsy surgery today. He shared the news Thursday, adding that he’s confident of a complete recovery.

Via JORDAN REEVES in Canada’s Taipei trade office, former B.C. finance minister CAROLE JAMES and former Tory cabmin RONA AMBROSE talking women’s rights with counterparts in Taiwan, Australia, Japan, Sweden and the U.S.… CATHERINE CLARK making a list, logging in twice before the Xmas season.

The Correctional Service of Canada is in search of a chief medical officer of health.

Movers and shakers: Rookie Liberal MP YASIR NAQVI popped up in the lobbyist registry for the first time. He took a meeting with Growcer, a maker of hydroponic containers that allow fresh food to be grown in frigid Arctic weather.… ADAM YAHN of Summa Strategies is repping Loblaw on the Hill.

Media mentions: Canadian-born BBC journalist LYSE DOUCET is named Broadcaster of the Year by the London Press Club.… DARRELL BRICKER, CEO of Ipsos Public Affairs, nominated for a National Business Book Award.

TRIVIA

Thursday’s answer: ANNE MCLELLAN won a seat in the House of Commons by 12 votes in 1993, then spent a decade-plus in Cabinet.

Props to JOAN HUDSON, FAYE ROBERTS, DAN MCCARTHY, GREG MACEACHERN, GEOFF POLLOCK, J. DAVID MCLENNAN, PIERRE GRATTON, JOHN ECKER, BOB GORDON and SHEILA GERVAIS. For the record, we also accepted “Landslide Annie,” as many people replied.

Friday’s question: STEVEN MACKINNON isn’t the first Pontiac MP to be named whip by a Trudeau. Name the other. (h/t WILLIAM AMOS)

Send your answers to [email protected]

Playbook wouldn’t happen without Luiza Ch. Savage, editor Sue Allan, Zi-Ann Lum and Andy Blatchford.

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