From the Editor / L. Ian MacDonald

Welcome to our new issue, Game Change, on the changing players in the Canadian political context, both in Ottawa and the provinces. 

It’s a new game, in Parliament as well as in federal-provincial relations, with a post-pandemic context still defined by crisis based on economic, political and geopolitical chaos. 

It starts with Pierre Poilievre’s graduation to Conservative leader and opposition leader facing a Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said to be eyeing a fourth election. And on the fed-prov scene, October saw the expected re-election of François Legault by a landslide in Quebec, and the installation of Danielle Smith as the new Conservative premier of Alberta.

We begin at the national level, with Lori Turnbull’s take on the game — how Poilievre’s elevation from question period gadfly to party leader could change the dynamic in the House. Veteran Tory observer Geoff Norquay looks at the state of the Conservative party under Poilievre. John Delacourt, former research director of the Liberal Party, considers a question on many minds—whether Trudeau will want to keep his own options open as he nears completion of a decade in office. And Robin Sears, onetime national director of the NDP, looks at Jagmeet Singh’s balancing act in supporting the Liberals for three more years.

At the provincial level, both Legault and Smith come with agendas that put their provinces on a road to political conflict with Ottawa.

In Legault’s case, he is defending two Quebec laws on culture and language. Bill 21 prohibits public servants — including teachers — from wearing religious clothing and symbols such as hijabs, yarmulkes and crucifixes on the job. And Bill 96, updating Quebec’s 1977 Charter of the French language, Bill 101, raises serious issues of English-language minority rights in education as well as the workplace. Both bills also touch on immigration, and the terms under which new Canadians would be welcome in Quebec.

David Johnston, recently retired as the Official Languages Commissioner’s Regional Representative in Quebec and Nunavut, writes that “The use of the notwithstanding clause in Bill 21 and 96 is intended as a unilateral declaration of autonomy” within Canada. 

As for Smith, she has promised a Sovereignty Act that would proclaim Alberta’s independence in matters of inter-provincial and international trade, both clearly federal jurisdictions under Section 92 (10) of the Constitution Act. While she walked it back following her swearing-in, saying Alberta would comply with Supreme Court decisions, she caused a firestorm when she said that Albertans who had chosen not to be vaccinated against COVID-19 were “the most discriminated against group that I have witnessed in my lifetime.” From Calgary, former Conservative MP Lee Richardson shares his perspective. 

And Daniel Béland, Director of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada, looks at Legault’s strong renewed mandate and observes that immigration is not only a major internal issue in Quebec, but also has “major implications” for fed-prov relations.

In Canada and the World, Philippe Lagassé of Carleton University looks at the future of the Crown in Canada with the accession of King Charles III following the passing of his mother, Elizabeth II, after her unprecedented reign of 70 years.

In a timely update on Vladimir Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, our lead foreign affairs writer, former ambassador to Russia Jeremy Kinsman, grippingly explores the Russian autocrat’s leadership prospects following a succession of defeats on the battlefield and his diminished standing on the world stage. “Can Putin be fired? Sidled out? Usurped? By whom?” he asks. “In time, the people will decide Russia’s fate.”

Looking at the global impact of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, Colin Robertson views it as “the latest in a series of catalytic events including the pandemic and the pressing urgency for action on climate change.”

Where is the Trudeau government going with its Bill C-18 to protect and compensate Canadian newspapers for their content posted by BigTech digital platforms? Jamie Irving and Paul Deegan of News Media Canada share the perspective of Canada’s newspapers, large and small. 

The Hockey Canada scandal, and its coverup of sexual misconduct in its world junior hockey program, has been the talk of the country. I look at the contrast with September’s 50th anniversary celebration of the famed 1972 series between Team Canada and Russia, including hundreds of people lined up for a book signing of Montreal to Moscow, by Terry Mosher with an introduction by the legendary Yvan Cournoyer. 

Finally, in Book Reviews, two of Canada’s sharpest political minds and one great story: Bill Fox reviews Steve Paikin’s John Turner: An Intimate Biography of Canada’s 17th Prime Minister. Paikin makes “a compelling case,” Fox writes, “that Turner’s was a life of consequence.” 

And Memorial University President Vianne Timmons, former President of University of Regina, reviews Dale Eisler’s From Left to Right: Saskatchewan’s Political and Economic Transformation. “I recommend this important book,” Timmons writes. “I enjoyed it immensely.”

Enjoy.