The last byelection buzz may still be lingering, but attention is already shifting to round two, and this one might actually be worth watching, thanks to a surprise vacancy in Montreal that’s shaping up to be a three-way fight.
NDP MP Alexandre Boulerice announced earlier this week he would resign his Montreal seat to run in the Quebec provincial election in the fall.
While Boulerice has held the seat since 2011, many pundits are speculating a hobbled NDP will have a difficult path ahead in retaining Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie in a byelection, with the Liberals and Bloc Quebecois expected to put forward strong runs.
The Liberals haven’t won the riding in recent decades but are polling in the high 40s in Quebec. Prior to Boulerice’s win in 2011, the Bloc Quebecois had held the seat.
Karl Bélanger, a former NDP strategist and president of Traxxion Stratégies, said there’s “no question” that Boulerice’s departure is a “major blow” for the NDP, but stressed the party could still win the riding in a byelection.
Also, Canada has been selected to host a multinational bank to provide “long-term, low-cost financing” for defence projects by NATO members and allies, the federal government said Wednesday.
The Globe and Mail newspaper first reported the decision following the end of multinational negotiations earlier Wednesday that were hosted in Montreal.
A news release issued late Wednesday says the defence bank will allow member countries, including Canada, to leverage shared resources to “meet today’s defence challenges.”
National Defence Minister David McGuinty, in the release, called it a “resilient and responsive defence industrial base — for Canada and our allies.”
A source with direct knowledge told The Canadian Press there’s still a lot to discuss and sort through — and cautioned there’s still a world in which it doesn’t happen.
Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver and Montreal are all competing to have the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank located in their jurisdictions.
Prime Minister Mark Carney insisted his government is doing an effective job of keeping Iranians associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps out of the country, after one former IRGC official was granted a visa.
When asked Thursday about Iranian Football Federation president Mehdi Taj being denied entry to Canada earlier this week, Carney said he can’t talk about individual cases due to privacy legislation.
Online news outlet Iran International reported Monday that Taj was granted a temporary resident visa that allowed him to enter Canada, despite his ties to the IRGC, which is a listed terrorist entity in Canada.
“There are multiple hurdles in order to get into the country and I think the important thing is that those hurdles are effective and we continue to see that,” Carney said at a press conference in Oakville, Ont.
In Other Headlines
- Carney says there’s only ‘one negotiator’ with the U.S. after Conservative MP’s latest to Washington (CBC)
- Trump authorizes new pipeline from Canada to U.S. (CTV)
- Carney hits back on B.C. property rights decision, as Conservatives from task force (The National Post)
- Nearly 350 CBSA job cuts coming as agency slowly hires 1,000 border guards (The Hill Times)
- Quebec promised francophone immigrations a fast track to permanent residency—then changed its mind (The Walrus)
- The Avi Lewis interview (Paul Wells)