David Akin's Roundup: Deficit rising. Quebec mayors. U.S. elections.
MON NOV 3
Canada
Federal budget: How much will Carney’s investment cost?
Prime Minister Mark Carney will reveal his government’s first federal budget on Tuesday. Carney has said his budget will focus on generational investments and has also warned it will require sacrifices. Those generational investments in Carney’s budget would boost the federal government’s spending and Canada’s ballooning deficit. David Akin has more on the potential price tag. | Global National
Carney’s budget conundrum: How to unlock business investment during a trade war
There’s little doubt that the size of the deficit will capture headlines and drive political debate in the House of Commons, where Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is hammering the government on its spending. But from a business investment standpoint, the size of the deficit begins to matter when debt rating agencies get nervous and investors start demanding risk premiums to hold government debt, driving up interest rates across the economy. “I’m not seeing, and I haven’t read any credible analysis, suggesting that there is a rising risk premium being built into Canadian federal debt,” said Trevor Tombe, an economics professor at the University of Calgary. | The Globe and Mail
NDP says abstention is an option on budget vote
NDP Interim Leader Don Davies said it’s possible that some NDP MPs will opt to vote neither for nor against the budget. “Abstentions are allowed,” he said during an interview with CBC News that aired Sunday. He stood by those comments in a later e-mail exchange with The Globe and Mail. Mr. Davies has said that the NDP will not support an austerity budget, but also said the party is looking to see job-creating investments. | The Globe and Mail
The Provinces
Election day in the Yukon: Vote includes non-binding electoral reform question
Yukon residents go to the polls today in a territorial election where voters are also being asked for their say on possible electoral reform. The Yukon Liberals went into the race as a minority government holding eight out of 19 seats in the legislature, governing through an agreement with the three territorial New Democrats. The election represents the first substantial challenge for Liberal Premier Mike Pemberton who was elected party leader in June but does not have a seat in the legislature. | CP
Former federal minister Soraya Martinez Ferrada elected mayor of Montreal
By 10 p.m., Martinez Ferrada had 44 per cent of the vote, leading Rabouin by nearly 17,000 ballots. Ensemble Montréal was leading in 41 of the 65 seats on Montreal’s municipal council, which includes the city mayor, 18 borough mayors and 46 city councillors. Projet Montréal was leading in just 19 seats. | Globalnews.ca
Bruno Marchand wins second term as mayor of Quebec City
Marchand says his win is a signal that Quebec City residents want a tramway, a major public transit project that for years has faced serious headwinds in the city. Construction on the project has barely started. | Globalnews.ca
Elsewhere
Election 2025: What to watch on Nov. 4
One year after Donald Trump retook the White House and set into motion a dramatic expansion of executive power, the Republican president figures prominently in state and local elections being held Tuesday. The results of those contests — the first general election of Trump’s second term — will be heralded by the victors as either a major repudiation or resounding stamp of approval of his second-term agenda. That’s especially true in high-profile races for Virginia and New Jersey governor, New York City mayor and a California proposition to redraw its congressional district boundaries. | AP News
Canada, Philippines sign defence pact to deter aggression from China
Canada and the Philippines, both staunch critics of China’s increasingly coercive actions in the disputed South China Sea, signed a key defence agreement on Sunday to boost combat drills and expand security alliances to deter aggression, officials said. | Globalnews.ca
Trump critic Bolton explains why US president’s order to start nuclear tests again may be necessary
It’s an alarming move. U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered the U.S. military to start nuclear tests on American soil after the program was shuttered more than three decades ago. John Bolton, Trump’s former national security advisor and now one of his most outspoken critics joins Ben Mulroney on The West Block to discuss more on the matter. | The West Block
Media
A New Challenge for Campaigns: The ‘Passive’ News Consumers
The study found that, while most voters are regularly tuned into the news, roughly four in 10 aren’t. Rather, these voters wait for news content to find them on social media and are likely to verify or factcheck what they ultimately see. The data holds key lessons for political communicators, who are facing a more challenging voter outreach and media landscape than ever. Platforms like YouTube and TikTok are playing an increasingly prominent role in voters’ media habits, and the demand for content is higher than it’s ever been. | Campaigns & Elections
Science and Technology
‘The Truth Is Paywalled.’ Internet Vets Lament the State of the ‘Open’ Web
In discussing where we went wrong, a panel of luminaries, including Vint Cerf and the Internet Archive’s Brewster Kahle, sees three Cs: centralization, copyright, and competition. | PCMag
The Calendar
0900 ET : Ottawa - NDP Interim Leader Don Davies speaks at the International Association of Fire Fighters conference
0930 ET : Saint-Tite, QC - Finance Min François-Philippe Champagne purchases a new pair of shoes and speaks about Budget 2025.
1100 ET : 420 Wellington - Environment and Sustainable Development (ENVI) | Meeting 12 | Electric Vehicle Availability Standard
1100 ET : 035-B West Block - Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics (ETHI) | Meeting 13 | Review of the Conflict of Interest Act
1100 ET : 225-A West Block - Finance (FINA) | Meeting 11 | Use of Offshore Tax Havens
1100 ET : 425 Wellington - Industry and Technology (INDU) | Meeting 12 | Canadian Auto Industry and the Commitments Made With Stellantis. Inudstry Min Mélanie Joly to testify.
1100 ET : 125B West Block - Science and Research (SRSR) | Meeting 13 | Private Sector Investment in Research and Development in Canada
1340 ET : Ottawa - PM Carney meets with PEI Premier Rob Lantz.
1530 ET : 415 Wellington - Agriculture and Agri-Food (AGRI) | Meeting 12 | Government’s Regulatory Reform Initiative in Agriculture and Agri-Food Sector
1530 ET : 225-A West Block - Canadian Heritage (CHPC) | Meeting 11 | Effects of Technological Advances in Artificial Intelligence on the Creative Industries
1530 ET : 035-B West Block - International Trade (CIIT) | Meeting 11 | Canada and the Forthcoming CUSMA Review
1530 ET : 420 Wellington - the Status of Women (FEWO) | Meeting 12 | Subject Matter of Main Estimates 2025-26: Women and Gender Equality Min Rechie Valdez to testify.
1530 ET : 025-B West Block - Indigenous and Northern Affairs (INAN) | Meeting 9 | Indigenous Policing and Public Safety
1530 ET : 125-B West Block - Natural Resources (RNNR) | Meeting 11 | Forestry Industry
1530 ET : 410 Wellington - Subcommittee on International Human Rights of the Foreign Affairs and International Development (SDIR) | Meeting 3 | Human Rights Situation in Sudan
1900 ET : Ottawa - NDP Interim Leader Don Davies meets with the Confederationof Canadian Unions
Issued this day …
… in 1994. Sc 1533. Christmas (Carolling). Design: Diti Katona and John Plypczak. Illustration: Nina Berkson.
