Canada’s election season is coming up with the first major shakeup being the election of a “Freedom Convoy” sympathizer as the head of the Conservatives. Pierre Poilievre is an MP from Greely, Ontario, and currently serves as the shadow minister for transportation. He espouses many Trump-like views with some diversions from the typical Trump message. He is someone who reaches out to the “left behinds” which is very similar to Mr. Trump, but he has apparently a more pragmatic view about attracting immigrants to Canada as they are a key labor source, and he has shied away from courting social conservatives like the Campaign Life Coalition, which is a Canadian based anti-abortion group. This creates a contrast to Mr. Trudeau, and given the coverage which the Freedom Convoy achieved, this may well tighten-up the race. So far, I have seen no polling, but I suspect that that will begin to happen in the next several weeks.
As Republicans are struggling in some Senate races, the race in Colorado may be one in which they could score an upset victory. The Republican candidate is a moderate Republican who disavows Mr. Trump’s position on the 2020 election, favors abortion rights, but still maintains that he is a Conservative. One can only assume that he is much like what I would refer to as a Rockefeller Republican in New York - someone who is fiscally conservative, but socially much more moderate. It is an interesting tie to Mr. Poilievre who is mentioned in the prior section in terms of his social views. We will keep an eye on how all these races go, as I pointed out last week, New York has some interesting races that could impact control of the house as well.
The extreme heat in the country, particularly in the West and South, has hurt crops and ultimately will have an impact on supermarkets and consumers. The water shortages related to the heat, obviously, and other climate change factors will continue to impact AG and consumers. Some of the products that are immediately impacted are lettuce and berries, both quantitatively and qualitatively. Some supermarkets are rejecting produce because of its very poor quality. This, again, will have a negative impact on consumers as pricing and shortages increase. I wonder if Republicans will try and blame this on Democrats and Mr. Biden. If they do, I would take from it is that they assume we have a more direct line to the heavens.
It was recently reported that Mr. Putin and the Chinese President met and following their meeting provided quotes or commentary to the news media. The most interesting part of Mr. Putin’s comments was that he understood that the Chinese were reluctant to at least publicly take sides, while the Chinese commentary was devoid of any substantive remarks concerning the Russian-Ukrainian war. Although the Chinese are purchasing Russian oil and supplying technology and maybe hardware to the Russians, they are not evidencing any interest in taking sides in this battle which has got to be problematic for Mr. Putin, particularly in light of the recent collapse of the Russian army in parts of the Ukraine. This was followed by the president of India telling Putin “This is not the time for war.”
Mr. DeSantis’ Martha’s Vineyard gambit may be backfiring with Hispanics, particularly Venezuelan immigrants, who find his action insulting and may cause election day heartburn for Mr. DeSantis. Let’s hope so.
The New York Times reported that the royal bee keeper had informed the queen bees of the Queen’s death, and as you can image, this announcement received mockery. Let me pile on, talk about silly and who cares, this may sting Monarchists the most.
Lindsey Graham announced a Republican bill that would ban abortions after 15 weeks, which received a less than enthusiastic response from his Republican colleagues. Many Republicans, particularly those running in tight senate races are attempting to distance themselves from extreme positions on abortion, and thanks to Senator Graham, he has brought it back to full boar to the front pages of most national news. I think Democrats should say thank you.
The exploration of the universe continues as scientists speculate that there are 100 billion galaxies. Scientists also have new ways to spot signs of life as technology has improved over the years since Atlantis was launched in October of 1989. Galileo, the satellite in the cargo bay of Atlantis, has an array of instruments allowing it to detect telltale chemical and electromagnetic signs that scientists are now calling techno signatures, which are essential to searching for intelligent life beyond earth. This data that is being generated has created areas of investigation that didn’t exist a few years ago, and will continue, hopefully, to bear fruit about what and who is out there.
The Swedish government has swung from a current centrist Prime Minister to a right-wing one. This follows the election of a right-wing Conservative to lead the Conservative party in Canada, many right-wing governors, as well as Republican members of Congress, and legislatures in the United States. These two events follow the recent election of the Prime Minister in Great Britain who is also a hard right politician. It looks like there’s a trend here.
It appears that President Trump, who has a history of failing to pay his attorneys has come up against a lawyer by the name of Chris Kise, who has negotiated a $3 million up-front payment. It is typical for lawyers to receive a retainer, and for that retainer to be placed into their trust account and drawn down as bills are rendered for the services. With someone like Trump it is an essential element of any deal.
Canada is marketing the fact that most Canadians live within 100 miles of the US Canadian border, creating an opportunity for US businesses, both along the border and in other locations in the US to export to this market. The high concentration of individuals is primarily from the province of Quebec to western Ontario, and then jumps out on the west coast, but those present excellent north/south markets and a relatively easy lanes of transportation for moving goods.
Will Ms. Stefanik deny election results in New York but accept her own only if she wins? More to come on this.
Bill Owens is a former member of Congress representing the New York 21st, a partner in Stafford, Owens, Piller, Murnane, Kelleher and Trombley in Plattsburgh, NY and a Strategic Advisor at Dentons to Washington, DC.
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