Chrystia Freeland takes on her toughest assignment yet

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Yesterday was, as far as summertime news goes in the capital, a doozy. There was a Liberal way to interpret everything that went down, and it went something like this: Bill Morneau wanted to get out of politics, so he resigned. Liberal MPs had only nice things to say. Justin Trudeau appointed Chrystia Freeland, a trusted and steady hand on the nation’s tiller, to take Morneau’s place as finance minister. And because the pandemic has reached a pivot point between emergency and recovery, now’s the time to prorogue Parliament and come back in the fall with a new vision and a confidence vote in the House of Commons.

Here’s the alternate view: Morneau was pushed out as finance minister, or left of his own accord, after too many clashes with Trudeau during the months-long emergency pandemic response. Freeland, Trudeau’s go-to minister on tricky files, gets her toughest assignment yet as the government scrambles to project confidence amid instability. And as Liberals prepare for whatever vision they’re about to unleash, they prorogue Parliament, stopping several committees in their tracks as they investigate a withering summertime WE scandal.

The modest cabinet shuffle at Rideau Hall was vintage pandemic: socially distanced chairs, masked participants and elbow bumps with both the PM and the Queen’s representative in Canada (who is, of course, enduring her own PR nightmare).

Meanwhile, as Trudeau later answered questions in the Commons foyer, a CBC News reporter asked if he’d send his kids back to school in a few weeks. He didn’t say yes and he didn’t say no. Seconds later, CBC News Network’s lower-third blared: "PM undecided on sending his kids back to school." On some days, that distinct lack of confidence in public education might be huge news. Not yesterday.

If you remember a more eventful Aug. 18 in Canadian politics, please email us.

Dominic LeBlanc is back: Late last year, the six-term Liberal MP and son of a former governor general—and old friend of Trudeau—was stuck in a hospital bed during the election campaign. He was fighting his second cancer diagnosis in as many years. He beat the disease, won his seventh election and found himself back in cabinet as president of the Queen’s privy council. He also served on three cabinet committees and chaired the operations committee. Now, LeBlanc is taking on a new gig as intergovernmental affairs minister—a junior position during normal times—at a crucial time for federal-provincial cooperation.

Doug Ford gives the thumbs up: It’s no secret that Ontario’s premier has struck up a famous friendship with Freeland since the last federal election. Yesterday, Ford was effusive in his endorsement of the deputy PM’s new role. "I want to congratulate my good friend Chrystia Freeland. An amazing person. I actually texted her this morning to say congratulations. I don’t know how she’s going to do it. She’s working around the clock now. There’s no one that would be better in that role than Chrystia Freeland."

Why did Ed the Sock compare Jagmeet Singh to Jughead Jones? Ed the Sock, the puppet alter ego of Steven Kerzner, has recently referred to Jagmeet Singh as "Jughead," the "dumb" and "dopey" Archie character, as an apparent claim to Singh lacking intelligence. The Sock didn’t know that when Singh was a kid, some of the crueler kids around him used the J-Word as a racial epithet. Your newsletter correspondent took exception to the notion that Jughead Jones is a dummy. In fact, the most misunderstood member of Archie’s gang is arguably the smartest of the bunch.

Jughead would likely never run for office. Not unless he were paid in hamburgers. But if he ever did end up getting elected, the “eighth wonder of the world”—that’s a nickname from 1963, courtesy of Archie and Reggie—would probably end up, totally by accident, the most popular politician in the land. And he’d leave office the moment he found a delicious distraction, perfectly timed—again, by total fluke—to his welcome being worn out. Basically, the opposite of Bill Morneau’s fate. Maybe we need more people like Jughead Jones in Parliament.

Mea culpa: Yesterday, we foolishly referred to former New Brunswick premier Brian Gallant as Ryan. No offence intended, and error regretted.