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Canada's Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre speaks in the House of Commons.
Poilievre is polling well despite crying "terror"
The political exchange was sparked when a 56-year-old New York man set out to attend a Kiss concert, but instead ended up driving his Bentley at high speed into a barrier at the border crossing, going airborne and exploding on impact, killing him and his wife.
Fox News was quick to report that it was believed to be a terrorist attack, and Republicans were quick to link it to Biden’s border policies. On Twitter, Ted Cruz called it a terrorist attack, as did GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who has called for a wall along the northern border.
In Canada’s House of Commons, before the facts were established, Poilievre asked about reports that the incident was linked to terrorism. After it became clear it had nothing to do with terrorists, the Liberals accused him of jumping to conclusions. When he was asked about it, Poilievre berated the reporter who posed the question, which commentators, including this writer, thought went too far. He also came under harsh criticism for voting against a Canada-Ukraine free trade deal and delivering a misleading explanation for the vote.
Both incidents gave Liberals the opportunity to attack him as dishonest, mean, and a Trumpy northerner, perhaps hoping for make a comeback in the polls. So far, that has not happened. The most recent poll from Nanos shows the Liberals so far behind that they are tied with the NDP, which could put pressure on the smaller party to force an early election. Seat projections show that the NDP would pick up seats if there was an election today, but that’s no guarantee since their voters might not like to see the NDP bring down Trudeau, opening a path to a Poilievre government.Liberal Ontario MP Anthony Rota
A tale of two speakers, revisited
Now, Canada’s House of Commons has a new speaker, while the US House of Representatives is struggling to elect one for themselves. Last week, Liberal member of Parliament Greg Fergus was elected speaker by his colleagues in a secret preferential ballot, making him the first Black speaker in the country’s history. His election proceeded far more quickly and smoothly than its American counterpart.
On Wednesday, however, Republicans made some progress toward filling the speaker’s chair. GOP representatives chose Louisiana’s Steve Scalise – who voted to overturn the 2020 election – as their pick over judiciary chair Jim Jordan. But that’s just step one. Now, Scalise must find his way to 217 votes – a path that will take him through ruins with potentially hostile members of his own party, Democrats, or both. Scalise can only afford to lose four Republicans without having to rely on the other side of the aisle. So far, at least a dozen Republicans are opposed to Scalise.
We’re watching to see if Scalise and the Republicans can fill the speaker’s chair while facing down lingering and developing crises, including the war in Ukraine – and the battle in Congress to fund it – and the Israel-Hamas war. We’re also watching to see if Fergus can bring some order and the decorum to the House of Commons. Good luck with that.