Carney's summer agenda

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In today's edition:
→ PM Carney: Canada First.
→ Inside a Trump-fueled Ottawa letter dump.
→ Oklahoma threw a parade. Ottawa hit snooze.
Trade war
MAKE CANADA GREATER, STILL — Prime Minister MARK CARNEY used his July 1 spotlight to double down on his economic agenda — and to define his vision of Canadian greatness.
The PM's first Canada Day address sounded a lot like his stump speeches with talk of transforming Canada into an 'energy superpower' via his 'nation-building' law.
He even repeated his campaign mantra: 'Build, baby, build.'
— Elephant in the room: The PM didn't mention DONALD TRUMP. He didn't have to. His speech was filled with veiled references to the president, 51st-state taunts and the Canada-U.S. trade war.
'We are taking over the control of our future. We're writing our own story, not having it dictated to us by others,' Carney said to a big cheer from the crowd in Ottawa. 'This is Canada. Nothing could be better.'
→ Just great: To describe Canada's resilience, Carney leaned on one of Trump's favorite words.
'Canada is already the greatest country in the world, but our destiny is to make it greater, still,' Carney said.
— More on that: 'Greatness isn't defined by words. It's achieved by actions,' Carney said. 'Greatness isn't something we just say. It's what we do for ourselves, but particularly for others. So while we work to build the strongest economy in the G7, we know that it's not an end in itself, it's the means through which all Canadians can live in security, in dignity and in harmony.'
— Heading into the holiday: Trump backed out of negotiations with Carney, and promised to bring in new tariffs in response to Canada's DST.
By Sunday night, Canada had rescinded a tax that would have hit U.S. tech companies with a bill of up to C$3 billion.
Canada and the U.S. appear to be back at the negotiation table.
Ambassador KIRSTEN HILLMAN told the Globe on Tuesday that Ottawa is still aiming to get all of Trump's tariffs lifted as part of a deal.
— Déjà vu: Lawyer MICHAEL GEIST said the government's handling of the DST was reminiscent of the Liberal government's fight with giant tech companies over the Online News Act. Meta still has news blocked in Canada because it didn't want to pay local newsrooms millions of dollars, as stipulated by the act.
'Government talks tough with tech, ignores warnings, and then scrambles when it turns out it isn't a bluff,' Geist wrote.
SUMMER TO-DO LIST — Carney has delivered a middle-class tax cut. He's also reducing internal trade regulations and managed to get C-5 passed into law.
CBC's PETER ZIMONJIC offers a verdict on each of Carney's Canada Day promises.
— Down to business: At 11 a.m. this morning, the PM will meet with CEOs of the auto industry.
— On the calendar: Carney is anxious to get Indigenous leaders on board C-5 (belatedly) to avoid a summer of protests. He'll meet First Nations in Ottawa on July 17, Inuit leadership in late July, and Métis leadership 'soon thereafter.'
— A looming deadline: He's given himself until July 21 to reach a new economic and security deal with Trump.
That same day, premiers will meet in Huntsville, Ontario, to discuss nation-building projects — and possible retaliation against the U.S.
'Together, we will build one Canadian economy, connected by major projects, powered by Canadian energy, transformed by Canadian technology, and crafted by Canadian workers,' Carney said Tuesday.
'Together, we will break down barriers so that you can buy Canadian anywhere, and you can work in Canada everywhere.'
— Flood the zone: The Prime Minister's Office has yet to offer any indication of when those 'nation-building projects' will be announced. Premiers have said they expect details to roll out over the summer — with Alberta Premier DANIELLE SMITH suggesting they could include a new pipeline.
For your radar
MAILBOX MELTDOWN — When DONALD TRUMP fired the opening salvo in his trade war with Canada earlier this year, thousands of his neighbors to the north flooded inboxes and mailboxes at the Privy Council Office in Ottawa.
Canadians got their hackles up amid all the economic threats — and the president's frequent suggestion that Canada would be better off seeking statehood.
— Start typing: The PCO, which offers administrative support to the PM and Cabinet, received nearly 10,000 individual pieces of correspondence on the topic of Canada-U.S. relations — including Trump's '51st state' rhetoric and tariffs.
A monthly report obtained by Playbook via an access-to-information request revealed a massive spike in U.S.-focused letters in February over the previous month when Trump was inaugurated.
— Give him an earful: Trudeau scored high marks firing back at Trump with retaliatory tariffs and a sharp rebuke of any annexation talk. The monthly summary notes a majority of trade war letters supported the Canadian response.
But the former PM was still unpopular enough that the PCO received more than 2,500 letters — more than any other topic except the Canada-U.S. file — expressing opinions about him and his government. Much of it might be categorized as hate mail.
→ Context of note: 'Many include inappropriate comments or tone.'
— The hot war: The PCO also received more than 2,300 letters about the Israel-Hamas conflict, which the bureaucrats summarized as: 'Concerns about the crisis in Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, including the ceasefire.'
— Total letter count for February: 207,949 — 70 percent of which were part of write-in campaigns.
THE ROOMS THAT MATTER
— The PM will meet with automotive industry CEOs at 11 a.m., a gathering that is closed to media.
— Environment Minister JULIE DABRUSIN is in Yellowknife, where at 2:30 p.m. local time (4:30 p.m. ET) she'll make a funding announcement to support five clean energy projects in Alberta and the Northwest Territories.
Want more POLITICO? Download our mobile app to save stories, get notifications on U.S.-Canada relations, and more. In iOS or Android .
MORNING MUST-CLICKS
— From POLITICO's KATHERINE TULLY-MCMANUS and JORDAIN CARNEY: How Republicans got Murkowski to yes on Trump's megabill.
— Noted in the Financial Post: Canada's historic first cargo of LNG sets sail for buyers in Asia.
— The 'Curse' gang discussed the future of PIERRE POILIEVRE, a conversation that included consideration of the Conservative leader's recent interview with SEAN SPEER.
— From TRACY MORAN in the National Post: Why the digital services tax had to die for the Canada-U.S. trade deal to live.
— ANAIDA POILIEVRE penned a post on 'the art of not caring' about social media hate.
— 'We must make ourselves into something, or disappear,' STEPHEN MARCHE warned in The Atlantic. He's also launched an audio series.
TALK OF THE TOWN
PLAYING FAVORITES — Hamilton basketball player SHAI GILGEOUS-ALEXANDER paraded in the streets of Oklahoma last week, a Canadian flag wrapped around his waist, as Americans in the red state heavily won by DONALD TRUMP chanted the NBA star's name.
SGA, as he's known, had just won the NBA finals with his Oklahoma City Thunder team, which also features Montreal-born player LUGUENTZ DORT.
He cemented himself as the league's best player. On Canada Day, he agreed to a $285 million deal — holding the highest single-season average salary in NBA history.
— Cross-border joy: It is a feel-good story for an Ontario steel town rocked by Trump's tariffs. Oklahoma City Mayor DAVID HOLT declared July 30 SGA Day.
— O Canada: There's been a surge in sports and patriotism since the start of the trade war. Tensions picked up around the 4 Nations Face-Off. Both MARK CARNEY and PIERRE POILIEVRE rallied around the Canadian team — as Trump did with Team U.S.A.
Fans booed the American anthem and the PM made hockey — and his love for the Oilers — part of his political identity and prime ministerial campaign.
'Sports is like another part of entertainment and life, and people can see themselves represented in it,' said NOAH ELIOT VANDERHOEVEN, a Ph.D. candidate at Western University, who's studying sports and social movements. 'Oftentimes it's a very powerful symbol that can be used for nation-building purposes, in terms of a symbol of national successes as well.'
— Hockey > everything: Men's hockey gets held up as a symbol of national success, Vanderhoeven says, especially given that in many other sports, 'Canada is not as successful.'
Although Canadian athletes make regular appearances in NBA finals, 'basketball hasn't really had that saturation in terms of being political,' he explained.
— But, but, but: SGA's success went largely unnoticed by Canadian politicians.
Conservative MP NED KURUC, who recently flipped the seat from Liberal's CHAD COLLINS, was the only Hamilton MP to praise SGA's win, calling it 'a proud moment for our city and our country!' Hamilton Liberal MPs ASLAM RANA, LISA HEPFNER and JOHN-PAUL DANKO were silent.
Secretary of State for Sport ADAM VAN KOEVERDEN did celebrate SGA's MVP title. But en route to a caucus meeting, he seemed puzzled when Playbook asked if he was watching the OKC finals.
— Used to it: 'Hamilton is an under-the-radar, blue-collar city,' SGA told the Hamilton Spectator last year. 'So that gave me that underdog mentality, it put a chip on my shoulder … It carried over to my work ethic, and the way I play.'
— On Canada Day: Canadian Identity Minister STEVEN GUILBEAULT rhymed off a list of achievements in the past year — 'baseball, hockey and football.' No mention of SGA and Dort.
PROZONE
Our latest headlines for POLITICO Pro subscribers:
— Senate GOP bets softer clean energy cuts won't come back to bite them.
— In tech tax 'cave,' Trump and Carney may have both gotten what they wanted.
— 5 things to know about Trump's attacks on the Montreal Protocol.
— Can tech companies curb AI's climate toll?
— Trump turns trade talks into foreign policy wish list.
PLAYBOOKERS
Birthdays: HBD to former Sen. JANE CORDY, former Liberal MP LINDA LAPOINTE and BRYAN DETCHOU, senior director at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.
Movers and shakers: ROBERT ZHU has co-founded Roots Strategies, a national Indigenous affairs agency … STEPHEN BUFFALO, CEO of the Indian Resource Council, has joined Alberta Next … RYAN GAUSS, chief of staff to Liberal MP PETER FRAGISKATOS, is leaving the role after 10 years.
Spotted: The iconic TERRY FOX Adidas shoe, which he wore in the 1980 Marathon of Hope is being rereleased to raise money for cancer research … MARCO MENDICINO wearing a 'Big Daddy' T-shirt with the PM's face on it.
Noted: This year's Order of Canada appointees features several health leaders, including those who served on the front lines during the Covid-19 pandemic: Canada's newly retired chief public health officer, THERESA TAM; her British Columbia counterpart, BONNIE HENRY; and Canada's first chief public health officer, DAVID ALEXANDER JONES.
— Other appointees: JOHN MANLEY, MAUREEN MCTEER, MARC-ANDRÉ BLANCHARD, BRUCE ANDERSON and ALEXANDRA BUGAILISKIS.
JOHN IBBITSON and DARRELL BRICKER heralded 'Breaking Point,' a new book coming this fall.
Also noted: Alberta MP HEATHER MCPHERSON — considering a run for NDP leader.
A by-election has been called in the Alberta riding of Battle River—Crowfoot for Aug. 18, creating a path for Conservative Leader PIERRE POILIEVRE to return to the House of Commons. DARCY SPADY will be the Liberal candidate in the race.
Media mentions: Former CBC journalist ALEX PANETTA bids farewell to Washington … Political columnist for the Regina Leader-Post and Saskatoon StarPhoenix MURRAY MANDRYK said goodbye … MICHELLE MCQUIGGE, The Canadian Press' weekend and special projects editor, is retiring from journalism; she spent 19 years at the wire service.
TRIVIA
Friday's answer: In July 2016 in Toronto, JUSTIN TRUDEAU became the first prime minister to march in a Pride parade.
Props to BARB WRIGHT, NANCI WAUGH, JOHN PEPPER, JOANNA PLATER, DARRYL DAMUDE, BEN PURKISS, KIRSTEN BUSSE, BEN BROWN CLEMENTS, MAUREEN MACGILLIVRAY, ELIO PETERSON, JILL PILGRIM, GORDON RANDALL, JENN KEAY, SHAUGHN MCARTHUR, ROBERT MCDOUGALL, ALYSON FAIR, SARA MAY and ANDREW SZENDE.
Wednesday's question: On Tuesday, PRINCE EDWARD attended Canada Day celebrations in Ottawa. Who were the last royals before that to participate in Canada Day festivities on Parliament Hill?
Answers to [e-mail]
Writing tomorrow's Playbook: MICKEY DJURIC and MIKE BLANCHFIELD.
Canada Playbook would not happen without: Canada Editor Sue Allan, editor Willa Plank and POLITICO's Grace Maalouf.