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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responds to a question during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2016.The Canadian Press

POLITICS BRIEFING

By Chris Hannay (@channay) and Rob Gilroy (@rgilroy)

Globe Politics is pleased to include a roundup of news and opinion on U.S. politics, through until this year's election in November. As always, let us know what you think of the newsletter. Sign up here to get it by e-mail each morning.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW IN OTTAWA

> Justin Trudeau is in Vancouver today, where he is expected to make an announcement about responding to fuel spills.

> The Liberals say they will ban business executives or others engaged in lobbying the government from attending private fundraisers. As it happens, Apotex chairman Barry Sherman has pulled out of a $500-a-ticket fundraiser for Finance Minister Bill Morneau tonight.

> A United Nations climate summit begins in Morocco today, and there is some concern among delegates about what a Trump victory would mean for the future of negotiations.

> Indigenous communities are increasingly participating in the census, with 2016 seeing the fewest number of reserves refusing to allow their members to be counted.

> The tragic death of Lena Anderson lays bare some of the current problems with indigenous policing.

> The Hill Times says Montreal businessman Daniel Fournier might run for the Conservative leadership.

> And Andrew MacDougall, the former chief spokesman under Stephen Harper, begs Canadian taxpayers to buy the prime minister a decent plane.

HOUSE REBRANDS

By Laura Stone (@l_stone)

Watch out: the House of Commons administration is about to debut a new look.

The House administration – the group that supports Members of Parliament in their work behind-the-scenes – "has a new brand," according to a launch event notice.

"Our new brand has been developed to give the House Administration a refined, modern and distinct look and feel," the government notice says.

An event to unveil the brand is planned for Nov.16 in the newly-renovated Sir John A. MacDonald building, and will feature an address by Acting Clerk Marc Bosc, a vernissage, refreshments and a DJ.

Spokeswoman Heather Bradley says the event will present "the visual concept" on new branding for communications from the House, including finance and human resources departments. The objective was to develop "a fresh, consistent look and feel for the House of Commons Administration in keeping with the prestige of the institution," she said.

Ms. Bradley said there was a need to create an "identity" for the House administration so members know where information is coming from.

No word on which company, if any, was hired to help with rebranding efforts. But we're told a House of Commons employee who moonlights as a DJ will be spinning the tunes. In true government fashion, the party starts at 10 a.m.

U.S. ELECTION 2016

> America's new divide: The Globe and Mail's Elizabeth Renzetti and Doug Saunders take a deeper dive on the demographic divide in the U.S. by looking at a key county in Florida. "The 840,000 voters of Hillsborough County, Fla. – and especially those … who live in vote-rich, politically fickle neighbourhoods – are often considered the most coveted, most potent voters in America."

> Why is it so close?: The Globe's Margaret Wente may have the best theory yet as to why this election is as close as the polls say it is: "For many voters, the constant barrage of scandal, outrage and e-mail investigations has become a blur. They see an equivalency of sins. They are unable to distinguish between a demagogue with an ungovernable temperament – one who poses a serious threat to the Constitution – and someone who, despite being investigated by the FBI, is likely to uphold it."

> Father, son rally Hispanic votes: The Globe's Joanna Slater visits Allentown, Pa., where Edison Hernandez and his 12-year-old son are rallying support for Hillary Clinton in the city's Hispanic community. "The time for persuasion is over: … the contest is [now] a question of mechanics and manpower. At the state level, each party is working to make sure as many of its voters as humanly possible show up at the polls."

> The Latino wave?: The New York Times says a surge in Hispanic voters may be the hidden blue wave that propels Clinton to the White House. "This long, unpredictable and often downright bizarre election was, in other words, ending along the lines it had been contested all along: with Americans sharply divided along demographic lines between the two candidates."

> The Trump wave?: The Globe's Konrad Yakabuski knows who those 'hidden' Trump voters are, but isn't sure there are enough of them to push the GOP nominee to the White House. "Working-class whites in hollowed-out Midwestern industrial suburbs, feeling ignored by elites on both coasts and in Washington who gushed about clean energy and Obamacare, saw in Mr. Trump the vehicle for revenge they had been waiting for."

> A new wave?: The Globe's John Ibbitson says this election almost certainly is going to feature a younger, more diverse electorate that may herald an age of positive politics. "The day of the older, less educated white male is done. From this bitter election an emerging coalition asserts new strength."

> Canada is the hero the U.S. needs: Also in The Globe, Canadian writer Glynnis MacNicol, who lives in New York, says her American friends have rarely been so enthusiastic about their cousins to the north. "Americans all around me are obsessed with Canada, while simultaneously experiencing a deep and vocal insecurity about their own county. Canada, meanwhile, is giving the U.S. public pep talks about its greatness. It's truly bizarre."

> The 'ultimate velvet rope': In The Globe, Stephen Metcalfe looks at a younger Donald Trump, who came of age in New York around the same time as the legendary Studio 54 in Manhattan. Metcalfe says it's worth recalling the imprint the famous club had on 1970s America. "For Donald, of course, winning the White House has always only meant one thing: Strolling past the ultimate velvet rope."

> The men feminism left behind: Jill Filipovic in The New York Times says feminism's success in the U.S. has left men behind, and that, she says, is one of the main reasons why Donald Trump's biggest supporters are white men. "Women make up half the country, and since we aren't going back in time, the same men who have long been hostile to feminism should consider coming along with us."

> Donald Trump's last stand: The New York Times got some inside access to Donald Trump during the election's final days, and reports on a candidacy that "is a jarring split screen: the choreographed show of calm and confidence orchestrated by his staff, and the neediness and vulnerability of a once-boastful candidate now uncertain of victory."

WHAT EVERYONE'S TALKING ABOUT

Campbell Clark (Globe and Mail): "Donald Trump has questioned U.S. commitment to NATO. He's talked about his admiration for Mr. Putin. That makes Eastern European allies nervous. Maybe they'll start to worry about criticizing Russia, or imposing sanctions, or opposing Moscow's will. In fact, Mr. Trump has suggested all U.S. allies will have to pay up for protection. He has said Japan and South Korea should consider getting nuclear weapons. Maybe they will. For some national leaders, it might be politically damaging to stand beside a president who says 'I like waterboarding a lot.' But their bigger concern is an unpredictable ally might force hard choices."

Justine Hunter (Globe and Mail): "The federal Liberals have promised action on coastal protection for more than a year, but the timing of this announcement seems calibrated to pave the way for a decision on whether to approve the expansion of Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain pipeline from Alberta to the coast. Mr. Trudeau will face strong opposition in B.C. to approval, from environmentalists, municipal leaders and First Nations. He would prefer to have Premier Christy Clark, at least, onside." (for subscribers)

Elizabeth Renzetti (Globe and Mail): "Somebody has to hold the feet of the powerful to the fire. That, for the longest time, has been journalism's truest and highest calling. If you've smelled burning flesh lately, it's because the powerful don't like to have their feet singed. It's one of the paradoxes of modern journalism that even as the business suffers setbacks and newsrooms shrink, the news media still have an unequalled ability to instill fear in authoritarian structures – especially the ones worried about losing their power."

Chantal Hébert (Toronto Star): "It may be that an unspecified number of provincial and municipal police officers testifying under oath pulled the wool over the eyes of a yet-to-be-determined number of gullible justices of the peace. But based on the information released this week, securing a court's approval to spy on a journalist in Quebec amounts to little more than a formality."

Michael Den Tandt (National Post): "Politics is dreadful everywhere and always, yes? Well, no — not entirely. There are still doings worth celebrating, particularly, these days, in Canada. For recent evidence, look to Calgary-area Conservative MP Michelle Rempel and the compromise she recently struck – or rather engineered – with Immigration Minister John McCallum, yielding a new, challenging and far more honest Canadian policy toward helping Yazidi victims of genocide, if the former Liberal posture can be called a policy at all."

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