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politics briefing

Mr. Johnston introduces governor-general-designate Julie Payette during a ceremony celebrating 50 years of the Order of Canada at Rideau Hall on Aug. 26, 2017.FRED CHARTRAND/The Canadian Press

Good morning,

Former astronaut Julie Payette will be formally installed as Canada's new Governor-General today. The ceremony begins later this morning in the Senate. Ms. Payette has apparently invited 400 guests for the ceremony – not a bad welcome party at all.

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CANADIAN HEADLINES

Jagmeet Singh is the new leader of the federal NDP. The Ontario politician broke through the glass ceiling for people of colour in Canada, becoming the first to lead a major federal political party. He won on the first ballot with 53 per cent of the vote. Nearly 66,000 party members voted of the nearly 125,000 who were eligible. Charlie Angus finished in second, Niki Ashton in third and Guy Caron in fourth. Mr. Singh has said that he won't seek a seat in the House of Commons as he intends to travel the country to build support for the third-place party. Recent New Democrat leaders Alexa McDonough and Jack Layton did the same thing.

And, in a similar vein, a look at why white men are so overrepresented in politics.

Speaking of the NDP, the country's two most western provinces are governed by the social democratic party. But B.C. and Alberta are ready to face off against each other this week in court, with John Horgan's government set to argue that the Trans Mountain pipeline is not in the national interest with the end goal of overturning the federal government's approval of Kinder Morgan's controversial project. The court date comes as Premier John Horgan heads to Ottawa, where his province's pipeline fight will loom large.

A man in Edmonton has been arrested after injuring five, including a police officer. The suspect was also investigated in 2015 by the RCMP for allegedly espousing extremist ideology.

As the federal government's consultation process for its controversial tax reforms ends today, doctors have emerged as one of the most vocal blocs opposing the proposed changes. Why are they so angry over the plan? The Globe's national health reporter Kelly Grant digs deeper into how they've organized on the issue. A Nanos poll commissioned by The Globe shows Canadians are very divided by the proposals: 37 per cent of respondents said they supported them, 35 per cent said they didn't and the rest didn't know. If you're interested in learning more about why the Liberals have pressed forward with their plan and a detailed breakdown of the proposals themselves, we have a guide on the topic.

B.C.'s NDP government could spend more than $1-million over the next four years to keep an alliance with the Green Party alive. The Greens signed an agreement earlier this summer to oust the Liberals and allow the NDP to form a minority government. Premier John Horgan's set up a special secretariat to manage that relationship. Documents obtained by The Globe and Mail show the secretariat's budget is more than $260,000 a year, including executive director Donna Sanford's $100,000 salary, as well as two staff and a $20,000 travel budget. The Opposition Liberals say it's inappropriate to spend that much taxpayer money on a political relationship.

Some are calling it "the mother of all bidding wars." Canadian cities and metropolitan areas from Vancouver to Halifax, and what seems like everywhere in between, are pulling out all the stops to try and woo Amazon HQ2, the online retail giant's second headquarters. The company is promising to hire 50,000 and spend $5-billion (U.S.) as it develops a supplementary head office to its Seattle home base.

And Fort McMurray is seen by many as the quintessential boom town. When the city goes to the polls later this month to choose a new mayor and councillors it faces a reckoning as it looks to the future, with many questions over housing, taxes, spending and unemployment looming large in an era where the boom is gone and bust is the new normal.

Campbell Clark (The Globe and Mail) on NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh: "The NDP once picked stalwarts to fight the good fight as leader. Now, they have chosen someone who might disrupt Canadian politics. Don't underestimate the potential for Jagmeet Singh to shake things up."

Chantal Hébert (Toronto Star) on Jagmeet Singh: "It is that diversity that will likely stick in the minds of the strategists of the other parties — in particular the Liberals. The NDP will still come at them from the left, but it will offer multicultural Canada the added attraction of bringing a long-awaited element of diversity at the head of the federal table."

Paul Wells (Maclean's) on Jagmeet Singh: "Liberals I talk to aren't terrified of Singh, but they don't write him off either. Every knock against Singh for youth or inexperience is one that would have applied to Justin Trudeau, not long ago. The two even share a strength: conspicuous organizational muscle. Even though he wasn't a candidate, Singh was billed as the guarantor of federal NDP strength in the Brampton region in the early days of the 2015 election. That didn't pan out. Navdeep Bains and several of his young protégés swept all those ridings. All hands are well aware their rematch will be one of the central dramas of the next election, and the way Singh just swept the leadership suggests he has been working on his chops."

Sheema Khan (The Globe and Mail) on the Edmonton attack: "In the coming days, political leadership will be key for uniting citizens, while setting a tone of defiant resilience. Grassroots initiatives will be important for strengthening our social fabric, based on our bonds of common humanity. Let us join vigils, pray together and offer compassionate solidarity with the victims. We are stronger together. And let us remain vigilant against those who exploit this attack to spread hatred against Muslims. This is the vicious cycle that Islamic State aims to put into motion."

Globe and Mail editorial board on the Status of Women committee being chaired by a pro-life Conservative MP: "We would be among the first to oppose any attempt to curtail Canadians' hard-won right to abortion. But we also oppose any government that demands ideological purity from an MP in order for her to hold a position for which she is otherwise qualified."

Sandra Martin (The Globe and Mail) on health care for prisoners: "Why should we care if an inmate old enough to be somebody's grandparent dies in a cell without adequate medical treatment, access to appropriate palliative care or medical assistance in dying? I think there are three reasons: compassion, equality and autonomy."

INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES

At least 50 people are dead and 200 injured after a Las Vegas man opened fire at a country music festival. Police have identified the suspect as Stephen Paddock, 64, a resident of the area.

More than 800 people were injured in Catalonia as riot police attacked peaceful protesters and unarmed civilians who cast their ballots in the region's independence referendum. Catalan President Carles Puigdemont declared victory even though the results are being disputed. Spain's heavy-handed crackdown drew widespread condemnation and may ultimately end up hurting the country's future bargaining position, although no one is quite sure how this will play out.

U.S. President Donald Trump taught U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, the chief negotiator on the NAFTA talks, a lesson in the art of the deal. While the two were talking about whether the U.S. would withdraw from its trade agreement with South Korea, Mr. Lighthizer said that he would "tell the Koreans they've got 30 days." Mr. Trump instead told Mr. Lighthizer to "tell them if they don't give the concessions now, this crazy guy will pull out of the deal." The U.S. has yet to pull out of the deal.

And in case you missed it, one of the Winnipeg "Lost Boys" was found guilty on terrorism charges in U.S. court on Friday. Muhanad al-Farekh, a U.S. citizen born in Texas, is due to be sentenced on January 11. What drove him and his two classmates from the University of Manitoba to join al-Qaeda? Correspondence released during the trial sheds a light into the state of their minds, in their own words.

Konrad Yakabuski (The Globe and Mail) on Trump's tax plan: "Republicans talk a good game about slashing government spending – especially for those most in need of it, such as the beneficiaries of Obamacare – but they almost never deliver. Mr. Trump's tax plan could well follow the trajectory of most of his legislative proposals so far – into the trash can. If you think deficits matter, that would be the best outcome."

Alexandra Eul (The Globe and Mail) on the rise of the AfD: "The party is known for its nationalist and anti-immigrant stance. But the AfD is also a rampantly male-dominated bro-club which has declared war on the emancipation of women. Its anti-women stance is largely ignored within the sharp debates about the AfD: Why do nearly six-million people in Germany support a party that supports blatant toxic masculinity?"

John Ibbitson (The Globe and Mail) on the persecution of LGBT citizens in Azerbaijan: "Human-rights activists say Azerbaijani authorities have launched a purge against LGBT citizens, aping their counterparts in Chechnya. This latest persecution points to the need for Canada and other Western countries to find ways to respond when governments attack sexual minorities within their own country, especially now that such actions appear to be spreading."

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