Liberals flex, Conservatives reflect | Rachel Curran

It’s been referred to as “Harperpalooza” in Ottawa this week: a prolonged celebration of the 20th anniversary of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s first election victory. Conservatives celebrated past glories at reunions and a swanky gala, but present-day obstacles loom.

On this episode of the Playbook Canada podcast, co-hosts Nick Taylor-Vaisey and Mickey Djuric examine how Pierre Poilievre’s Conservative Party is still searching for a winning message, while Mark Carney’s Liberals project confidence — perhaps even hubris — by tapping MPs for diplomatic posts, brushing off House vacancies, and moving quickly to lock in candidates ahead of looming by-elections.

Also on the show: what that confidence could mean in the weeks ahead, from cross-party cooperation on affordability to Canada’s renewed focus on the Arctic. Plus, Rachel Curran, a former top policy adviser to Harper and now a senior executive at Meta, joins the podcast to reflect on working for Harper, the evolving tech-policy landscape, and whether news could soon return to Facebook and Instagram in Canada.

Nick Taylor-Vaisey (x.com/TaylorVaisey) is POLITICO’s Ottawa bureau chief and co-author of POLITICO’s Canada Playbook newsletter

Mickey Djuric (x.com/MickeyDjuric) is a reporter and co-author of POLITICO’s Canada Playbook newsletter

⁠Alex Keeney⁠ (x.com/keendawg?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp…) is Playbook Canada's executive producer

⁠Steve Bone⁠ (stevebone.com) composed the music used in Playbook Canada.