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| Summer is officially here. Along with the swimming, cycling, paddling, boating, hiking, camping and fishing, Canadians will experience a perhaps less welcome seasonal phenomenon this year. Parliament closed up shop on Thursday night, effectively kicking off the unofficial start of the federal election campaign. |
New election laws will kick in next month as Canada's campaign is off to its unofficial start.
Ian Austen/The New York Times |
| Unless the United States Congress ratifies the new version of the North American Free Trade Agreement, a seemingly remote possibility, the recess is the end of this Parliament. The flurry of last-minute activity this week had more than a whiff of early campaigning to it. That was particularly the case when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that construction will start on the contentious Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project. |
| [Read: Canada Approves Expansion of Controversial Trans Mountain Pipeline] |
Pipe for the Trans Mountain expansion was delivered in advance of the project's approval.
Dennis Owen/Reuters |
| At the end of the month, sweeping changes to election laws will make the unofficial sort-of official. After June 30, Canada will be in a pre-election period that will, among other things, ban those political television ads from somewhat murky groups that popped up repeatedly while the Raptors played their way to the N.B.A. championship. Third-party groups will no longer be able to run ads promoting, or disparaging, parties or politicians. They will be able to promote issues provided that they register, meet spending limits and do not accept foreign money. |
| The new law also means that we won't see a rerun of 2015 when Stephen Harper, then the prime minister, called the Oct. 19 vote on Aug. 2, making for one of the longest official campaigns in Canadian history. Mr. Trudeau can only call this year's election a maximum of 50 days before Oct. 21, but no fewer than 36 days, leaving Sept. 1 as the earliest possible date. |
| Let's hope that Parliamentarians join the rest of us in enjoying summer for at least a few weeks before cranking up their campaign machinery. And my condolences to readers in the parts of Alberta and British Columbia where snow marked the end of spring. |
| Slap Shots or Jump Shots? |
Hockey and basketball are under common ownership in Toronto, but does fan interest cross the sports divide?
Tara Walton for The New York Times |
| Canada continued to make news this week in the N.B.A. Mississauga's R.J. Barrett was the third pick overall in the league's draft, and will start next season with the New York Knicks. |
| Earlier in the week, the joy of the Raptors victory celebration was marred by a shooting. The team's victory also marked a special moment for fans of Asian ancestry. |
A shooting marred a joyous, if sometimes chaotic, celebration of the Toronto Raptors this week.
Tijana Martin/The Canadian Press, via Associated Press |
| In last week's newsletter I asked if basketball was replacing hockey in your sports spectator's life, or if you had room in your heart for both. A large number of you shared your thoughts. Here's a small sampling of your replies, edited for space and clarity: |
| Yes basketball has started to grow to a fever pitch since the Raptors started to dominate the sport, but let me tell you, no matter how high the fever, hockey will always dominate. We are hockey long and strong! |
| There is plenty of room for both sports, however, a true Canadian will never give up their hockey. |
| Sandy Reynolds, Barrie, Ontario |
| I quit watching hockey in 1987 after being sickened by an N.H.L. playoff game going a then-record six overtimes only because the referees would not call obvious penalties. |
| I came to realize that not only do basketball players do the most amazing things athletically, but the strategy and tactics of the game leaves "see puck, chase puck" far behind. |
| This August, I'm looking forward to Canada doing well at the FIBA World Championships for the first time in a very long time. With hoops being cheaper and safer for kids to play, I think it will be our most popular sport in the future. |
| Doug Fischer, Edmonton |
| Canada's favorite sport is as diverse as its population. There isn't just one and we embrace them all. I obsess on tennis but attended my first rugger match this year. We grew up watching football and hockey. My son follows e-sports and soccer. Husband golfs. Finally, we have talented pros competing globally who spread the word about respect and inclusion. |
| Judy Tyson, Oakville, Ontario |
| I was an avid hockey fan until the first N.H.L. strike. After the second hockey strike, I threw in the towel. I was angry that these overly high-paid young jocks and their team owners were making so much money that no average person could afford to go to a game, let alone bring their family. |
| Has basketball taken its place for me, especially since the Raptors' win? No. Again, a bunch of overpaid jocks playing a game that is unaffordable to go to anymore. |
| When I want to watch sports, I go to local city games. Or I get active and go for a hike. Pro hockey and pro basketball can both take a hike. |
| Deb Thiessen, Victoria |
| It has been a surprise to me, someone born and raised in Vancouver who was a die-hard Canucks supporter, to find myself now completely uninterested in hockey and completely enthralled with basketball and the Toronto Raptors. |
| My interest in hockey has withered over the last 10 years as the N.H.L. has treated its fans and players with ongoing hostility. It remains the whitest of sports and is tied up with conservative notions of what it means to be Canadian — be quiet, follow the rules and "the code," and know your place. |
| The N.B.A., by contrast, is doing a marvellous job of ensuring the best players from all over the world shine. They treat each other, and conduct themselves, to the highest standards while still showing off their individual personalities and having fun. |
| I know which league, which team and which sport I want to share with my young children. One represents the optimistic outward-facing future of Canada, and one represents its inward-facing, conservative past. One wants its players and sport to thrive, and one stands by while its best players get injured and the sport fades into dull irrelevance. |
| Luke Andrews, Toronto |
The crowd cheering the Raptors at Toronto City Hall was far beyond the square's capacity.
Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images |
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