Evening Update: Fallout continues from Boris Johnson’s resignation as Conservative leader

Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:

After days of resistance, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson conceded that “it is clearly now the will of the parliamentary Conservative party that there should be a new leader of that party and therefore a new prime minister,” in a speech to the British people after his resignation Thursday.

Johnson resisted calls for his resignation for days in the wake of scandal and crushing Conservative losses in recent by-elections, but caved after more than 50 cabinet ministers, parliamentary secretaries and other Conservative MPs in senior positions quit to protest his leadership.

Even in his resignation speech, Johnson did not go quietly – calling his detractors’ move to change governments at this time “eccentric.”

There remains no clear favourite to replace Johnson as Conservative party leader, though top contenders include Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, Defence Minister Ben Wallace and former health minister Sajid Javid.

Johnson’s resignation is expected to put Britain’s already-strained economy at risk of further drift, though Ottawa said the turmoil will have no impact on its free-trade deal with Britain.

• Opinion: A moment of madness brought Boris Johnson to power, but his clownish contempt lost its appeal
• Opinion: The U.K. Conservatives have suddenly realized: Maybe Boris Johnson isn’t so great, after all

Canada to enter ‘moderate and short-lived’ recession in 2023, RBC economists warn

A new report from the Royal Bank of Canada projects the soaring cost of living and rising interest rates will cause Canada to enter a recession next year. But, Canadians should not expect the downturn to be as long-lasting or severe as previous ones.

The recession would likely see consumers pull back on spending as they deal with the strongest price growth in decades.

Canadians will also be affected by job losses, sending the national unemployment rate – now at a record low of 5.1 per cent – to around 6.6 per cent, RBC economists estimate.

Indigenous groups urge Ottawa to extend deadline for day-schools settlement

A coalition of Indigenous groups is pressing Ottawa and one of Canada’s biggest law firms to extend the federal Indian day school settlement claim period, saying thousands of eligible former students are currently at risk of being left out.

Former day school students have until July 13 to apply for compensation from the $1.47-billion settlement. Indigenous leaders are calling for the deadline to be extended by at least one year, saying the complexity of the claim process coupled with pandemic restrictions hampered some individuals’ efforts to file claims.

Ottawa has pointed out that the settlement includes a six-month deadline extension. It requires anyone filling claims beyond July 13 to submit an extension request form.

Around 150,000 claim forms have been filed already, exceeding actuarial estimates of the class size by around 20,000, according to the lead lawyer on the settlement at Gowlings WLC, the class legal firm representing former day school pupils.

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ALSO ON OUR RADAR

Ottawa acknowledges it underestimated surge in demand for passports: The minister responsible for Service Canada said the federal government hired 600 new staff ahead of the anticipated increase in passport applications and renewals, but admitted “clearly it was not sufficient.” The surge has forced some Canadians to camp overnight outside of government offices in an attempt to obtain their passports.

Marie Henein joins Patrick Brown’s effort to reverse disqualification from Conservative leadership race: A top Canadian criminal defence lawyer has taken up the case of seeking to reverse Patrick Brown’s disqualification from the federal Conservative leadership race.

Ukraine raises flag on recaptured Snake Island as Russia consolidates gains in east: Ukraine reclaimed the strategic Black Sea island as Russia continued to shell potential conquests in eastern Ukraine ahead of an expected new offensive. Ukraine has also lost one of its key international partners with the resignation of British PM Johnson.

Former Theranos executive Ramesh Balwani convicted of fraud: A jury convicted former Theranos executive Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani on all 12 felony counts of defrauding both Theranos investors and the patients who relied on the company’s wildly unreliable blood tests. Balwani is the second Theranos executive to be convicted of fraud after disgraced CEO Elizabeth Holmes.

MARKET WATCH

Wall Street benchmarks ended up on Thursday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq recording their fourth successive higher closes, as traders leaned in to U.S. equities after the Federal Reserve hinted at a more tempered program of interest rate hikes. The S&P 500 gained 57.54 points, or 1.50 per cent, to 3,902.62 and the Nasdaq Composite added 259.49 points, or 2.28 per cent, to 11,621.35.

The TSX also rose solidly, propelled by gains of more than 2 per cent in energy, materials and tech stocks, up 333.51 points or 1.78 per cent to 19,063.17. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 346.87 points, or 1.12 per cent, to 31,384.55.

The Canadian dollar traded for 77.01 U.S. cents compared with 76.65 U.S. cents on Wednesday.

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TALKING POINTS

Pierre the Polarizer has got the Conservative Party – and he could certainly take the country, too

“The notion among many that the smug and demagogic populist can’t win the country – that the Conservatives have a death wish in choosing him – is fault-laden for a host of reasons.” - Lawrence Martin

Canada once nearly passed a restrictive abortion law. This is how it failed

“In 1991, Canada came within a single vote of enshrining Bill C-43, An Act Respecting Abortion, passed in the House of Commons by Brian Mulroney’s Progressive Conservative government but dramatically killed in the Senate … I know this firsthand. In the most chilling moment of my more than 26 years of parliamentary experience, I was the first Conservative senator to vote “nay” against my own government’s anti-abortion bill.” - Pat Carney

LIVING BETTER

How to handle conflict in the workplace

With more people returning to the office, the potential for increased workplace conflict has reared its ugly head. These conflicts may range from personality clashes and power struggles to perceived or actual issues surrounding hierarchy. The career consequences of poor response to conflict (whether avoidant or aggressive) can be significant. Here’s what to know.

TODAY’S LONG READ

Open this photo in gallery:

Head of Ukraine’s state-run energy company may have toughest job in the world

Yuriy Vitrenko, the head of Ukraine’s state-run energy company Naftogaz, has spent the first six months of this year dealing with a series of crises that no other chief executive on the planet has even had to contemplate.

He’s had to make the decision to abandon the company’s headquarters in Kyiv at the start of the war, with staff burning key documents before leaving. Now back in those offices, Mr. Vitrenko has had to fend off requests from furious employees who want to blow up Naftogaz pipelines, which are used – even now – to transport Russian natural gas via Ukraine to customers in Europe.

With growing energy shortages in Ukraine and around the world, the second half of 2022 isn’t shaping up to be any less pressure-filled for the CEO with one of the most difficult jobs anywhere. Read the full story by Mark MacKinnon.

Evening Update is written by Hope Mahood. If you’d like to receive this newsletter by e-mail every weekday evening, go here to sign up. If you have any feedback, send us a note.