By Nick Taylor-Vaisey and Mickey Djuric

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In today's edition:

→ Duck season, tariff season: T-minus 4 days.

→ About DANIELLE SMITH’s mic-drop moment.

→ Plus, the most readers ever landed an Ottawa Playbook trivia question.

Donald Trump Jr., shown here in Greenland, invited Yukon Premier Ranj Pillai to North Carolina just before Christmas. | Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images

THE PERSONAL TOUCH — When Yukon Premier RANJ PILLAI met DONALD TRUMP JR. at a hunting and outdoor recreation expo in Las Vegas last January, Trump 2.0 was by no means a sure thing. Tariff threats weren't on the radar.

Pillai was in Vegas with his family. These days, that kind of trip can pay dividends.

A few days before Christmas, Pillai found himself in a North Carolina hunting lodge, making the case against cross-border tariffs to Trump's eldest son. He recounted the trip this week during an interview with Playbook before Canada's premiers met with their federal counterparts.

— Ace in the hole: A shared passion for hunting got Pillai in the door, where Bloomberg reported that over dinner they enjoyed black bear spring rolls, turkey, deer and oysters.

But it wasn't exactly a social visit. Pillai was working a key contact weeks before President-elect Trump was sworn in for a new term. Trump Jr. insisted he wasn't a member of his father's transition team, but Pillai still understood his influence.

They spoke about trade surpluses and deficits, and the potential harm of tariffs. But they also talked hunting. After all, that's what took Trump Jr. out that way.

— A deliberate plan: The seeds of the trip were planted on Dec. 16, the same day as former Deputy PM CHRYSTIA FREELAND's shock resignation.

Premiers had gathered in Toronto for winter meetings, and agreed to leverage any influential stateside contacts they could muster. Pillai reached out to Trump Jr., and was in Ottawa for midweek meetings when he received an invitation to a North Carolina cabin.

→ Not freelancing: Before the trip, Pillai checked in with Canada's Washington ambo, KIRSTEN HILLMAN. Global Affairs Canada delivered a memo with "all the data points" that could help him make a compelling case. He reported back to Hillman afterwards.

— Carrots, not just sticks: During our interview, Pillai rhymed off a list of cross-border opportunities for American investors, including smelting facilities to refine critical minerals. "I don't think as a country, we've done a great job of being able to build these large industrial facilities and to get social license for them and finance them," he says.

The relentless focus: More cooperation, not less.

— Joke or nah? That's the eternal question about the 51st state quip that Trump keeps on making. Pillai said the hunting lodge crew was incredulous about the Canadian response.

"People were laughing and going, 'Are Canadians really taking that seriously?' "

CHESS AND ACES — Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU met with the 13 premiers in Ottawa Wednesday to carve out a strategy should president-elect DONALD TRUMP make good on that pledge to slap a 25 percent tariff on Canadian goods imported into the U.S.

— Chasing sun: Alberta Premier DANIELLE SMITH attended the confab virtually. She appeared from a tropical climate, prompting Quebec Premier FRANÇOIS LEGAULT to ask: “Is she in Mar-a-Lago?”

British Columbia Premier DAVID EBY also attended virtually.

— Top of the agenda: Much of the day was spent working to convince Canadians the leaders were united — efforts that collapsed after a mic-drop moment from Smith.

The Alberta premier skipped the group press conference and fired off a statement while the PM was speaking. She refused to sign a group communique.

— Playing chess: Federal and provincial governments are so far not saying how they plan to respond to tariffs, insisting they’re keeping their moves secret in case they have to negotiate with the Trump administration.

“I see energy as Canada’s queen in this game of chess,” Newfoundland and Labrador Premier ANDREW FUREY explained when asked if Canada should respond by restricting energy to the U.S. or by bringing in an export tax.

Ontario Premier DOUG FORD offered up a similar metaphor: “When you’re in a card game, you don’t show your opposition your cards.”

— Alberta reveals the aces: “Federal government officials continue to publicly and privately float the idea of cutting off energy supply to the U.S. and imposing export tariffs on Alberta energy and other products to the United States,” Smith claimed in her missive. “Until these threats cease, Alberta will not be able to fully support the federal government’s plan in dealing with the threatened tariffs.”

Read more from MICKEY DJURIC.

— Sharing the stage: The PM and premiers were initially scheduled to hold dueling press conferences in separate buildings across town from each other. But after fielding questions at the downtown Delta Hotel in the morning, most premiers ended up taking part in the joint news conference.

— Technical difficulties: The designated pool feed cut out the second Trudeau opened his afternoon remarks, cutting footage for networks who had spent hours hyping the press conference. Viewers missed his statement on a landmark Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement and Canada’s response to tariff threats. The feed returned just as he was wrapping up.

— Best dressed: Ford, who showed up to the meeting in a MAGA-style blue cap that read “CANADA IS NOT FOR SALE.”

— Border plan update: Public Safety Minister DAVID MCGUINTY announced the RCMP is leasing, then unleashing, two helicopters to patrol its border with the U.S. starting Friday.

McGuinty’s next move is to invite Trump’s "border czar" TOM HOMAN to go fishing in Canada. “Apparently he loves fishing,” the minister said.

— Communique: If Ottawa retaliates against tariffs, the government has pledged to use any new revenue to help Canadian workers and businesses. The leaders also agreed to increase defense spending “as quickly as possible.”

— Good cop, bad cop: Saskatchewan Premier SCOTT MOE often works in tandem with Alberta, but on Wednesday he thanked the PM.

“We may have policy disagreements from time to time … and there are times that we do have to come together to represent what is in the best interests of all Canadians. And we in Saskatchewan, we continue to be Canadian,” he said.

— Everything is happening: The NDP's senior federal staff also booked space Wednesday in the Delta for a winter strategy session. (They scored the space before the premiers.)

— In related reading: AARON WHERRY of CBC News asks: Could Donald Trump be a boon for Canadian patriotism?

— Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU will be in southwestern Ontario, meeting high school students and union workers before touring a steel manufacturing company. He’ll also hold a media availability.

— Conservative Leader PIERRE POILIEVRE will hold a press conference in Delta, B.C., at 9 a.m. local time.

— Bloc Québécois Leader YVES-FRANÇOIS BLANCHET and NDP Leader JAGMEET SINGH have not released public itineraries.

— Green Leader ELIZABETH MAY will attend the weekly Sidney Rotary Club Breakfast, followed by a visit with University of Victoria students.

— The House is scheduled to return March 24.

— Foreign Affairs Minister MÉLANIE JOLY is in Washington, where she will join Natural Resources Minister JONATHAN WILKINSON as part of ongoing anti-tariff advocacy. Joly’s itinerary is still taking shape. She’ll be meeting with two influential Senate Republicans: JIM RISCH (Idaho) and LINDSEY GRAHAM (S.C.).

— At 9 a.m., the Parliamentary Budget Officer will post a new report entitled “Fiscal cost of task-based IT contracting.”

— Deputy Bank of Canada Governor TONI GRAVELLE will speak in Toronto at 12:45 p.m. on the subject of “managing the Bank of Canada’s balance sheet.”

Mark Carney will be in Edmonton today to launch his campaign for Liberal leadership. | Pool photo by Justin Tallis

HE'S RUNNING — MARK CARNEY is playing coy no longer.

Playbook had long considered Carney a "forever-maybe candidate," never quite ready to take the plunge.

Well, the former head of two G7 central banks and green transition guru is finally snuffing out years of speculation. He wants to be prime minister.

JUSTIN TRUDEAU's resignation announcement on a chilly January day offered a rare fast-track to the prime minister's office for Carney — if he can woo Liberals to his cause.

That charm offensive starts today, when the Edmonton-raised banker formally launches his bid for the Liberal leadership.

— Me, an insider? Carney fancies himself an "outsider," a label he floated during a recent chummy interview with JON STEWART on "The Daily Show."

His critics howl at the notion. Carney moves easily in a room of global elites, came out publicly as a Liberal in 2021, and has spent the past several months heading a party task force on economic growth.

Still, he enters the race as a serious contender in a showdown with CHRYSTIA FREELAND, whose shock resignation in December supercharged Liberal efforts to give Trudeau the boot.

Freeland has been burning up the phone lines — see: four devices in this photo — in advance of a campaign launch expected within days.

The burgeoning Carney/Freeland rivalry is rife with parallels.

Both are regulars at World Economic Forum confabs. Each has a deep rolodex that connects to global finance influencers. They've known each other for years.

And Carney is godfather to Freeland's son.

— Caucus support: Even before he launched, MPs lined up to endorse Carney’s candidacy.

Exhibit A: SOPHIE CHATEL called him a "generational talent" with "a bold, strategic vision for how to build a better economy."

JOHN IVISON, who notes he's a family friend of the Carneys, writes in the National Post: "For many Liberals, he represents a feeling that they had forsaken: hope.”

— Prepare for impact: Conservatives are already portraying Carney as Trudeau 2.0 or worse — a carbon-taxing global elite riddled with conflicts of interest.

Conservative Leader PIERRE POILIEVRE is in trolling mode. He mocks Carney's continued role as the PM’s economic adviser as proof that he's just another Trudeau.

"The bond between these two men is almost touching," Poilievre posted Wednesday on X.

Last year, Conservative MP MICHELLE REMPEL GARNER accused Carney of a conflict of interest when he took on that role as Liberal adviser.

At the time, the investment giant Brookfield was reportedly lobbying Ottawa for billions in financing. Rempel Garner pointed out that Carney, whose advisory role involves crafting the next Liberal economic platform, is chair and head of transition investing at Brookfield Asset Management.

"There should be no way in hell that Mr. Carney … should be acting as the prime minister's key economic adviser," she wrote in September.

— Next up: Freeland's own launch, expected before DONALD TRUMP's inauguration. More on that as she nears the starting line.

— More from POLITICO: The fight to replace Justin Trudeau is on

U.S. President Joe Biden warned of a rising ultrawealthy “oligarchy” in America that poses a threat to the nation’s democracy, in a grave farewell address delivered last night. | AP

— POLITICO’s ADAM CANCRYN reports on JOE BIDEN’s final speech as U.S. president.

— Our colleague TIM ROSS reports that U.K. Prime Minister KEIR STARMER has arrived in Ukraine to pledge more weapons and promise British support for the next 100 years

— The Globe's STEPHANIE LEVITZ landed an interview with PIERRE POILIEVRE, who told her “the Canadian government must retaliate with highly targeted tariffs against American goods coming into Canada."

— Economist JIM STANFORD writes in The Tyee that Trump's complaints about trade with Canada are factually wrong and economically illiterate.

— Trump’s guest list for his Jan. 20 inauguration as U.S. president is shaping up to be a global Who’s Who of right-wing populists, NICHOLAS VINOCUR and NAHAL TOOSI report.

— From DAVID FRUM in The Atlantic: Justin Trudeau’s performative self-regard.

— Timely questions from SEAN SPEER at The Hub: ‘What if the government can avert a confidence vote or extend its lifespan through these early confidence votes (including the Speech from the Throne) and a potential 2025 budget? What if it can even get to the G7 summit in June when the prime minister will chair the meeting of major world leaders? And what about the fixed election date in October? Could the government possibly go beyond it?”

— PAUL WELLS landed an exit interview with U.S. Ambassador DAVID COHEN: “Boy did we have a lot to talk about.”

For POLITICO Pro subscribers, our latest policy newsletter from MIKE BLANCHFIELD.

 In other news for Pro readers: 

— Michigan judges stay mum on Line 5 dispute.

— Hochul punts on cap-and-trade style climate funding program.

— Marco Rubio backs AUKUS.

— FDA bans Red No. 3 dye in food products.

— Biden’s liaison to the WHO explains why Trump should stay in.

Birthdays: HBD to Foreign Minister MÉLANIE JOLY, NDP MP DON DAVIES, former Nova Scotia Premier RUSSELL MACLELLAN, former MP JUDY EROLA (91!) and journo SANDIE RINALDO.

Got a document to share? A birthday coming up? Send it all our way .

Spotted: ALEX WELLSTEAD, former comms guy for the PM, running in Ottawa.

Movers and shakers: ALEX SWANN, a former Gandalf Group principal and Hill staffer, joined Crestview Strategy as vice president.

JAMES CHRISTOFF, Canada's high commissioner to South Africa, was confirmed via order-in-council as high commissioner to Namibia … An OIC also approved PAULINE LÉGÈRE as a New Brunswick member of the Independent Judicial Advisory Committee.

The Business Council of Canada elected TRACY ROBINSON, CEO of CN, as chair of its board.

Wednesday’s answer: An extremely large number of Playbook readers wrote in to say that LESTER B. PEARSON won the Nobel Peace Prize.

OK, OK, we made it too easy…

Props to CHRIS RANDS, PATRICK ST-JACQUES, THOMAS METE, MARK AGNEW, MORGAN LARHANT, BILL PRISTANSKI, MARCEL MARCOTTE, GARY ALLEN, JOE MACDONALD, GORDAN RANDALL, BOB ERNEST, MICHAEL POWELL, JOHN MERRIMAN, STEPHEN RUSTON, J. ROLLAND VAIVE, NATI PRESSMAN, ANDREW BALFOUR, JOHN ECKER, ALEXANDER LANDRY, ALEX PUDDIFANT, JOHN DILLON, SARAH ANSON-CARTWRIGHT, BILL DAY, MARY JANE ALLAN, BRANDON RABIDEAU, MARC SHAW, MARK RAMZY, RALPH LEVENSTEIN, Bill WATSON, DAN MCCARTHY, CAROLYN MCCRIMMON, GUY SKIPWORTH, BOOTS VAISEY, ALYSON FAIR, KENT HOVEY-SMITH, DARREN MAJOR, ELIZABETH BURN, JOANNA PLATER, ETHAN SPENCER, JOHN MATHESON, WILL BULMER, NANCI WAUGH, JANE DOULL, AMY SCANLAN BOUGHNER, GARY COLLINS, LAURA JARVIS, PAUL PARK, JAVIER GONZALEZ BLANCO, WAYNE EASTER, GEOFFREY CHAMBERS, ROBERT MCDOUGALL, FELIX​​​​ BERNIER, NICK CHAN, AVIGAIL RUCKER, PATRICK DION, KATHERINE FEENAN, BENJAMIN PICKLES, MAGGIE BAER, JIM MUNSON, GANGA WIGNARAJAH, KAITLIN ABEELE, FINTAN MEALIA, MICHAEL FOLKERSON, KEVAN AND CAROLYN JESS, ALEX BALLINGALL, CAMERON RYAN, SUSAN KEYS, JOHN ALHO, ATUL SHARMA, GORD MCINTOSH, ARIANNE JOYCE PADILLO, JENN KEAY, TOD COWEN, BRIAN GILBERTSON, MALCOLM MCKAY and DUANE BRATT.

Today’s question: The Canada–United States Automotive Products Agreement was signed on this date in history. Who signed it — and where?

Send your answer to ottawaplaybook@politico.com

Writing tomorrow's Playbook: MICKEY DJURIC.

Playbook wouldn’t happen without: POLITICO Canada editor Sue Allan, editor Willa Plank and Luiza Ch. Savage.

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