Tease the day: McGuinty resigns, newspapers are justifiably sensational

It’s a newspaper’s dream: late-breaking news that everyone—in this case, everyone in Canada’s most populous province—will care to read. When Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty announced his resignation last night, it wasn’t just big news; it was unexpected. That opened the door to wonderfully wide-eyed headlines with words like “shocking” and “bombshell.” The words are sensational not for the sake of it, but because the news is actually sensational. Everybody wins. You gotta wonder, though. If McGuinty hadn’t resigned, which stories would have filled the Toronto Star? We may never know.

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What’s above the fold this morning?

The Globe and Mail leads, not surprisingly, with the resignation of Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty. The paper’s print headline claims the announcement “shocks Ontario,” while its online headline hints at a potential federal Liberal leadership run. The National Post also fronts McGuinty’s resignation, but leads online with a Matt Gurney column about how the premier “made a mistake he couldn’t aww-shucks away.” The Toronto Star‘s pronouncement of McGuinty’s “shocking exit” is also buried online, where a Thomas Walkom column, which muses about the “self-inflicted death” of the premier’s “bold” agenda, is front and centre. The Ottawa Citizen‘s front page is, much like everyone else, all about McGuinty’s “bombshell”. iPolitics leads with a Canadian Press story about hints of a McGuinty run for the federal Liberals. National Newswatch picks The Globe and Mail‘s story as its lead, and follows up with links to commentary from most outlets.

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Stories that will dominate the Hill	Stories that will be (mostly) missed
1. Food safety and the XL meat processing plant. There was nary a mention of the nation’s E. Coli crisis in today’s papers, but that won’t stop the opposition from hammering Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz on the file—with much enthusiasm.	1. First Nations transparency. Aboriginal Affairs minister John Duncan defended his government’s legislation that would ostensibly make First Nations governance more accountable. Critics say aboriginal leaders weren’t consulted.
2. The Canadian Museum of History? Yesterday, opposition MPs criticized the government for their renaming of the Canadian Museum of Civilization. They say Conservatives are rebranding the country “in their own image.” Expect more of this.	2. Top civil servants are shuffled. Prime Minister Stephen Harper shuffled the senior ranks of the federal public service. The National Post’s John Ivison says it’s all about control. Guess who he says is in control? One guess is all you’ll need.

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