by WorldTribune Staff / 247 Real News January 7, 2025
Whither Canada?
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau resigned on Monday, the same day the U.S. Congress certified the election of Donald J. Trump.
“I am a fighter,” Trudeau said in his resignation press conference. “The fact is, despite best efforts to work through it, Parliament has been paralyzed for months.”
Trudeau made the decision following a public dispute with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and sinking popularity among even those in his own Liberal Party, sources familiar with the matter told The Globe and Mail. Trudeau said he will remain as caretaker prime minister until the Liberal Party selects its new leader.
Polling shows Trudeau would end his nine-year tenure as prime minister with a 33% approval rating.
Many believed Trudeau would consider stepping down after Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s resignation, which was prompted in part by Trudeau’s spat with Trump over tariff policy.
“Freeland, long seen as one of Trudeau’s most stalwart supporters, shocked the Canadian political scene by abruptly resigning,” Breitbart News reported. “She said Trudeau wanted her to give up her post as finance minister and accept another Cabinet position, but she felt resigning completely was the only ‘honest and viable path’ she could take.”
“Freeland and Trudeau were feuding about fiscal policy, particularly Trudeau’s mad rush to spend money in a bid to shore up his collapsing popularity with voters,” Breitbart added. “In her resignation letter, Freeland dismissed Trudeau’s spending binge as a haphazard collection of ‘costly political gimmicks’ that Canada could not afford in the face of tariff threats from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.”
Trudeau faced calls for his resignation from over 40 members of parliament before his decision, according to the New York Post.
Under the Canadian system, an election must be called by Oct. 20 next year, according to Reuters. However, a vote of no confidence by parliament could trigger an election sooner.
The Conservative Party is expected to win a majority in parliament when the next election takes place. Current polling shows Conservatives leading the Liberals by a whopping 21 points, according to CBC.
Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre will likely take over as PM in place of Trudeau’s Liberal Party replacement in the next election.
Among Canadian voters top concerns are living costs, housing affordability, health care, the economy, and immigration, according to an Abacus Data poll.
The median home price in Canada increased by a staggering 227% from 2003 to 2023 while annual earnings only increased by 74.3%, according to an analysis by NerdWallet.
The immigration issue in Canada is also intimately tied to a housing shortage, as Poilievre explained to CBC in August, Canada “cannot grow the population at three times the rate of the housing stock, as Trudeau has been doing.”
Trudeau said on Monday that if he is “having to fight internal battles,” he would not be the “best option” for the upcoming Canadian election, where Conservatives and their leader Poilievre are currently favored to win.
Trudeau said he has asked Canadian Governor General Mary Simon to “prorogue” Parliament until March 24. Prorogation means terminating the current session and effectively suspending Parliament until the designated date. Unlike dissolution of Parliament, when the prorogation period ends, the same representatives will reconvene for a new session.
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