Canada’s Conservatives Call for Election Now: Trudeau Resignation a ‘Trick’ to Keep Left in Power
Canadian Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre condemned radical leftist Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s announcement on Monday that he would relinquish leadership of his country and the Liberal Party, dismissing it as a “trick” for the Liberals to stay in power and continue Trudeau’s policies.
“Nothing has changed,” Poilievre wrote in a message on social media. “Every Liberal MP and Leadership contender supported EVERYTHING Trudeau did for 9 years, and now they want to trick voters by swapping in another Liberal face to keep ripping off Canadians for another 4 years, just like Justin.”
“The only way to fix what Liberals broke is a carbon tax election to elect common sense Conservatives who will bring home Canada’s promise,” he asserted.
Poilievre called for an election “now,” not the scheduled election in October, to end the Liberal majority in Parliament.
“Canadians desperate to turn the page on this dark chapter in our history might be relieved today that Justin Trudeau is finally leaving. But what has really changed?” Poilievre asked in the accompanying video message. “Every Liberal MP in power today, and every potential Liberal leadership contender fighting for the top job helped Justin Trudeau break the country over the last 9 years. All Liberal politicians actively worked to pass into law the job killing, inflationary carbon tax.”
“All voted for or actively supported Trudeau’s out-of-control spending, debt, and immigration,” he remarked. “All passed Trudeau’s housing policies that doubled the price of homes.”
Poilievre asserted that Liberal Party members did not want Trudeau to step down because they “feel guilty” about their policies, but because “he is no longer popular enough to win an election and keep them in power.”
“They want to protect their pensions and paycheck by sweeping their hated leader under the rug, months before an election, to trick you and then do it all over again,” the Conservative leader said, concluding, “everything is out of control we need a carbon tax election now.”
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Trudeau, facing months of political crisis that peaked with the resignation of Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland in December, announced on Monday morning that he would resign as prime minister and head of the Liberals. He blamed infighting among Liberal Party members — not rising public opposition to the Liberals in general — for his decision to vacate the top government position.
“I intend to resign as party leader, as prime minister after the party selects its next leader through a robust, nationwide competitive process,” Trudeau told reporters. “This country deserves a real choice in the next election, and it has become clear to me that if I’m having to fight internal battles, I cannot be the best option in that election.”
Asked about Freeland, Trudeau lamented that she had chosen not to take on what he called “one of the most important files that not just this government but this country is facing, but she chose otherwise.” He refused to offer any detail on what has been reported as a major falling out between the two of them.
Trudeau told reporters that he had asked Canadian Governor General Mary Simon to “prorogue,” or essentially paralyze, Parliament until March 24, which means he will remain in power until then. Canada is scheduled to have a general election for Parliament positions, which could determine the new prime minister, on October 20, but popular support is growing for removing Trudeau from office, and potentially ending the Liberal majority, before then.
Trudeau made his move before a promised motion of no-confidence that the leader of the far-left New Democrats (NPD), Jagmeet Singh, indicated he would call for on January 27. Singh’s party has previously halted attempts by Conservatives to oust Trudeau via vote of no-confidence, leveraging its power to push the Liberals further left on policy.
Polling in the past month indicates that any imminent election would result in a substantial defeat for Liberals. The National Post observed on Monday that a poll by the Angus Reid Institute published in late December showed that only 16 percent of voters supported the Liberals, compared to 45 percent who said they would vote Conservative. Another 38 percent of those polled said they wanted an “immediate” election in February, not October – or, presumably, March.
Another poll by the firm Ipsos in late December found that over half of Canadians, 53 percent, wanted an election to remove Trudeau “at the earliest opportunity.” Among those respondents, 45 percent said they would support the Conservatives, in line with the Agnus Reid survey.
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