Prior to stepping out in front of Rideau Cottage and announcing his eventual resignation as Liberal leader, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with Canada’s Governor General Mary Simon and asked for a prorogation of Parliament until March 24, 2025. That request was granted, and now, here we are, with a resigning Liberal leader, a quiet House of Commons, and a looming second term of Donald Trump.
Citing “internal battles” as the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back, Trudeau officially announced his resignation as Liberal leader and Prime Minister this morning, January 6, effective upon the Liberal Party choosing a new leader. The Party has yet to announce when a a leadership vote will be held, so those hoping for a immediate exit of Mr. Trudeau will not get their wish.
Trudeau spoke briefly and did field questions from reporters, including why he’s choosing to prorogue and step down as leader instead of calling an election. Trudeau’s answer was that the House has been stuck on a question of privilege, and has “accomplished little,” requiring a re-set. He said that people — meaning MPs — need to “calm down” and get back to work for Canadians and not play petty politics.
What prorogation does allow for is a leadership race, albeit much shorter than the 4 months laid out in the Liberal Party constitution. Trudeau says he informed the party president of his intention on Sunday and that a leadership race has begun.
When parliament does resume on March 24, 2025 there will be a supply motion (read the details on these here) in order to fund the government past April 1. Opposition parties could take down the government on that day, or soon after, leading to a spring federal election.
All of this political drama is happening against the backdrop of U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20, 2025, and the threat of 25 per cent tariffs on perhaps everything exported to the country from Canada (though perhaps not everything, according to some).
There’s also the question of who will run for the top job with the Liberals. When asked if hopefuls would have to step down from cabinet in order to run a leadership bid, Trudeau did not answer. For several hopefuls or assumed hopefuls, such as Chrystia Freeland, Mark Carney, and Christy Clark that won’t be an issue.
What happens to bills in-process during prorogation? What about bills that haven’t passed? Prorogation pauses all progress, and bills would return to their last place in the House, however, once the government falls, all bills die on the order paper. There are several key bills for agriculture still in limbo and now unlikely to move forward, barring some miracle of parliamentary wrangling. Which also begs the question of what happens to the capital gains changes that have been implemented since June, but were not yet passed in the House? The Canada Revenue Agency could be on the hook for capital gains tax refunds if the government falls without passing the legislation that was promised in the 2024 federal budget.
Big political news out of Ottawa today. CFIB wishes PM Trudeau the best on his future.
I remain deeply concerned about the significant political and economic facing the country in the months ahead, particularly given the threat of US tariffs and the lack of direction on major…
— Dan Kelly (@CFIB) January 6, 2025
