The News Rundown

Justin Trudeau resigning, prorogues Parliament

A lot happened this week in Canadian politics, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announcing on Monday that he would be stepping down, after asking Governor General Mary Simon to prorogue Parliament until March 24th.
In an historic announcement outside his official Rideau Cottage residence, Trudeau declared his intention to stay on as prime minister until a new leader is chosen.
Citing the inability to overcome "internal battles," Trudeau said that he intends to resign as both Liberal leader, and prime minister, once his party "selects its next leader through a robust, nationwide, competitive process." The prime minister said he asked the president of the Liberal party to begin that work.
"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. As you all know, I'm a fighter. Every bone in my body has always told me to fight… I care deeply about this country. I truly feel that removing the contention around my own continued leadership is an opportunity to bring the temperature down, have a government that will focus on the complex issues that are coming forward in the coming months." He went on to say that he hopes removing himself "from the equation" will tamp down the level of polarization in the current federal political conversation.
Trudeau requesting prorogation to give his party time to run an expedited leadership race without facing the prospect of falling on a confidence vote, will also bring an end to the procedural filibuster that's stalled nearly all parliamentary business since September.
The House of Commons was scheduled to resume on Jan. 27, at which point the Conservatives were angling to advance a non-confidence motion within days, as the NDP indicated last month they were ready to vote to bring down the Liberal minority in the new year.
Prorogation has effectively killed all legislative business that hasn't passed, leaving measures promised in Trudeau's ill-fated fall economic statement in limbo, as well as the Liberals' long-languishing pledge to crack down on harmful online content. These bills also included the changes to citizenship for people born outside the country, the act to change election day, as well as a number of others that can be viewed in the supplementals to this story. These measures and others could be reinstated, if the other parties agree, but it would take a lot of time to restart the process.
Asking for the House of Commons to be halted until late March comes after Trudeau's advisers received legal guidance indicating that was the longest the government could go without approving spending.
The next session would begin with a Speech from the Throne, setting the stage for potentially a series of key confidence votes. If the Liberals fall on any one of them, it could be the first step in triggering an early federal election.
Trudeau said: "This prorogation will take us only into March, and there will be confidence votes in March, in the passing of supply, that will allow Parliament to weigh in on confidence in a way that is entirely in keeping with all the principles of democracy and the workings of our strong institutions."
He couldn't prorogue any further because the country would be effectively paralyzed without the House of Commons passing a spending bill before April to allow money to flow.
Opposition Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has said that with Trudeau's resignation "Nothing has changed. 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."
Trudeau’s departure does not immediately trigger an election. It only triggers a leadership contest within the Liberal Party of Canada. It is unclear who is actually in charge of Canada right now.
That’s because Trudeau is asking his caucus to stay on as Interim Liberal leader (and Prime Minister). Backroom Liberal Party brass, in coordination with a Liberal backbench who want cabinet spots, will have to decide whether to ratify this decision or choose another person from the caucus to take that role. This situation means Canada will either be saddled with Trudeau as a lame-duck Prime Minister or a different backroom-selected Interim Prime Minister while Liberal Party insiders select yet another leader and Prime Minister in their official leadership race.
No matter what Jagmeet Singh may say, the New Democratic Party, which has propped up the Liberals for years, might actually continue to support the Liberals in confidence motions even if they are in a leadership race.
After announcing his departure, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tried to reach an agreement with opposition leaders so that his government would survive a few more weeks in Parliament. Sources said the day after announcing he would resign on Monday, the prime minister personally called the leaders of the New Democratic Party and the Bloc Québécois.
He wanted to obtain a commitment from one or the other to vote in favour of the budget appropriations — a vote of confidence — at the end of March, once prorogation had passed, the sources said.
That vote of confidence would have ensured the survival of the government for a few more weeks and given the Liberal Party of Canada more time to elect its new leader. But Trudeau's gambit faltered, with both the Bloc and the NDP refusing to back the embattled prime minister as they stood by their respective promises that they would bring down the government at the first opportunity.
So while we give the initial responses to Trudeau resigning, it's important to note that nothing has really changed as of yet, the team that has crafted legislation and policy for the past 10 years is still in charge. Until a new leader is chosen, which we will talk more about next week when all the contenders announce whether or not they will join the leadership race.
Supplementals:

Last February we covered the broader trend for universities in Canada to bend over backwards in support of minority students, particularly black students during black history month.
This was discussed on Western Context 355 where certain universities had black only spaces, utilized spelling of certain words that was more racialized (i.e. folks with an ‘x’), and flirted with the idea of racial segregated classes for the better.
Now on January 2, 2025 President and Vice-Chancellor Bill Flanagan of the University of Alberta penned an op-ed in the Edmonton Journal detailing why University of Alberta’s move away from EDI or DEI as most call it, diversity, equity, and inclusion.
DEI seeks to ensure an equality of outcomes for diverse candidates or students.
Flanagan started the op-ed by highlighting the history of the University going back to the early 1900s where the University’s mission was “to create an intellectual and spiritual atmosphere where prejudice and hatred could not live, a just institution whose work would be to assist in the unification of the diverse elements which enter our national life.”
After following DEI practices the University is now moving to a new framework and language: access, community, and belonging.
Flanagan points out correctly that DEI has become polarizing focusing on what divides people rather than what is shared between us.
He also mentions an ideological bias at odds with merit.
At this point I’ll take a quick pause and point out that DEI in workplaces does exist and if it’s not an absolutely mission critical role there are times where those with lesser qualifications will be chosen over someone who is more qualified if they tick the DEI boxes.
DEI programs have also in some cases created reverse-racism.
Now, returning Flanagan’s words, in his view “access” signals the University’s work to remove financial and social barriers creating equal opportunities for all.
And community refers to their belief in collective well being and shared purpose.
While belonging reflects the goal to cultivate spaces where individuals can feel valued for their unique contributions.
On the surface this feels like just a re-skinned DEI initiative but Flanagan says the goal is to “create a university where the best talent can emerge and thrive, driving academic excellence and research impact.”
And with the new mantra he hopes they will expand their pool of talent, perspectives, and ideas, driving innovation, and accomplishment that reflects the “full breadth of human potential.”
He also highlights that they are the first university to embrace access, community, and belonging and that this should be part of a reimagining of how universities can foster open inquiry and rigorous debate.
What should give people who are skeptical hope is that he also says, “it is not the university’s role to take ideological positions but rather to create an environment that encourages dialogue, mutual respect, and the pursuit of knowledge.”
The proof will be in the pudding, will a conservative be able to challenge the ways of gender ideology, will an economic skeptic be able to say the banks or companies should be left to falter, will a climate scientist be able to say that climate change isn’t as bad as it’s been made out to be, will health skeptics be allowed?
We’ll see. But as we enter 2025 countless companies have abandoned their DEI practices and have signalled a shift towards a more rational way of thinking.
This of course opens up an important question: was the push for DEI and progressivism rooted in the culture or were the people always skeptical and were they just not being listened to by our institutions in government, media, and education?

Elections BC to probe election complaint lodged by BC Conservatives

The BC Conservatives this week have made strong allegations that the razor thin majority won by the BC NDP in last October's election may not have been won entirely fairly.
Elections BC is looking into a complaint of voting irregularities in a riding where a narrow NDP win gave it a one-seat majority in October’s election, with B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad highlighting allegations about improper voting at an addiction recovery facility.
Rustad says other alleged irregularities include voting by non-citizens and non-residents of specific ridings, and he wants assurances for B.C. voters that “it’s only Canadian citizens who are voting.”
The Conservative leader says his party wants an independent review of the election process, while Surrey-Guildford candidate Honveer Singh Randhawa says he plans to follow his complaint to Elections BC by petitioning the B.C. Supreme Court to invalidate the result in the riding. Elections BC says Randhawa’s complaint filed last Friday is “under review.”
The NDP’s Garry Begg was declared the winner in Surrey-Guildford by just 22 votes after a judicial recount conducted by hand, giving Premier David Eby’s government a bare majority. Confirmation of Begg’s victory came nearly three weeks after the election when no majority could be declared. The result gave the NDP 47 seats in the 93-seat legislature, while the B.C. Conservatives won 44 seats, and the Greens two.
Rustad's full statement can be read in the supplementals, but a few statements show that he "did not want to make any potentially undue allegations prior to gathering...meaningful, pointed testimony and concrete evidence...before taking the necessary step of asking difficult questions that may, unintentionally, shake public trust in our electoral process".
Rustad said he is "particularly concerned by allegations of coerced voting, strategic illegal out-of-riding voting, and non-Canadian citizens voting in BC’s recent 2024 provincial election."
The CBC story on this has the headline "Conservative leader alleges non-citizens may have voted but admits there's no hard evidence", showing a clear bias right from the get go, before later showing in the story that Rustad said: "We actually think there are many people who have voted who may not be Canadian citizens. We have heard of hundreds of these potential cases of issues." On Thursday, Rustad presented 45 cases of what he said are voting "irregularities" as his party tried to sow doubt in the provincial election results.
Rustad wants voters to prove they are Canadian before marking ballots, calling for the inclusion of a "C" on people's driver's licences or health cards, which can be used as identification to vote, but don't necessarily need to be used by just citizens, being open to permanent residents, TFWs, and international students. Since 2008, British Columbians have also been able to vote without ID — if someone vouches for them.
Elections B.C. says there were only two cases in the 2020 election where non-citizens voted because they misunderstood the rules. In those cases, they were given a warning and removed from the voters list.
Anton Boegman, chief electoral officer, says he's confident the checks and balances in place are there to prevent voter fraud. He says it's "very, very rare" for people to vote when they are ineligible.
B.C. Premier David Eby said Rustad's claims are part of a continuing pattern of bringing "American-style politics" to British Columbia, without really defining what that means.
Whether or not 2024's election would have gone one way or another, it's clear that Elections BC needs to have a high threshold of transparency and rules. While making it easier for people to vote is a noble goal that should be pursued, we can't be blind to the fact that some people can take advantage of such an open system. Elections have consequences, and this one may be the one that shape's BC's future the most.
Supplementals:

Firing Line

Trump said Tuesday he'd be willing to use 'economic force' to join countries

This week incoming US President Donald Trump said that he would use economic force to absorb Canada into the United States.
The reason for Donald Trump’s recent interest in Canada, Greenland, and the Panama Canal has varied depending on who you talk to.
After Trudeau’s resignation he did US media shows on CNN and MSNBC and suggested the idea of absorbing Canada was to distract from tariffs.
Others have said it’s just a joke.
Others have said it’s about arctic security.
Others have said it’s about securing access to the northwest passage as climate change enables it to be used as a more reliable shipping route.
Everyone north of the border has been running around with their hair on fire regarding the comments but the reality is that everyone just needs to stop, take a step back, and focus on the coming weeks.
Justin Trudeau wrote on X, “there isn’t a snowball's chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States.”
He also spoke on Jake Tapper’s CNN show saying that one of the main differences about Canada and the US is that we’re not the US.
Not the US.
The push for Canadian nationalism has been almost consistently on the decline since the days of Pearson and Trudeau Sr. as Prime Minister. It saw a minor and brief resurgence in the Jean Chretien years after the Quebec referendum and in the Harper years following the 2010 Olympics but has been on the decline since Trudeau took power.
We also need to be clear that nationalism itself isn’t inherently bad and bad actors have somewhat tainted the term over the last decade or so.
The other big question is why is Donald Trump pursuing this line of attack anyways?
Maybe it’s because our current government doesn’t stand up for a Canadian identity?
In 2015 Justin Trudeau himself said there was no core Canadian identity and called Canada the “first post-national state.”
We’ve also witnessed an environment where our First Prime Minister, Sir John A. MacDonald had his statues taken down and his face removed from the $10 bill.
There’s also been a consistent effort to put Canadians down for being racist, sexist, or not accepting enough.
The Prime Minister has also de-valued what it means to be Canadian through citizenship by putting into question or ruining the century old consensus on immigration.
Our military has focused on diversity over fighting prowess.
Canadians have been told by the government, institutions, and media haven’t been told to be proud of Canada.
Canada comes with the weight of a colonial past and so-on.
This is what we’re told inside the country, what must it look like outside? Maybe that’s why Donald Trump is seizing on the moment to denigrate and mock Canada?
Should we cede what it means to be Canada and consider annexation? No.
Even if we go back to Canada’s second Prime Minister, Wilfred Laurier, he continued Sir. John A. MacDonald’s push of Canadian nationalism.
He had a slogan, “Canada First, Canada Last, Canada Always.”
This slogan meant that Canada’s interests and identity must always come first.
Also that he and Canadians should have a commitment to Canada throughout all challenges and changes throughout the long term.
And that Canada must be united to endure as a nation despite divisions on language, religion, or region.
It’s that last one that has been horribly exploited by now the outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Quebec vs. English Canada has been wedged. One religion or another has been wedged against others or non-religious people, and regions have been pitted against each other.
It’s through this that you start to see the issue with Canada today and why Donald Trump’s comments hit so hard.
Pierre Poilievre was unwavering in his response saying that “Canada will never be the 51st state. Period.”
He cited everything we do for the US and pledged to rebuild the military and take back control of our border with the US and take back control of the arctic. And said that his government “will put Canada First.”
The discussions this week even spurred former Prime Minister Stephen Harper to cite and share his unifying and best advertisement of what Canada can be from the 2011 election campaign.
A line that rings true then and that’s true today is that, “Canada must be great, it must be great for all Canadians.”
The calls to nationalism from our past illustrated by Laurier, Chretien, Harper, and others should be replicated today and have been by Pierre Poilievre.
There is a lot of work to do to rebuild Canada both in terms of our physical needs such as infrastructure but also in terms of how Canadians view their country.
The next election could very well be focused on how Canada became so divided and vulnerable and who is best to fix that and illustrate a vision for the 21st century.
Supplementals:

Quote of the Week

"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. As you all know, I'm a fighter. Every bone in my body has always told me to fight… I care deeply about this country. I truly feel that removing the contention around my own continued leadership is an opportunity to bring the temperature down, have a government that will focus on the complex issues that are coming forward in the coming months." - Justin Trudeau upon announcing his pending resignation as Prime Minister.

Word of the Week

Resignation - the acceptance of something undesirable but inevitable.

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Show Data

Episode Title: A Walk in the Snow
Teaser: Justin Trudeau announces his resignation while proroguing Parliament, the University of Alberta is moving away from DEI, and John Rustad highlights problems with the BC election. Also, Donald Trump’s remarks cause Canadians to reflect inward.
Production Code: WC-402-2025-01-11
Recorded Date: January 11, 2025
Release Date: January 12, 2025
Duration: 1:03:09
Edit Notes: Patrick restart near end

Podcast Summary Notes

Duration: XX:XX