A local political scientist says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s announcement that he’s stepping down was a long time coming.
Trudeau announced Monday morning that he has asked the Governor General to prorogue Parliament until March 24, and that he plans to stay on as PM and as leader of the federal Liberals until a new head of the party is chosen.
“He should have stepped down six months ago, eight months ago, when the polls started to dip — and allow the new leader to step in and take on the change and transition in the U.S. government,” Shannon Sampert told 680 CJOB’s Connecting Winnipeg.
Sampert said she believes Trudeau and his inner circle were unprepared for another Donald Trump presidency, and that the PM may have been trying to hold off a decision until after Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20.
“I think the caucus was saying no, step down, business was saying no, step down, (former deputy prime minister) Chrystia Freeland abdicating — I think he was left with no choice but to step down.”
The question on everyone’s mind now, she said, is who will lead the Liberal party into the next election — something that needs to happen as soon as possible, with a potential early federal election looming.
“They don’t have a lot of time. They have to choose a new leader very, very quickly before an election,” Sampert said.
“They’re going to lose on March 24 when they go back to Parliament — so the bottom line is, they need to have a new leader in place. How do they do it so quickly?”
University of Manitoba political science professor Christopher Adams told Global Winnipeg that while Trudeau’s decision was a long time coming, there was a lot of stress on Canadians waiting to hear his intentions — and that the country is left in an unusual situation after Monday’s news.
“It’s not outrageous that he stays on as prime minister, but at the same time, it is a bit odd that he’s no longer the leader… but he’s still the head of our government. So I’m a little bit flummoxed about that,” Adams said.
“He’s been chosen as the prime minister by his caucus because that caucus has the most number of seats, a plurality of seats… so he’s going to have to govern without being the leader of the party, which is a very odd thing.
“At the same time, he’s going to be having other people seeking the leadership while he’s prime minister.”
Adams said the Liberals could generate some excitement around a leadership race, in hopes of finding a candidate who reinvigorates the party, but Trudeau’s dismal poll numbers aren’t a great sign.
“I would say there’s a possibility the Liberals might turn things around, but whoever goes into the leadership for the federal Liberal party will be expecting to be on the opposition benches, likely after the next election.”
Brandon University’s Kelly Saunders told 680 CJOB’s The Jim Toth Show that Trudeau’s ask to prorogue Parliament is an effort to give his party time to regroup.
“It’s going to allow the government a chance to hold a leadership convention, and then hopefully be able to come back with a new speech from the throne, and sort of talk about where they want to go moving forward under a new leader.”
Saunders said the prime minister’s timing is unfortunate, due to of the uncertainty surrounding Donald Trump being sworn in as U.S. president later this month.