On Parliament Hill

Stop Playing Games, Prime Minister

  • Ted Falk, Author
  • Member of Parliament, Provencher

To anyone who has been watching closely, it has been clear for months that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is itching for an election. He just doesn’t want to be the one to call it.

In recent months, Justin Trudeau has orchestrated more than half a dozen “confidence vote” opportunities for opposition parties to bring his government down and go to the polls.

Tuesday’s Cabinet shuffle, necessitated by Liberal Minister Navdeep Baines’ decision to step down and not run in the next election, also signals Canadians may be on the eve of going to the polls.

In a series of year-end interviews, Justin Trudeau repeatedly teased the possibility of a spring election.

It has also been reported that he, recently, told the Liberal Party’s Board of Directors that it “looks like a spring election” will be called.

Last week he teased a spring election, again, this time on a Montreal radio station.

In each case, he, carefully, offered the caveat that he didn’t want an election but was ready if one was called.

This may have insulated him from criticism if any other parties were calling for an election, but none of them are. Only the Liberals, eager to regain their governing majority, are champing at the bit to go to the polls.

With poll numbers flirting with majority territory, I can’t blame the Prime Minister for wanting an election.

What I do blame him for is playing political games when he should be focused on the devastated Canadian economy and working with the premiers to get life back to normal for Canadians.

As usual, Justin Trudeau is focused on his number one priority, himself, and Canadians are paying the price.

While the Prime Minister plays political games during a national crisis, Canada’s Conservatives continue to work for you.

If the Liberals force a spring election, we are ready.

I am confident, when they start to hear our ideas, Canadians will recognize that there is a better option than the Trudeau Liberals.