On Parliament Hill

Focus on Canadians, Prime Minister – Not Yourself

  • Ted Falk, Author
  • Member of Parliament, Provencher

Recent months have shown the utter incompetence of this Liberal Government. Sadly, rather than focus on Canadians, Justin Trudeau is (once again) focused on himself.

Rumors about a potential fall election are swirling. The Prime Minister is sporting a new haircut – usually a telltale sign he’s ready to go to the polls – Liberal MP’s are reportedly moving to an election footing, and numerous pieces have been floated in the press to soften up the ground for a fall contest.

Why?

September 10th a new Conservative leader will be chosen, and Justin Trudeau and the Liberals are clearly scared – they should be.

Whoever wins the leadership in September, the Liberals will be facing a strong candidate and an energized Conservative Party. Their own leader – with whom their party’s fate is inextricably tied – is vastly unpopular.

In order to win, they will need to distract Canadians from their government’s abysmal track record – a recent poll showed Canadians view the 2016 legalization of marijuana as Trudeau’s biggest legislative achievement.

The Liberals likely want an election before the new leader can get his or her footing, put a team together and pivot to a general election footing. They also want to go before we hit a full-blown recession – an eventuality Conservatives predicted back in 2020 and the government strenuously denied would happen (as a result of their reckless borrowing and spending) but is now knocking at the door. There is also concern about another potential wave of COVID-19 restrictions across the country this fall.

Liberal strategists will want the date of the election close enough to recent events like the “Freedom Convoy” – before the inquiry into the government’s (unjustifiable) use of the Emergencies Act is complete – and the overturning of Roe vs Wade in the United States. They will once again try to weaponize abortion and vaccine status to divide and scare Canadians into giving them a mandate they have not earned.

Under this Prime Minister’s watch, Canadians continue to struggle with record high inflation. Many Canadian parents are skipping meals so their kids can eat. Many Canadians – even those who earn decent pay – can no longer afford the basics of life like gas, groceries, and housing. The looming Liberal recession will only make matters worse.

Our health care system – once the pride of Canadians and the envy of the world – is broken. Millions of Canadians can’t find a family doctor. People wait for days for emergency room service or for a hospital bed. Surgeries are delayed. The wait for psychiatric help for Canadians who struggle with mental health – a number that is surging to crisis levels as result of the last two years of fear, isolation, and restrictions – is two years. Many doctors, nurses and healthcare workers believe the public system has already collapsed. The provinces are desperate for Ottawa to increase healthcare funding to address these issues and this government refuses to do so.

Canadians can’t even access basic government services like passports. Backlogs and delays abound, and this government has no answers – only excuses and blame.

Canada’s government has ceased to function under Justin Trudeau. Rather than focus on himself, he should be focused on providing the basic services government is supposed to provide.

To be clear, Conservatives will be ready to go if Justin Trudeau pulls a snap election.

Conservatives have commonsense plans to fight inflation. To fix and restore Canadians’ trust in our broken government. We are ready to govern and clean up the myriad of messes this Liberal government has caused.

In the meantime, Justin Trudeau is still the Prime Minster.