Not only is it ‘unlikely’, it is also nonsensical. The Liberal malaise goes well beyond Trudeau. Majority of Cabinet are mere placeholders. There is no one in the Liberal government capable of becoming that unifying person. There would be no mandate as it would still be a cobbled together coalition led by people who have already proven inept at international relations. It goes against Liberal Party rules so why should the GG even accept the result of such a palace coup.
There is only one answer and that is an election giving the winning party a mandate to govern. The timing is terrible and that is on the party you want to keep in power.
I, personally, would like to see an election ASAP. I don’t trust that the liberals would open the gates far enough to allow other parties access to relevant and timely information for decision making purposes, and the liberals have proven repeatedly that they are unable to manage the civil service or the basic running of the country. Sure, they’ll talk about it. But they have exactly zero ability to make quick decisions that are responsive to reality.
Even Trudeau’s promise to resign shows that he’s out of touch with the current reality of the situation.
Also I don’t think the Greens should have a seat at the table if this did happen. They have such small representation and would be more likely to bog down any progress with their green-focused initiatives. Canadians don’t think enough of them to give them more than a whisper of representation on the HoC. I don’t think they should be present in any sort of “unity” situation.
I did not read beyond the suggestion of putting the greens leader in cabinet.
This an unserious recommendation. The Greens have been a party for over
15 years and have had one or 2 mps at any given time. They are a failed political party and have no reason to be in a unity cabinet. Trudeau vowed to stay on and fight an election for the past year. That is what should have happened.
A political party is to win with the system they are living in not a desired future state. The Bloc and Reform succeeded and became official opposition in a few short years. Electoral relevance has been out of Ms May’s grasp.
Bingo , best response to the legal profession, at the root of enabling this disastrous 10 years of government. Real democracy will live , , , Liberal democracy is an elitist tool to destroy a country.
I agree with Craig Scott that his proposal is unlikely to come into effect. I otherwise disagree with him. We need an election as soon as possible and only an election will allow the country to proceed with a leader who has the confidence of parliament and can legitimately mobilize all possible resources to meet the threats that the Trump presidency evidently present. It is unfortunate in the extreme that, due to Trudeau's personal weaknesses and the fecklessness of most Liberal MPs, we are in this situation, but there's nothing for it now but to soldier on until we can finally get a legitimately elected government. We will survive until that time, though without a doubt we will be damaged quite badly, but there it is.
I wish I shared your faith in Pierre. He does not appear to have any unifying skills, nor any meaningful plans. This is not a time for hot air and spin, yet that is his entire substance.
I know by your comments here and elsewhere David that you are not a fan of Pierre. I share some of your concerns. However, what needs to be differentiated is having a potentially poor leader with a moral and political mandate to lead, versus one with no moral mandate to lead and a disintegrating political one. Justin Trudeau and the liberals (who is in my estimation is the worst PM this country has ever seen) managed to successfully negotiate with the 1st Trump administration. They had a significant mandate to lead and negotiate during that time. Their team Canada approach worked as a consequence. What we are facing now is a different animal. We have a leader, who is not a leader. We have no unified or authoritative voice speaking for the Nation, and no one in the position to do this. There is a saying “no decision is worse than a bad decision” this summarizes where we’re at at this moment. We need an election now. Yesterday was too late. The damage increases every day now forthwith.
I agree entirely. Justin sewered pretty much everyone by staying 2 years past his welcome. I have said here many times that Canada lacks leaders. At this most critical time in our history, there is a vacuum. The one upside is Trump doesn't hate Pierre yet. I still think we're Austria in 1938. For the first time in my 60+ years, I have no idea what the future looks like, and it's very discomforting.
The extent to which Trump will implement tariffs on Canada will have nothing to do with the Canadian government's "moral authority". A "lame duck" Prime Minister is equally capable to any other Prime Minister in making decisions about what policy sacrifices or compromises a country can be led into making, and judging which of those compromises will facilitate policy compromises by a trade partner.
But there is a difference compared to 2017, insofar as Trudeau is this time visibly more undisciplined, lacking a plan, and potentially surrounded by lesser talent than he was then.
There are many writers who want PP to publish his platform. He (wisely, IMHO) won't set up himself for the deluge of Liberal and media attacks. Assuming he wins a substantial majority, he'll have enough political capital to make substantial changes to Canada's laws and government. "Just watch me" may become his mantra for the first 2 years of his government.
I expect he'll be able to do what he wants with no resistance. A leader expresses their vision. PP's entire campaign is "I'm not Trudeau, and I'll axe the tax". That he won't say what he's going to do is interesting in the sense that the country needs a serious wake-up call. There are no serious leaders in Canada. Leaders talk about their vision, and the path to get there. Pierre is running on "I'm not Trudeau"; the same vacuous garbage that got Doug Ford elected, by an electorate who have thrown up their hands in submission.....while complaining incessantly. We are in big trouble.
There is absolutely nothing irresponsible about demanding an immediate election. Trump has made it clear to anyone who is listening, he will not negotiate with weak/lame duck leaders. The election should already be underway, we should have been voting in late January or early February, (based on the confidence motion erroneously defeated by Singh in Decemeber) Not as late as May or June. Alternatively,, we could have had that strong government already in place to address the tariff threats BUT again, Singh failed to defeat this government during the entire fall session! The GG failed Canadians by allowing Trudeau to prorogue instead of dissolving parliament. Trump may have given us a grace period had we been in a general election, he will not do that under the current turmoil. The sooner we have a fresh government with a mandate from Canadians the better off we will be to address this threat!
This was an interesting read and could work, maybe, but will never happen. Justin Trudeau must actually resign, not pretend to resign. His huge ego does not allow him to resign; that is what a better man would do.
He prefers to cling to power no matter the cost to Canada; the country has had enough .
It could be that he wishes for Carney to be the anointed saviour but he doesn’t comprehend that this Trudeau by another name, will not win.
The principled thing to do would be to immediately call an election, but principles are not a part of his makeup. We have seen that repeatedly and sadly, are witnessing it again.
There is ONLY one way to achieve a unity government in Canada right now, a general election, and when CPC wins an overwhelming majority government it will be a unity government. Canadians have been failed by Trudeau, Singh and the Governor General! We could have had a strong government with a strong mandate to address this imminent threat had Trudeau stepped down months ago, had Singh defeated this incompetent government months ago, or we could at least be in the throws of an election campaign had the GG actually done the right thing and said NO to Trudeau and dissolved parliament and called for an election instead.
I would argue an election, now, would define the future of Canada better than a government of unity (probably the weakest collaboration we could wish for).. So we have 25% for 90 days. Short term pain. What we a looking at is a democratic direction of the future of Canada. Call an election now.
The qualifications for eligibility to vote in a liberal party leadership race are laughable as almost anyone in the country 14 years old or older can participate. That includes permanent residents who do not hold citizenship. Makes one wonder if Canadian citizenship has no value to the liberal party why should it have any value anywhere else?
No - it's time for an election. Canadian elections don't take very long - a minimum of 37 days, and a maximum of 51. A unity government could spend longer than that arguing over how to allocate cabinet seats. The current Liberal government is dysfunctional and ineffective. The NDP has been complicit in that dysfunction. The economic and political realities of Canada have changed markedly since the last election was held as the country was just starting to claw its way out of 2 years of the COVID pandemic. The *only* reason to consider a unity government right now is to throw a lifeline to the current Liberal government and their NDP partners rather than let them face the judgement of an angry electorate.
I'm resisting the urge to pile on - as other commentators have already done a good job of injecting some reality into the notion.
My main objection to the campfire singalong is that - no matter how it is constituted and who comprises the effort - nobody among the 330+ MPs has a mandate to handle the Trump-based trade threat. With a few by-election exceptions since, all of them were elected in 2021 when this issue was not (but maybe should have been) live in the minds of the voters.
A new election, ASAP, will confer the necessary mandate on the next parliament. Yes it will be messy for a few weeks while we sort this out, but once the writs are returned and the new parliament is seated, a strong and stable majority government will have a full mandate to bring Canada to the trade and defence tables.
Truly. Don't forget there was time where the BQ was the official opposition. I remember catching a bit of CPAC when a BQ member was arguing convincingly for some issue in the Yukon. I felt proud for our unusual federation.
OR, we could have an election, ASAP.
That is the least bad option. Trump will not negotiate with a lame duck
This column basically describes a way for the left to hold onto power for as long as possible. Nice try, lol.
Not only is it ‘unlikely’, it is also nonsensical. The Liberal malaise goes well beyond Trudeau. Majority of Cabinet are mere placeholders. There is no one in the Liberal government capable of becoming that unifying person. There would be no mandate as it would still be a cobbled together coalition led by people who have already proven inept at international relations. It goes against Liberal Party rules so why should the GG even accept the result of such a palace coup.
There is only one answer and that is an election giving the winning party a mandate to govern. The timing is terrible and that is on the party you want to keep in power.
Mark Carney will save us all. [sarcasm]
I, personally, would like to see an election ASAP. I don’t trust that the liberals would open the gates far enough to allow other parties access to relevant and timely information for decision making purposes, and the liberals have proven repeatedly that they are unable to manage the civil service or the basic running of the country. Sure, they’ll talk about it. But they have exactly zero ability to make quick decisions that are responsive to reality.
Even Trudeau’s promise to resign shows that he’s out of touch with the current reality of the situation.
Also I don’t think the Greens should have a seat at the table if this did happen. They have such small representation and would be more likely to bog down any progress with their green-focused initiatives. Canadians don’t think enough of them to give them more than a whisper of representation on the HoC. I don’t think they should be present in any sort of “unity” situation.
I did not read beyond the suggestion of putting the greens leader in cabinet.
This an unserious recommendation. The Greens have been a party for over
15 years and have had one or 2 mps at any given time. They are a failed political party and have no reason to be in a unity cabinet. Trudeau vowed to stay on and fight an election for the past year. That is what should have happened.
Had Trudeau not backed away from his promise that we'd had our last FTP election the Greens would likely have several more seats. Just sayin'
Yes agree. However the purpose of
A political party is to win with the system they are living in not a desired future state. The Bloc and Reform succeeded and became official opposition in a few short years. Electoral relevance has been out of Ms May’s grasp.
You mean the “Let’s Make Liz a Liberal Senator”Party?
Like so many academics, especially law professors, this author is divorced from reality--non of which he advocates would ever be possible.
Bingo , best response to the legal profession, at the root of enabling this disastrous 10 years of government. Real democracy will live , , , Liberal democracy is an elitist tool to destroy a country.
No. To all of this. Election ASAP.
I agree with Craig Scott that his proposal is unlikely to come into effect. I otherwise disagree with him. We need an election as soon as possible and only an election will allow the country to proceed with a leader who has the confidence of parliament and can legitimately mobilize all possible resources to meet the threats that the Trump presidency evidently present. It is unfortunate in the extreme that, due to Trudeau's personal weaknesses and the fecklessness of most Liberal MPs, we are in this situation, but there's nothing for it now but to soldier on until we can finally get a legitimately elected government. We will survive until that time, though without a doubt we will be damaged quite badly, but there it is.
I wish I shared your faith in Pierre. He does not appear to have any unifying skills, nor any meaningful plans. This is not a time for hot air and spin, yet that is his entire substance.
I know by your comments here and elsewhere David that you are not a fan of Pierre. I share some of your concerns. However, what needs to be differentiated is having a potentially poor leader with a moral and political mandate to lead, versus one with no moral mandate to lead and a disintegrating political one. Justin Trudeau and the liberals (who is in my estimation is the worst PM this country has ever seen) managed to successfully negotiate with the 1st Trump administration. They had a significant mandate to lead and negotiate during that time. Their team Canada approach worked as a consequence. What we are facing now is a different animal. We have a leader, who is not a leader. We have no unified or authoritative voice speaking for the Nation, and no one in the position to do this. There is a saying “no decision is worse than a bad decision” this summarizes where we’re at at this moment. We need an election now. Yesterday was too late. The damage increases every day now forthwith.
I agree entirely. Justin sewered pretty much everyone by staying 2 years past his welcome. I have said here many times that Canada lacks leaders. At this most critical time in our history, there is a vacuum. The one upside is Trump doesn't hate Pierre yet. I still think we're Austria in 1938. For the first time in my 60+ years, I have no idea what the future looks like, and it's very discomforting.
The extent to which Trump will implement tariffs on Canada will have nothing to do with the Canadian government's "moral authority". A "lame duck" Prime Minister is equally capable to any other Prime Minister in making decisions about what policy sacrifices or compromises a country can be led into making, and judging which of those compromises will facilitate policy compromises by a trade partner.
But there is a difference compared to 2017, insofar as Trudeau is this time visibly more undisciplined, lacking a plan, and potentially surrounded by lesser talent than he was then.
There are many writers who want PP to publish his platform. He (wisely, IMHO) won't set up himself for the deluge of Liberal and media attacks. Assuming he wins a substantial majority, he'll have enough political capital to make substantial changes to Canada's laws and government. "Just watch me" may become his mantra for the first 2 years of his government.
I expect he'll be able to do what he wants with no resistance. A leader expresses their vision. PP's entire campaign is "I'm not Trudeau, and I'll axe the tax". That he won't say what he's going to do is interesting in the sense that the country needs a serious wake-up call. There are no serious leaders in Canada. Leaders talk about their vision, and the path to get there. Pierre is running on "I'm not Trudeau"; the same vacuous garbage that got Doug Ford elected, by an electorate who have thrown up their hands in submission.....while complaining incessantly. We are in big trouble.
There is absolutely nothing irresponsible about demanding an immediate election. Trump has made it clear to anyone who is listening, he will not negotiate with weak/lame duck leaders. The election should already be underway, we should have been voting in late January or early February, (based on the confidence motion erroneously defeated by Singh in Decemeber) Not as late as May or June. Alternatively,, we could have had that strong government already in place to address the tariff threats BUT again, Singh failed to defeat this government during the entire fall session! The GG failed Canadians by allowing Trudeau to prorogue instead of dissolving parliament. Trump may have given us a grace period had we been in a general election, he will not do that under the current turmoil. The sooner we have a fresh government with a mandate from Canadians the better off we will be to address this threat!
Wow. A call for responsible, talented, leadership by serious people. I love it.
I think, however, due to the obvious fact that those people are not in the room, that this is a mess we will have to walk through, not around.
Election please.
Who picks the serious people? Katy Telford?
This was an interesting read and could work, maybe, but will never happen. Justin Trudeau must actually resign, not pretend to resign. His huge ego does not allow him to resign; that is what a better man would do.
He prefers to cling to power no matter the cost to Canada; the country has had enough .
It could be that he wishes for Carney to be the anointed saviour but he doesn’t comprehend that this Trudeau by another name, will not win.
The principled thing to do would be to immediately call an election, but principles are not a part of his makeup. We have seen that repeatedly and sadly, are witnessing it again.
There is ONLY one way to achieve a unity government in Canada right now, a general election, and when CPC wins an overwhelming majority government it will be a unity government. Canadians have been failed by Trudeau, Singh and the Governor General! We could have had a strong government with a strong mandate to address this imminent threat had Trudeau stepped down months ago, had Singh defeated this incompetent government months ago, or we could at least be in the throws of an election campaign had the GG actually done the right thing and said NO to Trudeau and dissolved parliament and called for an election instead.
I would argue an election, now, would define the future of Canada better than a government of unity (probably the weakest collaboration we could wish for).. So we have 25% for 90 days. Short term pain. What we a looking at is a democratic direction of the future of Canada. Call an election now.
The qualifications for eligibility to vote in a liberal party leadership race are laughable as almost anyone in the country 14 years old or older can participate. That includes permanent residents who do not hold citizenship. Makes one wonder if Canadian citizenship has no value to the liberal party why should it have any value anywhere else?
No - it's time for an election. Canadian elections don't take very long - a minimum of 37 days, and a maximum of 51. A unity government could spend longer than that arguing over how to allocate cabinet seats. The current Liberal government is dysfunctional and ineffective. The NDP has been complicit in that dysfunction. The economic and political realities of Canada have changed markedly since the last election was held as the country was just starting to claw its way out of 2 years of the COVID pandemic. The *only* reason to consider a unity government right now is to throw a lifeline to the current Liberal government and their NDP partners rather than let them face the judgement of an angry electorate.
I'm resisting the urge to pile on - as other commentators have already done a good job of injecting some reality into the notion.
My main objection to the campfire singalong is that - no matter how it is constituted and who comprises the effort - nobody among the 330+ MPs has a mandate to handle the Trump-based trade threat. With a few by-election exceptions since, all of them were elected in 2021 when this issue was not (but maybe should have been) live in the minds of the voters.
A new election, ASAP, will confer the necessary mandate on the next parliament. Yes it will be messy for a few weeks while we sort this out, but once the writs are returned and the new parliament is seated, a strong and stable majority government will have a full mandate to bring Canada to the trade and defence tables.
Let's just get to it.
'Unity Government with the Separatist Party' is a very Canadian oxymoron.
Truly. Don't forget there was time where the BQ was the official opposition. I remember catching a bit of CPAC when a BQ member was arguing convincingly for some issue in the Yukon. I felt proud for our unusual federation.
“Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition” at that!